Reject Shop to disappear as new owners reveal plan to tackle Kmart
Discount retailer The Reject Shop is set to undergo a major revamp and name change as its new owner looks to compete with the likes of Kmart and Big W.
The Reject Shop was bought by Canadian company Dollarama earlier this year, and CEO Neil Rossy revealed that the Canadian retial giant has big plans for its Australian acquisition.
“We are now starting to selectively phase in Dollarama products across categories,” Rossy told analysts after the company released its 2025 full-year results.
“Along the way, we will be simplifying the price point structure, including lowering the current pricing ceiling,” he said.
Dollarama operates more than 1600 stores across North and Latin America, and Australia.
It is expect the former Reject Shops will evolve into a low-priced general merchandise supermarket, similar to Dollarama in Canada, which feature supermarket-like shelving running lengthways throughout the stores.
There are plans to expand the Dollarama brand in Australia. Photo: Dollarama
Rossy said work has begun in deploying the Dollarama business model in Australian stores, with a phasing-in of select company merchandise already under way.
Dollarama has also applied for numerous local trademarks for its brands and products, including in homewares, plants and food storage.
Rossy said once Reject Shop stores had a critical mass of its products, the company would bring them under the Dollarama banner.
The rebranding and store conversion is expected to be completed within three years.
As well as rebranding and changing its stock strategy, Dollarama plans to dramatically increase its number of Australian stores to better take on low-cost competitors such as Kmart, Target and Big W.
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“The goal of the transformation road map is to optimise the business and set it up for accelerated growth,” Rossy said.
There are already 395 Reject Shop stores in Australia with a plan to expand the Dollarama chain to up to 700 outlets by 2034, making it bigger than most of its competitors combined.
Wesfarmers has a 447 Kmart and Target outlets, while there are currently Big W stores.
Rossy said the Australian arm would take years to deliver meaningful profits, but said the long-term potential was strong.
