Retail experts have reacted critically to Myer and Harvey Norman\u2019s ambitious plans to launch China-based websites in order to deliver GST-free goods to Australia.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Myer announced late last week the company is working on an international retailing website which will sell goods to Australian customers, shipping them from a warehouse in southern China to provide a GST-free transaction for consumers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes, the company is creating the new site as a result of the Federal Government\u2019s failure to address GST-free online shopping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Retailers have called for the current $1000 GST-free threshold to be lowered to curb shoppers from making online purchases from overseas suppliers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Myer\u2019s China-based website, which will be operating by February, will source products from the company\u2019s factory hub in Shenzhen, and use China Post and Australia Post for distribution.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brookes says if the Myer website proves successful, he believes other retailers such as Woolworths will create their own sites, further eroding GST revenue for the government.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey has already announced his own plan to launch a China-based website.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Harvey, a vocal supporter of the push to lower the GST-free threshold, told the Channel News website that he will follow in Brookes\u2019 footsteps.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe may even beat Myer to getting our shop up… We may not make a lot of money, but it\u2019s better than making no money at all,\u201d Harvey said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has said there is no immediate plan to lower the GST-free threshold, but the government acknowledges retailers\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n National Retailers Association spokesperson Michael Lonie is critical of the motives behind Myer and Harvey Norman\u2019s plans, saying it could be a ploy to get the government\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey could be trying to put pressure on the government [to lower the GST-free threshold],\u201d Lonie says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He says smaller retailers would struggle to set up and operate China-based websites because they lack the necessary infrastructure and workforce.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brian Walker, managing director of retail consulting company The Retail Doctor, is also critical of the retail giants\u2019 plans, describing online retailing as a \u201cmodern day gold rush\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is running [towards online retailing]; the cowboys are stampeding in\u2026 Would businesses like Harvey Norman and Myer seriously look at doing this? It\u2019s a game of margins \u2013 a 10% margin in this case,\u201d Walker says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re suggesting that investing in all this [China-based] infrastructure is going to save them 10%, that\u2019s a questionable proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Retail experts have reacted critically to Myer and Harvey Norman\u2019s ambitious plans to launch China-based websites in order to deliver<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}