Online U.S. retail giant Amazon enters Australian market

SYDNEY, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Online U.S. shopping giant Amazon has officially launched operations in Australian on Tuesday, with the brand looking to make an impact in the lead up to the busy Christmas period.

Their 24,000-square-meter warehouse in the outskirts of Melbourne will offer 23 consumer categories ranging from books, electronics, clothing, home improvement, kitchen goods, health and beauty and baby products.

Australian country manager Rocco Braeuniger told local media that "by concentrating on providing a great shopping experience and by constantly innovating on behalf of customers, we hope to earn the trust and the custom of Australian shoppers in the years to come."

But not everyone is happy about the e-commerce platform's expansion into Australia.

Among the hardest hit by the new player will be Aussie department stores like David Jones, Myer, Harvey Norman and JB HiFi, who are already under heavy pressure from a weakening retail sector down under.

Adding fuel to the fire, Amazon has offered a one-day delivery service across Sydney and Melbourne over the Christmas holiday period.

But Capital Economics chief Australia & New Zealand economist Paul Dales explained to Xinhua that not much change will be seen in the next couple of months.

"Over a fairly long period of time, however, the influx of Amazon and other foreign retailers will put extra downward pressure on retailers," he said.

"Simply because when there's more discounted competition retailers will have to squeeze their margins to get people coming into stores."

In 2018, Amazon also plan to take on the country's largest supermarket chains with their brand AmazonFresh, offering delivery services for fresh food online. Enditem