Amazon finally arrives Down Under

Amazon has made its long-awaited entry into Australia. Shoppers Down Under could previously buy through the e-tailer’s US site. From today they can do so locally, with the company setting up a distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne.

With Australia’s mainstream media providing wall-to-wall coverage of the launch, and predicting the worst for traditional retailers, is the end of bricks and mortar shopping nigh? “It’s true Amazon could buy all listed Australian retailers with ‘walk-around money’ in just 23 months. With a market capitalisation of almost $US550 billion it is the fourth-largest company on earth. Of the 1.1 billion global websites Amazon has five of the top 100,” says Mark Ganz, Director, Client Insights at ANZ.

“It’s for this reason the headlines rack up because what Amazon says and does moves the market. Ultimately what it will do is force existing retailers to change their operations in order to compete, but that is actually something the sector is well used to. While Amazon will change the game, there’s plenty of life left in retail yet.”