If you’re like us, you can’t resist a good deal. And when it comes to buying furniture, electronics and appliances without breaking the bank, most of us turn to Kmart, The Warehouse or Briscoes. But how do these companies compare in products and services provided? Each store is targeting a slightly different customer. To help you get the best deal on your next purchase we’re going to take a look at these 3 companies and also see where newcomer Costco fits in.
Kmart
Loved by students and young adults alike for its low prices, Kmart is a popular Australian-based department store owned by the Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers. The store sells almost everything, from furniture and kitchenware to clothing and stationery. Many of its products are produced by Anko, Kmarts own-brand label.
Consumer watchdog Consumer NZ has some conflicting thoughts on Kmart. On one hand, they slammed Kmart’s $29 blender for being “built-to-fail”, saying it showed signs of failure within weeks. On the other, they found Kmart’s $17 frying pan to outperform similar offerings from far pricier brands such as Scanpan and Le Creuset. It's worth doing your research beforehand because there are some great deals to be found at Kmart. Stuff picked up that their review of a $69 microwave (Anko 20 litre) shows that it outperformed even $500 models from brands such as Miele, Breville and Panasonic.
Popular TikTok influencer Ellie Young reviewed Kmart’s shapewear (Seamfree Bodysuit which retails for $17 in NZ) and gave it her thumbs up. This compares to alternative from the likes of SKIMS by Kim Kardashian which is almost 10x more in price. Young's video attracted more than 1.7M views of her clip.
It's worth doing your research beforehand because there are some great deals from electronics, appliances to furniture and clothes and most things in between to be found at Kmart. Whether you’re looking to kit out an entire flat or just a room, you will struggle to find lower prices without searching TradeMe or Facebook Marketplace. Their furnishings are relatively low-quality, but considering the price, there’s not much to complain about. The same is true for most of their stock.
As Kmart continues to expand across New Zealand with 26 stores, it is becoming far more accessible to Kiwis all across the country. Most stores are opened till 12am (Manukau’s store opens 24 hours) which is point of difference and makes it very accessible to shoppers. For those of you that are still not close to a store, there is still online option - read more below to find out how their online shopping experience compares.
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The Warehouse
A step-up from the likes of Kmart, The Warehouse is New Zealand’s own department store, owned by NZX listed company The Warehouse Group (who also own Noel Leeming, Warehouse Stationery and Torpedo 7). Established in 1982, The Warehouse is arguably New Zealand’s most well known retailer. The man behind this, Sir Stephen Tindall, is well known to many in New Zealand for his business acumen and success, and also Tindall Foundation - a charitable organisation that supports many community initiatives.
Much like Kmart, they also sell a massive variety of goods from technology and stationery to furniture and toys. A notable difference is many Warehouse stores also have a gardening centre. More recently, The Warehouse, has started to enter into the grocery segment of the market and is looking to compete with the established supermarket chains.
Offering financial services, insurance in particular, had been a point of difference for The Warehouse. Unsurprisingly, their price points were competitive however this is no longer being offered to new customers. But now you can shop and compare insurance prices and benefits using Market Scan by Quashed. It’s free and easy to save on your insurance. In 2023, the average household savings found across car, house and contents insurance is $2,023.
Consumer NZ has also reviewed several items that can be purchased from The Warehouse. One item in particular that was recommended is a $220 stroller (Mother’s Choice Ava Stroller) which scored strongly against more established and expensive brands such as Phil & Teds and Edwards & Co. Safety rating featured strongly for the stroller that can be picked up at The Warehouse.
Most furniture, appliances, electronics and even clothes from The Warehouse is of ‘decent enough’ quality and comes with a reasonable price tag to match. We found for most items you’ll be paying slightly more than at Kmart but get a slightly higher quality as well as potential name brands. Like Kmart, The Warehouse also has an own-brand product line called Living & Co which is often price-comparable to Anko.
We think that you should head to The Warehouse if you are looking for a one-stop shop as you would likely be able to find everything you need under their roof. They feature strongly for technology and you can even pick up an Xbox, Playstation or Switch alongside your gardening tools, clothes and now milk or bread.
There are over 260 stores across the country which makes it easily accessible. There is also the online store and MarketPlace for those of us that would prefer to do your shopping from the comfort of your home. Find out how the online shopping experience stacks up below.
Briscoes
Briscoes is owned by NZX traded Briscoes Group Limited which also owns Rebel Sport. You probably know them from their never-ending stream of sale adverts fronted by ‘The Briscoes Lady’. Briscoes comes in at the higher end of our comparison with a range boasting many name-brand manufacturers from Breville to Nespresso and even Dyson appliances. Kiwis will be familiar with Briscoes as we would be with Rebel Sports. You would typically find the two next to each other in most locations.
Unlike Kmart and The Warehouse, Briscoes’ product line is much more focussed on homeware including kitchen appliances, linen and bedding. It pays to wait for a sale if you’re eyeing up an item from Briscoes as these are frequent and it is not uncommon to see huge discounts ranging from 25% to 50%. No surprise then Kiwis love to shop at Briscoes which has led to very profitable years for this business.
We think you should be heading to Briscoes if you are after branded appliances and/or bedding as they offer a wider selection compared to Kmart and The Warehouse. There are 48 Briscoes stores across NZ and they also offer online shopping which includes Click and Collect.
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Costco
Costco is the newest player on the scene with the American giant opening its first New Zealand store in Auckland’s Westgate in September last year. The low-cost retailer operates a member-only business model. This means in order to shop at Costco you have to buy a membership, currently selling for $60 for personal use and $55 for Business. Costco generates most of its profit from this membership fee, claiming to apply a maximum markup of 14% above cost to its products (at least in the US). This means Costco is an easy way to access goods at or near wholesale value.
Since opening, Costco has picked up more than 150,000 members - an amazing feat considering there is still only a single store in New Zealand (Westgate). It offers shoppers everything from electronic goods such as TVs and vacuum cleaners to groceries such as turkey, muffins, and instant meals and daily living items such as washing detergent.
Costco does not have an online store in New Zealand yet but their point of difference is that they, like PaknSave, have their own petrol station which offers heavily discounted fuel for their members. It won’t be a surprise to see more Costco stores opening up all across New Zealand now that they have established their presence here and are quickly gaining fans by the tens of thousands.
We think Costco offers the widest range of products compared to the other retailers we have compared in this article. However, the downside to shopping here is the upfront membership cost and also most of their everyday items are only sold in bulk which makes it difficult for a small family or if you do not have much storage space.
Online Experience
Online retail is booming. An estimated 53% of Kiwis shopped online in 2021 according to a report by NZ Post. With that in mind, it is important for a retailer to provide a simple and complete online experience. We’ll take a quick dive into what shopping online is like with each retailer.
Kmart’s online website is fairly simple to use. You can browse an extensive range of products and view whether items are in stock with your local store. Click and collect is free for orders over $20, otherwise, a $3 service fee applies. You can only order click and collect on in-stock items. Similarly, standard orders over $65 will ship for free whilst a fee of $5-$12 will apply for orders under $65, depending on where in the country you are. Large items will incur additional fees. Overall Kmart’s website provides a pleasant experience for both online ordering and browsing in-store stock.
The Warehouse provides a very similar online experience. Their website has a large range of stock and all the expected functionality. You can’t view how much stock a store has directly, but it will tell you if same-day click and collect is available (usually it's a reasonable assumption in this case they do have stock). Click and collect is free for standard-sized items (oversized items cost $30). Unlike Kmart, you can order click and collect items that are not in stock (you will have to wait for them to arrive in your chosen store). Shipping costs between $6-$9 for standard items and up to $69 for oversized items. All in all, The Warehouse provides a very similar experience to Kmart with the added bonus of being able to click and collect items not in stock.
Briscoes provides an excellent online experience. The website is fairly easy to navigate and has a wide variety. You can easily view whether or not your local store has stock and click and collect is available at all stores for $3. Delivery for standard items costs $7, oversized items cost $75 and delivery to the outer islands incurs additional costs. Annoyingly, delivery fees were hidden on the terms and conditions page and click and collect fees were similarly difficult to find.
Costco Australia operates an online store for its Australian customers which is fairly simple but limited. They currently only offer delivery to business customers out of a small number of warehouses. However, it seems they are planning to expand this in the future. As of the time of writing Costco operates no online retail presence in New Zealand but this could change.
Kmart | The Warehouse | Briscoes | |
|---|---|---|---|
Click and Collect | Free | Free, except oversized items ($30) | $3 |
Click and Collect for items not in stock | No | Yes | Yes |
Delivery (standard items) | $6-$12 depending on location | $7 (MarketClub members) $8 (Non-MarketClub members) $10 Rural delivery | $7 |
Delivery (oversized items) | Fee varies by size | $75-$90 | $75 |
View stock levels | Yes | No | Yes |
Which store should you shop at?
The answer to this question comes down to three key considerations,
What is your budget
What level of quality do you expect
What you are buying
Kmart, The Warehouse and Briscoes do not all stock the same items. Briscoes only has homeware whilst The Warehouse is the only one to have gardening supplies. Kmart and The Warehouse both stock a broad range of furniture whilst Briscoes has only a very limited stock.
If you are on the tightest of budgets then we think Kmart is definitely your saviour. They’re perfect for kitting out that student flat without breaking the bank, especially for kitchenware and storage furniture. The overall quality of their products may be behind that of Briscoes and even The Warehouse but is good enough to get you through.
Depending on what you are after, we’d consider The Warehouse to be a step up in both price and quality from Kmart. In saying this, their Living & Co line-up of appliances is very similar to Kmart’s in regards to both price and quality.
Researching before you buy is also helpful and there are resources such Consumer NZ that could help you weed out the goods that are good versus those that are not so good. Spending five minutes could be well worth it.
Briscoes is in most cases more expensive than The Warehouse but has higher quality items and stocks name brands. After a Nespresso machine or Gordan Ramsey dining set? Briscoes has you covered.
What about Costco? The new kid on the block, Costco, have now established themselves as a competitor. They appear to have the widest selection of goods and groceries on offer but they are only available to you if you have a membership and you’re close by to their store in Auckland.
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Comparison Summary
Kiwi consumers on the hunt for furniture, kitchenware and appliances have a selection of choices across different price brackets being offered by Kmart, The Warehouse, Briscoes and now Costco. With the exception of Costco, we found these stores offer competitive online experiences as well as solid in-store services.
If budget is front-of-mind then Kmart is probably your best bet for most things, their Anko brand is rarely going to be beaten on price (although can be matched by The Warehouses’ Living & Co). However, in many cases, you will find higher-quality equivalents from name brands being stocked by Briscoes and Costco at a higher price. The Warehouse can make for a nice middle-ground and you’re probably find a local store only a few minutes drive from you.
Kmart | Warehouse | Briscoes | Costco | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of stores | 26 | 260 | 48 | 1 |
Opening times | 8am - 12am | 8am - 8pm | 9am - 5.30pm | 10am - 8.30pm |
Online store | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Membership | - | Optional - MarketClub | - | Required - $60 |
Items available | Furniture Appliances Bed & Bath Sports goods Clothes | Furniture Appliances Electronic Bed & Bath Sports goods Clothes Gardening Limited groceries | Furniture Appliances Bed & Bath | Furniture Appliances Electronics Groceries Surprise finds |
Advantages | Low cost Long opening hours | Wide selection Most physical stores Good online store Insurance (retired) | Branded appliances Frequent sales Low delivery fee | Bulk buying Low cost fuel Hot food |
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