The Reject Shop will soon be no longer.
After 44 years of operating under the Reject Shop banner, the shopping centre staple will soon have a whole different identity.
The new name? Dollarama.
And it’s just the beginning of the changes that lie ahead for the iconic Australian budget retailer.
Following the $259million acquisition in July 2025 by Canada’s Dollarama Inc, the eventual plan is to rebadge the Reject Shop.
Dollarama is already a booming chain store overseas with thousands of locations across North America and South America.
The new owners recently revealed their plans for Australian stores and the overarching plan is to reposition the stores as an ultra low-priced general merchandise store.
This will ultimately pit Dollarama stores head-to-head with Australia’s other budget retail shops, including Kmart, Target and Big W.
Farewell, The Reject Shop. After 44 years of operating in Australia under the iconic name, the Canadian business that acquired the stores has flagged its intentions to eventually change the store’s name to Dollarama
It’s not just the Reject Shop store name that is set to change in Australia. The current look of the store interior, including aisles and shelving, will be changed to resemble the well-established overseas Dollarama stores
The new business strategy is already being rolled out at select Reject Shop stores around Australia.
Eagle-eyed shoppers may have recently spotted changes to the store’s shelving, which will soon mirror the look of Dollarama stores abroad.
The new-look stores will also feature a revamped grid layout of long, parallel aisles, designed to guide shoppers through the entire store.
But perhaps the most enticing upcoming change for shoppers is Dollarama’s product pricing strategy.
Dollarama CEO Neil Rossy offered a glimpse into the business’ plans for its newly acquired Australian stores during a recent investor’s meeting.
And in news that should make Aussie shoppers excited, the Dollarama CEO declared that the biggest shift will centre around vastly lower price points.
Shoppers who’ve visited Dollarama’s Canadian stores may even be wondering whether the Australian stores will replicate their ‘nothing over $5’ pledge.
While at this stage no firm commitment has been made about mimicking that particular price promise, the CEO’s latest price comments hinted that Dollarama’s Australian stores could soon become a true discount store.
The Reject Shop stores in Australia will be eventually transformed to replicate the hugely successful Dollarmara stores. The Canadian business already has thousands of store locations in North and South America
‘[W]e will be simplifying the price point structure, including lowering the current pricing ceiling,’ Mr Rossy revealed at the recent shareholders meeting.
The CEO also outlined some of the other upcoming changes, including the ‘gradual process’ of selectively introducing Dollarama products into its Australian stores.
Mr Rossy said the company was already working closely with the current Australian team to phase in Dollarama’s low-cost imported merchandise and revamp the store’s current offering.
Dollarama Inc has also already registered dozens of local trademarks for brands and products that will soon be available in their Australian stores.
The other big plan for Dollarama in Australia is the goal of doubling the store count to 700 stores by 2034.
For context, there are currently 447 Kmart/Target stores and just 179 Big W stores around Australia.
It’s widely predicted that Dollarama could then pose a significant threat to the budget retail sector, which is currently dominated by Kmart, and also features Target and Big W.
Dollarama CEO Neil Rossy recently offered a glimpse into the business’ grand plans for their newly acquired Australian stores during an investor’s presentation meeting
The CEO also flagged that they were hopeful of creating a ‘convenient and consistent shopping experience’ throughout all their Australian Dollarama stores – just as they were renowned for overseas.
The store conversion process will ‘ramp up’ in 2027 and roll out over ‘an approximately three-year period’.
But sadly, the transformation process does however mean it’s soon to be the end of the road for The Reject Shop brand, which was founded in 1981 by Melbourne businessmen Ron Hall and John Shuster.
The Reject Shop name will slowly disappear as a growing number of stores are stocked with Dollarama products and begin to resemble the look and feel of the successful overseas discounter.
‘Once stores contain a critical mass of Dollarama products, we intend to bring them under the Dollarama banner,’ Mr Rossy confirmed.
The new business owners did however flag that this change would be a slow and gradual process.
‘It will take some time between now and [the] end of fiscal 2027 to really start feeling more like you’re walking into a Dollarama store,’ Mr Rossy said.
