By Mitchell Clarke
Plans to build a Kaufland store in Pakenham won’t come to fruition, after the German giant chain announced they’ll be pulling out of the Australian market.
The hypermarket chain announced in August last year they had plans to bring their empire to the south-east, with a planning application lodged to build a site on the Princes Highway in Pakenham.
If approved, the development would include a supermarket covering almost 3800 square metres, a bottle shop, mall and a food hall.
One of the world’s largest retailers, Kaufland’s Victorian investment was estimated to be worth $435 million and would create 15,000 jobs.
“With five approved stores, as well as the additional nine sites under review, we are committed to our long term, sustainable growth across Victoria,” Kaufland Australia managing director Julia Kern said in August.
“We look forward to creating thousands of jobs and creating opportunities for local businesses.”
But now 200 jobs will be lost after the shock announcement on Wednesday 22 January.
In a statement, Kaufland said: “This decision is about focusing business activities in Europe and is in no way a reflection of the efforts of our local employees or management, or the support Kaufland has received from the Australian business community or governments.”
