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Mother-of-two Jun Bei Liu visited Kmart just last week. Her trip to Kmart Chatswood Chase yielded new lunch boxes for the kids, organisational baskets and decorative trays, to go with some recently purchased Anko vases. Her 13-year-old son and his friend also paid a visit to the Sydney store. \u201cThey bought a pair of slides,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time they\u2019ve ever been to the shops by themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu is lead portfolio manager of Ten Cap, which handles funds exceeding $1.6 billion and is invested in Kmart\u2019s parent company, Wesfarmers, but not Woolworths, Big W\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n
By contrast, her last visit to Big W was about seven years ago. She remembers the department store in Macquarie Centre as having a messy apparel section, harsh lighting with a \u201cwarehouse feel\u201d, a limited homewares section, and is not in a hurry to revisit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I have to travel far and wide to find this store when it\u2019s not convenient, and it doesn\u2019t provide all the categories I need, why should I go there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Big W\u2019s sticky narrative as Australia\u2019s runner-up discount chain is unfortunately yet inevitably defined by how it is dwarfed by its more impressive, domineering rival Kmart, which for more than a decade has cemented its crown as the nation\u2019s preferred discount department store.<\/p>\n
Today, Big W\u2019s national footprint (178 stores) is about half the size of Kmart\u2019s (more than 300), after 30 store closures were announced in 2019. While Kmart consistently produces more than $1 billion in profits, Big W\u2019s have been in a downward slide for several years, and sank to minus $33 million in the 2025 financial year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some wonder what parent company Woolworths intends to do with it. In early 2025, the supermarket group\u2019s chief executive, Amanda Bardwell, reignited speculation that a sale or exit of Big W might be on the cards after announcing a strategic review of the \u201cshape of its business portfolio\u201d.<\/p>\n
Management are eager to impart that a corner has been turned. Big W swung back into the black in the latest financial year, turning a $64 million profit thanks to less heavy discounting, stronger clothing sales and a thriving marketplace business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still early days in our transformation,\u201d said Big W managing director Dan Hake.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had an important milestone this financial year, which was to prove out that we can step up our game in product. We can be absolutely competitive on price, and we can be lean and consistent enough in our operations that we can still make a profit at the end of the year. That\u2019s just step one.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Big](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1a30054424970251b5f32efb34a548721f45d77e.jpeg\")
Big W managing director Dan Hake is overseeing the discount department store\u2019s turnaround.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n
The turnaround strategy is simple: keep shelf prices low, put better-quality products on the shelf, and get more efficient.<\/p>\n
Big W\u2019s traditional areas of strength (\u201cthe purpose of Big W is to make a real difference for families,\u201d said Hake) have been primarily in its kids\u2019 offering, a books department so formidable that local book store operators complain it undercuts their market share<\/a>, and toy aisles full of Barbies, Lego sets, Pok\u00e9mon cards and Bluey merch.<\/p>\n Much investment has been poured into clothing, health and beauty, and homewares departments. Change rooms at newly renovated stores are painted in colourful pastels and large enough to fit prams. \u201cWe know that families spend on their kids first,\u201d said Hake. \u201cBut we also want mum to have a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Store layouts are being reconfigured and trialled. Big W\u2019s Plumpton store, 45 kilometres west of Sydney CBD, is among a handful of newly renovated stores with semi-enclosed sections for beauty and tech that are as much about driving people to explore what\u2019s on the shelf as it is about stemming theft.<\/p>\n In apparel, some price points are in the single digits (children\u2019s tees for $3). A budget version of the popular barrel leg-style jeans sells for $30. About 80 per cent of the womenswear range is now under $20.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not famous for it yet, but I think there\u2019s great value,\u201d said Hake. \u201cWe will get the growth, and we will become more front of mind for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Big W\u2019s inescapable challenge is that it is stuck playing catch-up to Kmart, which has turned its in-house brand Anko into a standalone brand. But Big W cannot replicate Kmart\u2019s strategy of turning private label products into 85 per cent of sales; it must juggle the dual task of growing exclusive-label lines without cannabilising its role as a \u201chouse of brands\u201d.<\/p>\n Kmart has organised its business around a tight supply chain that takes globally trending designs, bulk-ordering from Asian manufacturers in huge quantities, and selling them in Australia en masse. Its homewares and furniture department is so successful it has spawned an IKEA-like spin-off, K Home<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shoppers on a budget, who have more price comparison tools today than ever, are choosing where to spend with ruthlessness. \u201cIf you\u2019ve got a product and that product is even 10\u00a2 cheaper at the competitor next door, that\u2019s where they\u2019re going to shop it. If quality is just a little bit off, and you\u2019re trying to get away with saving costs in the wrong places, your customer is going to shop that product elsewhere,\u201d said Hake.<\/p>\n \u201cThese sound like little things, but to do it effectively at scale across the entire store, across all these different categories, it\u2019s a big ask, right? You need to be absolutely on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n It has demanded a broader cultural change across the organisation and a sharper focus on one united vision (\u201cwe are a price fighter on behalf of our customers\u201d). More product designers and category managers have been brought in-house. \u201cIt\u2019s a game of simplicity, stock flow, and just getting the basics right,\u201d said Hake.<\/p>\n Big W\u2019s position as runner-up goes deeper than mere numbers. Through Anko, Kmart\u2019s offer to customers is unambiguous: designer-inspired products at budget prices. A loyal army of evangelists, in Facebook groups like Kmart Mums Australia or Kmart Home Decor & Hacks Australia, swap DIY hacks, styling tips and stock alerts with each other.<\/p>\n \u201cKmart had a big hand in eliminating the bargain stigma, making it cool to shop there,\u201d said RMIT University associate professor of marketing Dr Marian Makkar, pointing to \u201clate night Kmart runs\u201d becoming a social activity for teens and young adults.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Positioned as a \u201cluxe-for-less\u201d retailer, Kmart has gained cachet with Gen Z by delivering on style and aesthetic without the barrier of a high price tag, removing buyer\u2019s remorse and increasing basket sizes, says Macquarie Business School marketing professor Jana Bowden.<\/p>\n \u201cThat brand love for Kmart is the X factor,\u201d said Bowden. \u201cIt\u2019s what makes it different from its competitors. Kmart doesn\u2019t just sell homewares and clothing. It sells a value consciousness, identity and a cultural moment.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear how much time Hake has to execute Big W\u2019s big turnaround. Rumours about the chain\u2019s future have simmered for years. In August 2025, Bardwell announced Big W\u2019s technology systems would be separated from Woolworths, a move often interpreted as preparing a business for potential demerging.<\/p>\n Liu wonders if the market is big enough to accommodate many discount chains. Canadian giant Dollarama, which bought The Reject Shop early last year<\/a> and is rebranding stores, runs a successful private label model that could threaten Kmart<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI really don\u2019t know what that brand stands for, Big W,\u201d Liu said. While a turnaround costs time and money, \u201chow patient is Woolworths?\u201d she asked. \u201cYou have to give it at least three years. I\u2019m just not sure if Woolworths is that committed for [Big W] to turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n Hake is here to do his job. \u201cThe policy the team and I have is: let\u2019s not get distracted by what\u2019s in the news or what the rumours might be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s keep building this amazing brand, and let\u2019s create a profitable business that\u2019s returning money to shareholders. That\u2019s the focus.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Big](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6765147ba780b1a95222a4a70c30a9c574f625dc.jpeg\")
Big W Plumpton has been renovated to carve out distinct sections for health and beauty and tech products.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n![\"Big](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2b0e480bea0559897b1924c3c79253258480d2ab.jpeg\")
Big W Plumpton is one of a handful of stores that have been renovated to entice shoppers.Audrey RichardsonWhere is Big W going?<\/p>\n![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/df15c2dcd045e0a4950a5075d8c76cb77ac8b33a.jpeg\")
At Big W, Christmas began in September.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n