Panda Mart has opened its second store in Melbourne’s Preston to a smaller crowd compared to its ‘chaotic’ Cranbourne opening in March this year. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Discount megastore Panda Mart has opened its second Australian store in Melbourne’s Preston in an 8,300 square metre old Bunnings warehouse. The grand opening drew a line of eager Aussies this morning, keen to get a first glimpse inside the dirt-cheap retailer.
Panda Mart, which has been described as “Temu in real life”, offers more than 50,000 products, including low-cost homewares, kitchenware, furniture, technology, toys, stationery and sports gear. Items on offer include suitcases for $40, barbeques for $160 and earphones for just $1.50.
A Panda Mart spokesperson told Yahoo Finance it believed the discount store offered something “fresh and distinctive in the retail space”, where it’ll be competing against the likes of discount stores like The Reject Shop, soon to be Dollarama, along with Kmart, Target and Big W.
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“Our focus is on variety, affordability, and uniqueness — bringing in products that are carefully curated and often not found in mainstream outlets,” the spokesperson said.
“Our stores are designed to be more than just a place to shop; they’re a space for exploration and discovery.”
The South African discount retail chain was established in 2010 and sources most of its products from China’s export manufacturing hub of Yiwu.
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The previous Bunnings outfit was relocated to a nearby premises. · Knight Frank The discount store is located in an old Bunnings warehouse and has kept the same green facade and inside look and feel. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
It opened its first Australian store in Melbourne’s Cranbourne in March this year at a previous Masters site.
The opening drew huge crowds and was described as “chaotic”, with the retailer forced to close its doors early on the Saturday opening weekend after police were called in to control a crowd of around 1,000 people.
When Yahoo Finance visited the Panda Mart Preston store for its grand opening on Friday morning, the crowd was far more subdued, with around 50 shoppers lining up for the bargain store shortly before doors opened.
The store previously had a “soft opening” earlier in the week.
Panda Mart grew huge crowds to its Cranbourne store opening earlier this year, but its second Preston store opening today was more subdued. (Source: Newswire/Supplied)
The massive warehouse has kept the hardware giant’s iconic green facade, but instead of the Bunnings logo emblazoned on the front, it has been replaced with a small red ‘Panda Mart’ sign.
The inside of the shop has also kept the same Bunnings feel, with some previous signage still present.
But instead of the usual hardware aisles, shoppers are greeted with 49 aisles dedicated to everything you can think of, from artificial flowers and pet accessories, to beauty products and mattresses.
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It’s kind of like The Reject Shop on steroids.
The Preston store boasts 49 aisles covering everything from kitchenware to beauty to furniture. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Panda Mart said it had purposely designed the new Preston store as a “large format warehouse style retail destination”, with a “focus on space, convenience and inspiration”.
As for the location in Preston, the retailer said it was drawn to the “dynamic and diverse community” and the mix of families and professionals.
“It’s an area that has been growing rapidly, and we saw a fantastic opportunity to bring the Panda Mart experience to Melbourne’s northern suburbs,” the spokesperson said.
Panda Mart told Yahoo Finance it plans to expand further, but kept mum on the exact details.
“What we can share is that we are actively looking at cities and locations that align with Panda Mart’s growth potential,” the spokesperson said.
“This doesn’t just apply to Australia, our ambition is to expand internationally and bring the Panda Mart experience to communities worldwide”.
The retailer also has a growing presence across the ditch, opening its first store in Auckland at the end of 2023 and its second store in Christchurch last September.
Items for sale include soft toys for a few dollars and barbeques for $159. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Panda Mart’s expansion comes as more Aussies flock to low-cost international retailers like Temu, Amazon and Shein.
New data from Roy Morgan found 8.8 million Aussies had purchased from Amazon over the last 12 months, 4.7 million from Temu and 2.6 million from Shein.
Temu and Amazon have each gained close to a million shoppers in the last year, while Shein has gained over half a million.
“The growth in shopper numbers at this scale and speed is unprecedented and it’s redefining the market before our eyes,” Roy Morgan head of retail and consumer products Catherine Jolley said.
“As discount platforms reset consumer expectations, the challenge for established retailers, particularly those that have relied on a low-cost position, is to understand the impact on their position in the ‘new retail order’.”
Roy Morgan estimates Temu and Shein together had close to an extra $1.3 billion in annual sales year on year.
While the South African discount chain’s entry to the Australian market has been well received by consumers, it hasn’t been without its controversy.
In March, Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors seized thousands of products from the Cranbourne store that it believed failed to meet mandatory product safety and information standards.
That included toys and baby rattles containing button batteries that were inadequately secured or labelled, along with goods like bike helmets, luggage straps, toy guns and children’s make-up sets.
The authorities issued a public safety warning at the time, with Consumer Affairs Director Nicole Rich saying businesses had an obligation to ensure items they sold met safety standards and didn’t pose a danger to the public.
“We know many Victorians are looking for bargains when they’re shopping given the cost of living, but they shouldn’t have to worry about picking up dangerous products at the same time, especially ones for babies and kids,” she said.
Panda Mart is now offering 20 per cent of all of its 50,000 products across the next three days, across both its Preston and Cranbourne stores.
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