New retail giants bringing treasure hunt shopping experience to Australia

TARGET and Kmart watch out. Overseas retailers entering the Australian market have a new trick to take sales from famous names.

RETAIL giants now entering the Australian market have a secret to success that will rival department stores like Target and Kmart.

A number of European companies are set to launch in Australia, with global discount retail chain TK Maxx and German supermarket chain Kaufland the latest heading our way.

But these global businesses offer shoppers the new “treasure hunt” experience.

Experts say shopping has become too predictable for consumers and they are now chasing a shopping experience that’s all about the unexpected.

The treasure hunt experience was created by big box retailers like Costco, who stock a range of products from cans of tuna to designer coats.

TK Maxx, which plans to open 35 stores in Australia.

WHAT IS TREASURE HUNT SHOPPING?

The idea is you go into a retailer for one thing, but end up leaving with a number of other bargains you didn’t expect to find.

Retail Next reports it’s a shopping experience particularly appealing to millennials and the treasure hunt turned the mundane chore of shopping into something more exciting.

People are entering big retail stores and leaving with items they didn’t know they needed.

TK Maxx, which plans to open 35 stores in Australia this month, is a rival for Target, Big W, Kmart and Myer as it focuses on fast-changing trends.

TK Maxx spokeswoman Tessa Buenen said when the store launched in Australia, it would have a treasure hunt type model.

She promised an assortment of women’s, men’s and kid’s fashion, footwear, accessories, lingerie, beauty and home wares from local and international brands at good prices.

“Let’s say a department store cancels an order, if a manufacturer makes up too much product or we have a vendor who is clearing product, our buyer goes in and negotiates a great deal and we’re able to pass on those savings,” she said.

The spokeswoman told news.com.au customers would be lured to TK Maxx by “the thrill of the find”.

TK Maxx will be new competition for Kmart.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?

According to retail expert Robin Lewis, TK Maxx is beating its competition because it turned shopping into a treasure hunt, much like Costco has been doing for years.

In its overseas stores, TK Maxx merchants search for goods from designers to stock in the store but once they sell out, they replace it with something new and different.

Customers have to snatch goods up fast, with pieces usually only on the store racks for a short time.

Mr Lewis said instead of finding designer brands or unexpected items every few weeks like you would in Costco, you could hunt for something different every day in TK Maxx.

“Its buyers are in rapidly changing marketplaces, reading and reacting to market and fashion trends. They must constantly monitor the various macro environments that affect the business,” Mr Lewis wrote on The Robin Report.

“And because it is not buying full lines, its merchandise flow is similar to the fast-fashion giants Zara and H & M, introducing new merchandise, brands and style and fashion at least once a week, rather than every month.

“Scarcity is built into the process, compelling consumers to visit more often to hunt for what’s new, and when finding it, to buy it, since it will probably be gone in a day or two.”

Brisbane's first Zara store in Queen Street Mall. Picture: Tara Croser.

Originally published as New retail giants bringing treasure hunt shopping experience to Australia