Although Mr Picard said he could not comment directly on Kmart's competition at Okara, he said Kmart offered "low prices and good quality products".
"The Whangarei store will carry over 50,000 products which are not available anywhere else. We looked at the competition and our model and we think we will serve our market well."
The retailer will carry goods such as women's, men's and children's clothing, household goods, toys, cosmetics, sporting and outdoor goods, hardware and stationary.
It will also have a photo centre.
"We will be opened from 8am to midnight, seven days a week, allowing busy Northland families to get some shopping in after work."
The job vacancies were listed on listings website Seek.co.nz on August 25 and applications close on Monday.
It is expected that interviews for the positions will take place on September 9 and 10, with staff taking up employment in October for training programmes and store preparation.
Many of the part-time roles, Mr Picard said, were for 30-hour shifts, and more than a dozen full-time roles were available. "Three of the five managers that we have recruited are also from this area," he said.
The company was also working with Work and Income in Whangarei to help job seekers apply for Kmart positions.
"Many of our employees have come from Winz, or other companies."
Hill Construction Ltd is still working on the store, due to open in late November.
The Kmart chain was founded in America in 1899, arriving in Australia in 1968 and Henderson in Auckland in 1988.
