There truly is no place in the world more sacred to Aussie mums than Kmart. It’s a bright and basic utopia with all the things you need to furnish your Live Laugh Love home aesthetic. But, as some good folk of Reddit have uncovered, it wasn’t always that way… Kmart used to have grunge.
In a post made to the Reddit page r/Australia the user u/leohutt567 shared a relic from a past long forgotten — 1993.
The relic in question? A page from a Kmart magazine.
On this ancient text were many ideas that have since been lost in time, such as “Lay-by”, whatever that is.
But most prominent on the page were four models, decked out in a style of clothing that featured clashing eras and patterns, with plenty of denim and ripped clothing.
“Get into Grunge!” Kmart’s tagline declared loudly.
Get into grunge with Kmart!
byu/leohutt567 inaustralia
While the type of fashion used in the 90s is hardly new — and is in fact coming back — there was one element of the historic magazine that got the attention of the folk of Reddit.
The high prices.
In the Year Of The Lord 2024, we are currently facing a cost of living crisis, high supermarket prices, and massive inflation. So seeing high prices is not noteworthy.
Except for the fact that this was a magazine from 1993, and it looked like the prices of the products were MORE than what Kmart would charge now.
“Kmart must be absolutely inflation proof,” one user wrote.
“Exactly what I was thinking as I stand here in my Kmart basic $8 tee,” responded another.
Plenty of netizens were shocked at the notion that Kmart would cost more back in the 90s than now.
And when you take a look at the prices of current Kmart items for contrast, you’ll see how much cheaper things are now.
Take the $29 baby doll dress pictured in the grunge advertisement. For comparison, on Kmart’s site you can now find similar print dresses for almost half the price.
“$20 for a skirt or shirt at Kmart would be expensive now,” commented a shocked user.
Some users attempted to explain the low prices by implying that the reason Kmart has not faced the effects of inflation in the same way is due to the store utilising cheap off-shore production and cutting corners on the quality of the products.
“Thanks to the hard working children of South East Asia, that $29 dress would probably now be $4,” one user stated.
Another made the point that: “The $29 dress is also five times better quality.”
Kmart denies this accusation, and states in its Ethical Sourcing Code that:
“Suppliers must not engage in or support the use of child labour. They must comply with the minimum employment age limit defined by national law or by International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, whichever is higher.”
If only Kmart still stocked good grunge outfits.
