Australia Post warns foreign giants set to dominate Australian online retail
Australia Post’s boss has issued a stern warning to shoppers about the dire impact of foreign retailers, pleading for them to back local players over cheap imports.
EXCLUSIVE: Foreign behemoths Amazon and Temu will control a majority of the nation’s web-based retailing by the end of the decade unless consumers get off “this drug of the cheapest product” and rally behind the home team, Australia Post’s CEO has warned.
Meanwhile, the boss of Australian-based online fashion marketplace The Iconic has questioned whether emerging competitor Shein can match his company’s efforts to have a supply chain that is free from slave labour.
AusPost chief Paul Graham told this masthead that Amazon and Temu’s degree of dominance was set to double in just five years.
The problem now is that “we’ve got people sort of hooked into this drug of the cheapest product available,” Mr Graham said.
“Our research shows us that by about 2030, Amazon and the other key platform players, Temu and Shein, will control around 50 per cent of the online market in Australia. It’s about 25 per cent today,” Mr Graham said.
That level of foreign control would do long-term damage to local retailing, both online and in-store, he cautioned.
The scenario could still be avoided if “we all rally around our … Team Australia banner and focus on making sure that we have a sustainable retail landscape and community in Australia,” he said.
“Support local retailers,” Mr Graham added. “Support small- to medium-(sized) businesses who’ve got niche products, who’ve done a great job in building a brand.”
Australia’s most popular online fashion marketplace, The Iconic, is under growing pressure from China-based giant Shein.
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The Iconic’s CEO Jere Calmes told this masthead that his company didn’t need regulation such as France’s €5 ($8.88) per item minimum tax on ultra-cheap fashion.
However, Mr Calmes added: “I would like to make sure that everybody who is in this market has the same set of rules.”
For example, he said The Iconic had rigorous policies and processes as part of its best efforts to “ensure that there is no slave labour in our supply chain”.
Asked whether Shein could make the same claim, he said “I don’t think so”, but added that it wasn’t a question for him.
A BBC exposé has alleged Shein factory employees are doing 75 hours a week with one day off a month.
Shein did not respond to requests for a response to Mr Calmes’ comments.
To win over local consumers and combat the foreign onslaught, AusPost and The Iconic are helping local fashion designers with speedier and more flexible delivery options.
Mr Calmes said: “We’ve invested a lot with Australia Post to bring next-day (delivery) to many of the eastern seaboard cities.
“That’s a very important service when you buy online – they don’t want to wait a week.”
Australian fashion designer Johnny Schembri said fast delivery was vital to his customers.
“She is last-minute and she is thinking about her weekend,” he said.
Many men were too, said Mr Schembri, whose By Johnny brand employs 12 people, including his sister and mother.
Amazon and Temu did not respond to requests for comment.
This article is part of the Back Australia series, which was supported by Australian Made Campaign, Harvey Norman, Westpac, Bunnings, Coles, TechnologyOne, REA Group, Cadbury, R.M.Williams, Qantas, Vodafone and BHP.
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