Amazon coming to Australia
Amazon is launching its Marketplace platform in Australia and is reportedly on the look-out for suitable fulfilment and warehousing facilities. According to a report published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Amazon is eyeing potential property in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to the first of many fulfilment centres to come.
The company issued a short notice about its plans: “Amazon Web Services launched an Australian region in 2012, we launched a Kindle store on amazon.com.au in 2013 and we now have almost 1000 employees in the country.
“The next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia, and we are making those plans now.”
Amazon added: “We are optimistic that by focusing on the things we believe customers value most – low prices, vast selection and fast delivery – over time we’ll earn the business of Australian customers.”
While some of Australia’s e-commerce may see Amazon’s move as a potential threat, others see it as a positive development.
James Chin Moody, CEO of Sendle, a courier service for the digital economy, told Post&Parcel today (21 April): “Amazon’s impending arrival in Australia is a nod toward growing confidence in our e-commerce sector. In the short term, Amazon will help get Australians even more comfortable with online shopping give the whole e-commerce market a boost.
“Competition is healthy for the sector and provides a better outcome for customers. It will push the e-commerce market to keep improving and in the long term, we’ll see that customer expectations around the shopping experience and shipping times will change.”
