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Wesfarmers has drawn the ire of Nationals deputy David Littleproud,who slammed the company for choosing to shut 50 regional Target locations.Credit:Eddie Jim

Gerard Dwyer,national secretary of retail union SDA,slammed Mr Littleproud's comments,saying a boycott would only serve to further hurt job prospects at the already-struggling chain.

"A boycott would only make matters worse,undermining the efforts of the SDA and Wesfarmers to keep workers in the regions in jobs and providing as many families in the regions as possible,"he said.

"Mr Littleproud's reckless suggestion again calls into question the commitment of the Nationals to the best interests of regional Australia."

Kmart Group managing director Ian Bailey told media on Friday the choice to close country locations was not one the company had made lightly but the remote locations,varied store format and complicated supply chains made regional stores unprofitable to run.

"We do understand the impact that has on regional communities ... if we could find an economic way of serving those communities with stores in those locations,we would love to have done so,"he said.

Specific locations set to be closed will be revealed in the coming days,but Mr Bailey said any country location which was already close to a Kmart,or under 1000 square metres,would likely be shut.

Target has been a weak member of Wesfarmers'portfolio for years,yet the major closure will be a fresh blow for the struggling retail sector which has been weathered by weak spending,poor consumer confidence and decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many more stores across the sector are expected to close in the coming months as pressures over wages and rents mount following the end of government stimulus in September.

Between 10 and 40 large format Target stores will be converted to Kmarts,subject to landlord support. An additional 52 Target Country stores,which are primarily located in regional areas,will also be converted to small-format Kmart stores.Credit:The Sydney Morning Herald

"We have made every effort within Wesfarmers to find a sustainable path forward for Target,"chief executive Rob Scott said on Friday."But unfortunately,we're fighting against a number of forces at play that makes it impossible to continue to run a Target business of the same size that we had 10 years ago."

The company will book up to $790 million in costs and impairments to close and convert the stores across this financial year and next. It estimates 10 per cent of Target's workforce,or between 1000 and 1300 staff,will be affected by the closures,including a"significant reduction"in head office support staff.

Options for the 100-odd remaining Target stores will be assessed and an update provided to investors at Wesfarmers'full-year results in August,with the company saying it is looking at further store closures and a change to Target's operating model to be more focused on online sales.

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