Amazon has been slowly gearing up for its launch in Australia, and the kind of media response they are attracting is reminiscent of Wal-Mart’s international expansion in the last decade. Wherever Wal-Mart went, local players were up in arms, and kept talking about how Wal-Mart will kill the local stores if it comes in. Now, Amazon is being subjected to the same sentiment.
Take a look at some of the sensational headlines across the Australian media landscape:
“The expansionist U.S. company could grab as much as $4 billion in sales from established players, with JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman the most vulnerable.” – Dailymail
“AMAZON is planning to “destroy” Australian retail when it lands in September next year with prices 30 per cent cheaper than local stores, according to reports.” – News.com.au
The Australian e-commerce market is expected to reach AUD 32 billion in 2017, and will be one of the top ten electronic retail in the world. The growth in e-commerce is understandable because Internet penetration in Australia is one of the highest in the world, reaching nearly 90% of the population. With monthly retail turnover running in the billions, Australia is a very attractive market for Amazon.
Source: BusinessInsider (SA – Seasonally Adjusted)
Naturally, the entry of Amazon has evoked strong emotions in the local market. Amazon already has its website up and running in Australia, but the list of products is nowhere near what we generally see from Amazon because the company is still in the process of setting up its operations in the country.
But the problem seems to be this:
“Australians can, of course, already buy from Amazon, but local warehousing dramatically expands the kinds of products Amazon can deliver – and it slashes delivery times.
The company would not comment to ABC News, but it has hired more than a hundred people in Sydney for roles including logistics, IT and security” – ABC
A quick look at the Amazon Australia’s career section revealed that recruiting is underway. There were 111 open positions in Sydney, 14 in Melbourne and 10 in Brisbane at the time of writing this article.
Amazon is clearly not looking back, and Australia will eventually have to relent because of the power of the consumer, the power of savings and the power of convenience. True, businesses that aren’t prepared to handle the onslaught may perish, but that’s the ultimate cost of progress.
Besides, it’s not just a Down Under phenomenon.
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