How a Kmart Brand Took Over Australia

For the past 5 years, one brand has taken Australia by storm. It appears in 88% of households and has over 10,000 products across its range: Anko. Kmart's homebrand has long been regarded as a mere word - but in reality, it's a whirring, toiling machine. In this episode, I investigate the inner workings of Kmart's cult brand, charting the circumstances leading to its birth, how it became so prolific, and why it's not going anywhere any time soon.

Second Channel: @SpiderDorainn

References:
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Created by Jake Dorian

[Tom-fxz]

Kmart is essentially an ali express or temu now with a store front

[BeastlyBones]

Interesting that we've circled back to Target just being Kmart again. I was surprised to find their shelves with nothing but Anko products last time I went.

[johnthomas]

The amount of garbage and disposable products Anko churns out is incredible. Go to any second hand store or drive around on hard waste pickup days and anko products are everywhere.

[caskcask]

BUT WHY ARE THE CHECKOUTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORE? riddle me that

[liamellis]

Hi, Target Australia employee here, a couple things I think are worth noting:
1. The % of products that are Anko is somewhat misleading. Our hard goods (all goods that aren't clothing) supplier has been replaced with the Anko supplier except our Manchester. All soft goods (clothing) are still the original supplier. This is all part of a cost cutting move as Target Aus is dying and is negative on profits to my knowledge, even the app I use to check/schedule shifts is borrowed and often tells me my "Kmart" shifts have been changed.

2. The significant majority of our Anko products are shipped from China, a country not only notorious for child/underpaid labour, but also notorious for notorious for lying about this sort of stuff as the country has different priorities for auditing its companies. pair that with its fast fashion style of products and I'd hazard a guess that the Anko production chain is shadier than you'd think

[alecroga]

The fact that you're 18/19 years old and making videos of this quality is insane!!!

Keen for more man, keep it up.

[danielnewman]

I wouldn't say that Anko is 'good' quality, but what makes me buy their stuff is that it is generally better than the price suggests. Usually when you buy something cheap you expect to throw it out quickly, but somehow Anko products tend last that bit extra length of time that makes you feel like you got a great deal. Like if I can get, almost or up to, half a year of use out of a pair of 'dress' work shoes that I bought for 20-25 bucks, that's a very good time per dollar usage in my eyes and makes it more attractive than a 120 buck pair that are 'better quality' but don't last the 4-5 times as long.

Also, great video mate, enjoyed it a lot!

[randynewman]

The only anko thing I trust is my little white electric coffee grinder that I don’t use to grind coffee







Edit: since everyone is liking this, I’ll give you guys a tip. Isopropyl alcohol from Bunnings. After you’ve scraped it clean of all the dust, give it a spray and wipe. It will be cleaner than the day you bought it

[harrythezomby]

Dude... Honestly shocked when I saw this only had 500 views. Really good production and editing! I've always wondered about the home and x stuff at Kmart being replaced with anko like overnight back a few years ago lol so thanks for the vid 🙏

[Delukatio]

One somewhat missed thing is that a cult following of Kmart existed strongly before the rise of TikTok. There have been Kmart Mum groups on Facebook for years and they've got a huge following. Back in 2018-19, air fryers were flying off shelves, the level of which I don't think I've seen another product reach (except for maybe these pot stands around the same time).

[alistair]

Kmart is a pre-landfill storage space in my eyes

[kitenkaiba]

I bought a genuine stanley cup because I enjoyed using the Kmart dupe so much. I never would have even known about the stanley cup if I had not spotted the dups in Kmart and I think that's an element to discuss and appreciate. Giving people entry to ideas and products that would be too much money to take a risk on or too outside their social network to have known about otherwise.

[stevenbalekic]

I bought a Russell Hobbs temperature adjust kettle for $150 and it lasted for 8 months and died. Next I bought an Anko kettle for $39 and we had it for around 7 or 8 years before it finally burned out.

[thehernandez]

Look, because of Anko they have provided me with a stable job at the Target Warehouse in Australia. $40 an hour just put their products on a pallet to be shipped out.

[MagicalWellecto]

New Zealander here, I've noticed Kmart is way better than what I remember it being in the past. I definitely think the announcement brand is the reason, not because it's top quality, but it seems decent quality for relatively cheap price.

[WilliApple]

So basically Kmart America and Kmart Australia are completely different!?

[Chloe-bjud]

Glad this popped up in my recommendations. I (and most likely many others - probably including yourself) have pretty much grown to see this transformation and all the business associated with Kmart, target, big W, woolies, coles, Bunnings and masters (for those who remember lol). I’ve always wondered how exactly anko became what it is today and your video summarised this incredibly well. Keep it up!

[LesterPing]

Amazing, high-quality production, cool narration, thought-provoking arguments… this channel deserves more looks and subs!

[sintvfx]

One of the only good youtube short docs ive watched. You should make one on Coles/Woolies

[AdamsCarWashVids]

Surprisingly in 2018/2019 Kmart Australia did actually try out something involving the international market, they opened a little shop in Alderwood Mall in Washington state and sold all Anko products there to try out the US market