Kmart: Home office, nursery, furniture items to be back by end of July

The discount department store has been bombarded with complaints about empty shelves – now it has revealed when stock will return.

By now we’re all well-versed in how the coronavirus pandemic saw mass shortages across our supermarkets.

But as supermarket shelves have returned to normal the impact of COVID-19 on other retail stores have been longer lasting.

For weeks Kmart has faced complaints of empty shelves, with frustrated customers unable to get their hands on popular products such as exercise equipment and kitchenware.

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Customers have complained of stock shortages across Kmart. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Now the discount department store has revealed the company halted the ordering of stock into stores at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

It also faced shortages when countries Kmart manufactures in halted production, with the store now expecting store stock levels to return to normal by the end of July.

In an email sent to customers, Kmart retail director John Gualtieri revealed the company had halted the ordering of certain stock into stores.

“During the early stages of COVID-19, demand for much of our loved product softened; as a result, we made a decision to pause inventory shipments,” he said.

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In an email to customers Kmart has revealed the shortages are a result of the company halting orders at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

This was in preparation for a hard lockdown seen in countries like Spain and Italy, which forced all non-essential businesses to close.

“Some of the countries where we manufacture our physical products were also put into lockdown at this time, putting production of some of our goods on hold for a period of time,” Mr Gualtieri said.

However Australia ended up taking a different approach to other countries and didn’t impose a hard lockdown, instead advising people to only leave the house when necessary.

Mr Gualtieri said instead Kmart saw “increased demand for product categories like home office, fitness, cookware, games and books” as people adapted to the stay-home order.

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Kmart has also been impacted by manufacturing of their products being stopped in overseas countries.

A fresh delivery of nursery items are expected at the end of this month, while home office, kitchen and dining products will be back in stock by mid-July.

New furniture and accessories will arrive in store by mid to late-July, while bikes and exercise equipment is due at the end of July.

Mr Gualtieri apologised to customers for the lack of stock, saying he understood how many were feeling.

“We understand how frustrating it can be when you visit us in-store and can’t find the items you love; and we are so sorry to disappoint,” he said.

“We are working as fast as we can to correct this. I would like to thank you all for your understanding, patience and ongoing support.”