Department Stores & Fashion Catalogue This Week in Australia

Five department stores and one jeweller

This hub is small and says what it is. Five of the six stores are department stores in the Australian sense: Big W, Kmart stores, Target stores, Myer stores and Harris Scarfe. The odd one out is Prouds The Jewellers, a chain of jewellery shops. Shoppers open its catalogue the same way, so it lives here.

Who owns who

Ownership explains a lot about how these folders behave. Kmart and Target both sit with Wesfarmers. Target started as George Lindsay and Alex McKenzie's Geelong fabric shop in 1926, was bought by Myer Emporium as a 16-store chain, opened its first store under the Target name in October 1970 and had 120 department stores in 2026 per Wikipedia. Big W is a division of Woolworths Group. Harris Scarfe was founded in Adelaide in 1849 as a hardware business and has belonged to Spotlight Group since April 2020, with about 60 stores in 2025 though figures vary.

Reading the questions people actually type

Google Suggest shows how Australians use these folders. For Big W they ask for the catalogue "next week", the "end date" and, loudest of all, "when does the toy sale end". For Kmart it is "price match policy" and "catalogue next week". Myer searches are about sale dates, stocktake and Black Friday, and its price match policy, with Chemist Warehouse oddly named in one query. Harris Scarfe is plainer: current, this week, next week. People even search "Kmart vs Target vs Big W", which says many shoppers see the three as interchangeable even though ranges differ.

Price promises, read properly

• Myer: the Competitive Pricing Policy covers an identical product at another Australian retailer, requested in person in store before you buy. It excludes online-only retailers, member-only prices and prices reached through points or vouchers.
• Big W: the Woolworths Group newsroom says the 2026 Toy Sale carried a Price Match Promise on identical stocked products advertised lower by competitors, in store only, with exclusions. That promise ran from 9 June to 8 July, and ShopBack reports no general promise.
• Kmart: a Price Promise is described by a third-party guide, which is not an official source, so ask in store.
• Target: layby is not available in all stores per the official help page.

Returns: policy versus law

Returns are where these stores differ most. Kmart said that from 1 August 2024 change-of-mind refunds need a receipt, the window is 60 days and OnePass members get one year, per The Nightly. Cosmetics, pierced jewellery and printer cartridges are not eligible. Myer accepts change-of-mind returns within 30 days with proof of purchase, extended to 31 January for November and December purchases, but excludes clearance and Big & Bulky items. Prouds will exchange online purchases or give a gift card within 30 days if the piece is unworn, and says it is not obliged to refund a change of mind. Big W's 90-day window comes from a policy text reproduced on Woolworths pages.

None of that is the law. The ACCC says consumer guarantees do not cover a change of mind or finding the item cheaper elsewhere, though a business must follow its own change-of-mind policy. A shop cannot remove your right to a repair, replacement or refund for faulty goods, and "no refunds" signs are illegal.

The seasonal rhythm

Department stores run on a calendar rather than a weekly rota. The Big W Toy Sale starts in June and leads into Christmas, with free layby on Toy Sale purchases and a final pick-up in November per the 2026 release. Myer pushes stocktake and mid-season events, Black Friday draws Target searches, and Prouds attracts catalogue interest around gifting seasons, including "catalogue 2026". Hours shift too: Macquarie Centre's Myer trades 10am to 6pm on Sundays and the Big W 9am to 6pm, but those are single-centre examples. Public holidays follow state rules. In 2026 SmartCompany reported NSW non-exempt retail closed all day on Anzac Day, while Victoria held shops until 1pm and Tasmania until 12.30pm.

Getting more from the catalogue

Start with the end date, not the front page. Toy sale folders in particular are time-boxed, which is why "end date" shows up so often. Then decide whether a store is worth a membership: Myer's MYER one is free, while Kmart's OnePass costs money but pays back in the longer returns window. For food and everyday basics, hop over to the supermarkets hub, and for the whole picture go back to the Australian catalogue home.