By Aaron Cordy
IN A blow to the community of Kyabram, their K Hub will close its doors on February, 17 next year. It came as a shock to many in the town, it’s another blow for jobs in the region when the retail giant decided to not renew their lease and close for good.
Kmart chose not to respond to our enquiries but did reply to one concerned member of the Kyabram community who shared their response on social media.
“… We hope to continue serving the Kyabram community through our stores in Echuca and Shepparton as well as online. Supporting our team is also our priority. We are actively working with our thirteen affected team members to offer redeployment into other Kmart stores where we can. We want to thank the Kyabram community for their continued support. To help our customers through the busy Christmas period, there will be no changes to the store’s operations until February next year. We want to thank the community in Kyabram for their ongoing support for Kmart.”
The trouble is that half an hour’s drive in either direction is not always an option for some in the community. Many of the regular customers are on mobility scooters and have limited access to the services that would allow them to jump in the car and make the trip when they need a new kettle.
“They don’t know what they are doing to this town. People like me on scooters can’t get anywhere, I can’t get on the bus myself. But my main point is the 13 workers there. They know my name, what place knows the customer’s name. It’s really sad. Melbourne [Kmart Australia] wouldn’t know where Kyabram was.”
There is an online partition to save the K Hub on the Kyabram Community Connections Facebook page. Perhaps it’ll be the Christmas miracle many in the town are hoping for.
