How Kmart’s side hustle is taking over the world

Australia’s economy needs more than houses and holes in the ground – and the rise of Anko shows exactly how.

The Kmart-owned home and lifestyle brand has quietly become one of Australia’s most surprising global success stories, and its rapid store rollout across the Philippines could point to the future of retail property here at home.

Anko will open its fourth store in the Philippines next month, a 1465sq m mega space at Ayala Malls Manila Bay-Parañaque, just months after unveiling its biggest store yet at TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.

By the end of the year, it expects to have five branches across Manila, all primed for the lucrative Christmas rush.

It’s a bold move in a nation of more than 100 million people – one that signals the brand’s ambitions go far beyond being Kmart’s in-house label.

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Anko is taking over the Philippines – but could we see something similar happening in Australia.

The Kmart-owned brand could shake up Australia’s property market.

But Anko’s meteoric rise isn’t just about selling $4 T-shirts and budget-friendly plates – it’s a blueprint for the kind of entrepreneurial success Australia desperately needs.

For years, Australian retailers have talked about “going global,” but Anko is actually doing it.

And while the Philippines expansion is impressive, the bigger question for Australia is this: why not here?

Dedicated Anko stores on home soil could reshape the retail property market, creating demand for new mid-sized spaces and reinvigorating tired shopping centres.

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Anko is known for its cheap clothing and homeware items, which are currently stocked at Kmart.

Just as Costco and Aldi forced landlords and competitors to rethink floor plans and customer flows, Anko could bring a similar shockwave – only this time with an Australian-grown brand at the helm.

The success also puts pressure on Kmart itself.

If Anko proves it can stand alone internationally, it’s only a matter of time before shoppers and landlords alike start asking: when will it stand alone in Australia?

With Treasurer Jim Chalmers warning the economy isn’t productive enough, Anko offers a rare story of innovation – one that combines low prices with global ambition.

It’s a reminder that Australia’s future wealth won’t come just from houses and iron ore, but from building brands that can hold their own on the world stage.

For now, the eyes of the retail property sector will be fixed firmly on Manila.

Because if Anko’s stores thrive there, it could set the stage for a shake-up much closer to home.