HAMILTON KMART LAUNCHES 'TREASURE HUNT' THAT IS JUST STAFF ADMITTING THEY'VE LOST THE STOCK
Find an air fryer, win an air fryer. If you can find one. Which you can't.
The Hamilton East Kmart has rebranded its inability to locate a third of its stock as a 'Treasure Hunt', with shoppers invited to wander the aisles looking for items staff know exist but can't point to.
The promotion, advertised on a hand-written sign near the entrance, promises 'fun for the whole family'. The fun, according to one shopper, is that the kettle she ordered six weeks ago is 'somewhere in homewares'. Nobody will swear to it on paper.
Kylie Petersen, 34, of Claudelands, said she'd spent forty minutes looking for a sheet. "They told me it was in store. Then they told me it was in the back. Then they told me the back was just more front. I left with a candle I didn't want."
A Kmart worker, who asked not to be named because she'd already copped a bollocking this week, said the framing came down from above after stocktake. "We know it's here. We just don't know where here is. Management reckons that's the fun bit."
A Kmart spokesperson said the campaign was 'engaging customers in a playful way'. They declined to confirm whether the missing stock had been written off, nicked, or had just gone behind a pallet in 2023.
The treasure hunt runs until further notice, or until someone finds the label gun.
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Reader Letters
Trev_HamiltonWest
Mate, this is the kind of genius marketing we had back in the day. Remember those Warehouse sales? You had to fight for what you wanted. Builds character.
lostinthelounge
I swear my partner gets lost in Kmart even if she's just supposed to pick up one thing. Might end up with a garden gnome instead.
pedantic_pete
Actually, it's not a treasure hunt if the treasure isn't guaranteed. Proper treasure hunts have at least a map or a clue.
CathyF_Hillcrest
I work just down the road from this Kmart. I once spent 20 minutes trying to find a pair of socks. It's baffling but you kind of find unexpected stuff. Picked up a book I didn't know I wanted.
BarryBishop
THIS IS A PLOY BY THE COUNCIL TO KEEP US IN KMART INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING ABOUT RATES. DIVERSION TACTICS.
kaycee_te_awa
@BarryBishop You realise the council has nothing to do with Kmart, right? Just like mate, chill, it's just a shop.