The operations of Kmart and Target are merging, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Monday. 

It may sound like a big deal, but it appears shoppers and most staff won't be affected by the change.

Who owns Kmart and Target?

Both Kmart and Target are owned by the same company — Wesfarmers. 

This isn't new. 

Wesfarmers has owned Target and Kmart since 2007, as part of its acquisition of Coles Group Limited. 

At the time, there were three divisions — one for Coles, one for Kmart and one for Target.

In 2018, Wesfarmers demerged with Coles, but kept Kmart and Target. 

Wesfarmers also owns Bunnings Warehouse, Beaumont Tiles, Officeworks and Priceline.

What does the merger mean?

Not much for shoppers.

"While Kmart and Target have traditionally been run as two separate businesses, we've been operating the two closely together as part of the Kmart Group division of Wesfarmers for some time," Kmart Group managing director Ian Bailey said in a statement.

He said the change was "an internal reorganisation of our support offices".

Does this mean Kmart and Target stores will merge?

"There are no impacts to the Kmart or Target stores," Mr Bailey said. 

He told the AFR Kmart and Target stores would remain separate. 

Will there be job losses?

Mr Bailey told the newspaper there would be "a handful of redundancies", but they'll mostly be in the technology and merchandise departments. 

"We will end up with more jobs in the business a year from now," he said. 

He did not elaborate on how many jobs would go. 

The ABC asked about what this meant for staff at Kmart and Target stores. 

"For store networks and 50,000 store team members – it's business as usual," Mr Bailey said. 

Why are Kmart and Target merging?

Mr Bailey said the company's focus was on "providing the best value products to the thousands of customers".

"This new operating model will unlock a new level of scale and productivity across both brands, so we can deliver even greater value to our customers in the future," he said. 

Mr Baily told the AFR the Kmart group had made some 1,000 price drops in the past fortnight, made possible by technology including a self-navigating robot that can take inventory.

He said the technology freed up staff of administrative duties to spend more time on product development.