20 April 2017:
World’s top e-commerce marketplace Amazon is expanding in Australia. The company on said it will open its online shopfront service in Australia, ending rumors about its plans and increasing the pressure on the domestic retail sector to catch up with the digital economy.
“We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace,” the company said in a statement, referring to its online shopfront.
Amazon is looking for its first warehouse in either Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne to become a fulfillment center. It will be the first of many in Australia, each with floor space of up to 93,000 square meters – the equivalent of 13 rugby fields.
Investors seemed to be taken by surprise by the timing of the announcement even though Australian retailers and consumers have long anticipated the arrival of the world’s biggest seller of goods as per the report by Reuters.
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While the company has long operated an Australian website, offering mainly Kindle books and mobile apps, local shoppers must access the American site for a wider category of items, which typically means slower delivery times and higher prices.
“We launched a Kindle store on Amazon.com.au in 2013, and we now have almost 1000 employees in the country,” an Amazon spokesman said. “We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace,” he added.
The Australian operation would be the U.S. giant’s fourth Amazon Marketplace in Asia after China, Japan and India and its 12th globally. It has three Amazon Marketplaces in the United States and five in Europe. (Cover Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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