That was the word on the street, when the Daily Liberal asked the people of Dubbo what shop they would put in the city if they had the choice.

The Daily Liberal yesterday reported Grow Dubbo had spoken to different owners of land around the Milestone Hotel in Macquarie Street, and made non-binding and short-term agreements to develop the area into a shopping centre.

Grow Dubbo has also approached different national retailers to see if there was any interest in opening their stores in Dubbo, as a way to attract wayward shoppers back to the city - though it did not disclose which retailers it had approached.

Amy Carrig said Dubbo would definitely benefit from a Kmart.

She said she was stopped yesterday by a woman from out of town asking where Kmart was.

“I said to her, ‘I’m sorry but we don’t actually have a Kmart in Dubbo’, and she was shocked,” Ms Carrig said.

“‘You don’t have a Kmart?’ she said to me.”

Ms Carrig said she would really like to see a ‘Cotton On Kids’ store in Dubbo, but opening a Kmart here would be a very good move.

“I think a lot of people would like to see a Kmart here,” she said.

Samantha Lees, Wendy May, Helen Higgins and Ray Davis all had Kmart on the top of their list for a new shop in Dubbo.

“Kmart has more variety, good prices and will attract more visitors,” Ms Lees said.

“It’s reasonably priced and has good options,” Mrs Higgins said.

Diane Meylan said Dubbo needed more options for plus-size clothing, and a Kmart would be a good start to that.

“There’s a lack of plus-size clothes shops in Dubbo,” she said.

She also said Kmart often had good sales and cheap prices.

“You need specials with the economy like it is.”

Some passers-by overheard the question and did not have time to stop, but they made sure the Daily Liberal knew they wanted to see a Kmart in Dubbo.

“We are well overdue for a Kmart,” they said.

Margaret Volk and Rachel Bambrick both said Dubbo needed a Harris Farm for cheap, fresh fruit and vegetables, and Jess Smith and Samantha Glenn said they would benefit from Ice, a popular clothes store in Sydney.

Andrew Logan differed from the pack saying he would like to see another car supply shop, and Charmane Wray wanted Esprit, another clothes shop.

carly.dolan@ruralpress.com