Inside the Kmart that’s been frozen in time: Shopper discovers one of the last stores in Australia with the old layout – complete with checkouts at the entrance and a ‘photo centre’
- Shopper discovers one of the last few Kmart stores in Australia with a 90s layout
- The Sylvania outlet in southern Sydney still has cash registers at front of store
- The modern refurbished stores now have self-serve checkouts in the centre
A nostalgic shopper has discovered one of the last few Kmart stores in Australia with a 90s layout – complete with cash registers at the entrance and a photo centre.
Brendan captured pictures of the Sylvania store in southern Sydney showing how much the retailer has changed over the years after 165 stores of the 231 shops across Australia and New Zealand underwent an extensive modern makeover.
The refurbished stores have seen the cash registers replaced with self-serve checkouts and registers in the centre of the shop.
However, the old layout of the Sylvania store remains untouched.
A nostalgic shopper has discovered one of the last few Kmart stores in Australia with a 90s layout – complete with cash registers at the entrance
Brendan captured pictures of the Sylvania outlet in southern Sydney showing how much the retailer has changed over the years (picture of the photo processing area in the old store)
The old layout of the Sylvania store (pictured) hasn’t undergone a refurbishment – and shoppers can still pay for their products at the cash registers at the entrance
‘Kmart Sylvania is still rocking the old late-1990s era vibes. It’s probably one of the last unfurnished (non-central checkout) stores in Sydney,’ Brendan wrote in Old Shops Australia Facebook group.
‘The entrance, checkouts and photo processing section show its aged quite well. Odd that it hasn’t been refurbished, because it’s one of the few stores busy enough to justify 24 hour operation in Sydney.’
The Sylvania Kmart store still has its iconic photo centre where shoppers can go to print their pictures from just 10 cents each.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.
Dozens of shoppers said the pictures brought back many memories, while many agreed they prefer the front door registers over the ‘ridiculous’ checkouts at the centre of the refurbished stores.
‘Central checkouts are the worst idea ever… people automatically go to the front of store to pay. Now every bag on the way out has to be checked,’ one man wrote.
A second man said: ‘This is how it should be – the checkouts in the middle of the store is stupid,’ while another added: ‘I don’t really like the central checkouts.’
Many pointed out the ‘traditional’ layout made it easier for shoppers to find the products compared to the modern shops.
Meanwhile some called on the retailer to bring back the iconic Holly’s Café, which was located inside every Kmart store in the 80s and 90s.
‘Old school is way better, bring back Holly’s cafe too,’ one woman wrote.
The Sylvania Kmart store in southern Sydney still has its photo centre where shoppers can go to print their pictures from just 10 cents each
The refurbished stores (pictured) now have self-serve checkouts in the middle of the store
Vintage photographs show shoppers relaxing at Kmart’s Holly’s Café, with one woman (far right) appearing to smoke at her seat while chatting away to her friend. Holly’s Cafés were located inside every Kmart store in the 80s and 90s
A Kmart spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia in May 2019 the modern layout came from an aesthetic place rather than for security reasons.
‘Self-serve and central checkout registers make shopping more convenient, ensuring store entrances are free of queues and clutter, and allowing customers to enter and exit with ease,’ the spokesperson said at the time.
‘Customers will always be welcomed into the store with a friendly store greeter.
‘We’ve noticed the layout is more open now and more spacious without having the registers up at the front part, which can get congested during busy times of the year like Christmas.’