E-commerce giant Amazon has launched in Australia, ending months of speculation around the timing of its opening to Australian customers. Amazon had already been selling Kindle e-reader devices, audio books and content from its Australian website. The company has kicked into full gear, offering its own products and items sold by small local retailers.
Amazon is known for sacrificing profit for sales through aggressively low prices. While its greater presence in Australia is expected to benefit customers, it is likely to bring more pain for local retailers.
The US retail giant will now allow Australians to choose from millions of products across more than 20 categories.
Large local electronics retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman are expected to be among the hardest hit by Amazon's deeper footprint.
Key Australian retail stocks for both companies slumped on the news, while Morgan Stanley analysts have previously warned that Kmart and Target's parent company Wesfarmers could lose 400 million dollars in annual earnings to Amazon by the 2026 financial year.
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