Kmart lovebirds who met at work clock up almost 60 years for the company

It’s the bargain department store that has people lining up to nab on-trend homewares, but the love affair with Kmart goes back more than 34 years for one couple, who met when the store still sold guns and live animals.

Catherine and Duane Turner met when they were both working for Kmart in 1985.

Kmart has long been an Australian family-favourite, but for one family the discount retailer has meant more than just shopping trips and cheap goodies.

It was through their jobs at Kmart that Catherine and Duane Turner first met, 34 years ago.

And the married couple have certainly thanked the company for introducing them, clocking up close to 60 years working for Kmart.

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Their two children have also spent years serving in the department stores.

Much of their connection to the company has centred around Kmart’s Burwood store — the first in Australia — where Catherine works as an operations manager.

Kmart Burwood was rebranded in 1997.

Having grown up in Burwood East, Duane took a job “pushing trolleys” there as a 14-year-old in 1977, working alongside his two brothers.

Duane said working in the Burwood store was truly a family affair, with it having previously been managed by his father as part of his 45-year stint with the Coles Myer group.

But it was at the Greensborough store where Duane and Catherine met.

Catherine said she was working in sales as a 20-year-old when Duane began working as a manager.

“He came in and I just thought he was rather cute,” she said.

Australia's first Kmart store opened in Burwood in 1969.

The lovers only got to work together in the same store for about six months before company policy moved Duane on.

Duane finished up working for the company 12 months ago, but racked up 26 years at Kmart across two stints at more than 10 stores.

Catherine is coming up to her 32-year mark with Kmart, having only taken two years off when she had their children.

The pair said they’d seen a lot change at Kmart over the years.

The check-outs at Kmart Burwood three months after it opened in 1969.

Duane recalled the days when Kmart Burwood was home to Holly’s cafe as well as a chicken bar, with staff having to cook chicken on a spit on top of their other tasks.

They said Kmart was once also the local pet store and the place to buy guns.

“We sold guns and ammunition in the sporting goods department,” he said.

“That would have been in the late ‘70s.”

Catherine said birds and fish used to be kept in store.

And she said while Kmart Burwood was open 24/7 it only used to be open on Friday afternoons and till noon on a Saturday.

Catherine still works at Kmart, 34 years after she met Duane there. Picture: Stuart Milligan

The Ferntree Gully couple said they had lots of fond memories with their “Kmart family”.

“The staff are special people,” Catherine said. “I think that’s why I stay.”

She said she also loved that the company employed shy, inexperienced teenagers.

“I get a real buzz when I see them flourish. You can see them gain confidence and they grow up in front of you.”

And of course the couple are fans of Kmart products.

They’ve just bought a caravan and decked out the interior with Kmart linen, appliances and furnishings.

Catherine said her “biggest problem” was hiding Kmart clothes in the wardrobe because she hadn’t told Duane she’d bought more.

Last week Kmart celebrated Burwood store’s 50th anniversary.