Kaufland hits Melbourne as supermarket wars step up

The supermarket wars are set to set up as Kaufland has secured its first site in Melbourne.

Kaufland, a discount German retailer, has purchased an empty Bunnings site in Dandenong for $16.4 million.

Kaufland is part of the Schwarz Group, the fourth-biggest retailer in the world.

Its “hypermarket” stores are typically four to five times bigger than a Coles or Woolworths.

The Gladstone Road, Dandenong property in Melbourne’s south-east includes 12,000 square metres of retail space on 3.3 hectares of land.

The Herald Sun said Spanish-born Jon Ruiz del Portal was appointed to the Kaufland Australia board this week.

It spent $25 million to buy a major site in the fringe of the Adelaide central business district last month.