Being an international shopper (yeah I live for shopping) I have been telling my friends about how it sucks to shop in Australia all these years. You usually pay much higher prices for less satisfactory products. I was told that because Australia is far away with a smaller market so it is much more expensive to sell products – so the costs drove up the prices. If we are talking about High Street fashions and electronic products, I can understand that, but even for daily products, Australia is still way more expensive than other places. A pack of 4 AA batteries in Sydney can cost you easily up to AU$7 but in Hong Kong, a pack of 16 AA batteries – same brand and not counterfeit, is just around AU$5. The huge price differences caused me to stock up batteries every time when I visit my parents there. Another good example is video games. Video games in Australia are easily a third more to double the prices to their overseas counterparts – Hong Kong, US and Japan. So it is not surprising that people who have limited income, unlike Gerry who is a billionaire, will choose to shop overseas and online!
Another major issue with local retailers is the product model. I remember when I first moved to Sydney, I needed a mini hi-fi system as I can’t live without music. I went into a shop and asked for a multi-discs system. I paid AU$250 and got one but it was the same model that I had for 10 years back home (and of course obsoleted in the market 8 years ago). I was told at that time that it was the latest model they have. I thought it was absurd but then when I checked other stores, they were all saying the same thing. Similarly, with mobile phones, Australia is usually one or two cycles behind other markets unless it is a major product like iPhone and BlackBerry. I once tried to find a Nokia phone for a friend in Sydney when I went back to Hong Kong because it was a new model in Sydney so it was extremely expensive. I went around all the shops, all of them told me that the model is no longer available because it was phased out a year ago and replaced by newer models. So for tech savvy people who want the latest technology, of course shopping online is the best way to get the latest gadgets. If Harvey Norman or other retails stores are not stalking them, they surely cannot complain about people are not shopping from them.
Further, the range of products in Australia is far more limited as compare to overseas. In Sydney, you can only find three to four styles of soap dishes available, at around AU$10. However when you go overseas to places such as Japan and Hong Kong, you have aisles and aisles of soap dishes to choose from. They will come in different styles, sizes, colours and looks etc. And they are all a fraction of the price you pay in Australia. I usually get a lot of household items back from Hong Kong simply because I got something to choose from and they are so much cheaper even if you need to pack them into your luggage to bring them here. This is the same for skin care products where you have a lot more to choose from and at very reasonable prices.
So, with products that are cheaper, more current and with more choices, you don’t need an expert to tell these retail giants why Australians are leaving them to shop online. The claim made by these retail giants is like they are crying foul over the foul they created. Furthermore, when did these people care about other people’s jobs when they are just importing products that are made in China, India and South East Asia? If they care about people’s jobs, then they should sell more Australian made products and promote them to the world. And a bit of research would tell you that Gerry Norman was the person who in 2008 said charity is a waste of money as they help people who don’t deserved to be helped – who are usually people at the lower end of the society.
With so much hypocrisy jetting out like venoms from the fangs of a rattle snake, no wonder there are backlashes from the society. I’m amazed that these people could even come out and make those claims and present themselves as saviours for the working class. To be honest, if they are willing to cut their million or even billion dollar pay checks by 10%, we can already get a lot of products from their shops at a cheaper price, but would they be willing to do so? So don’t blame the customers for deserting your stores cos what goes around comes around. You desert the Australian workforce to get goods from overseas; customers desert you to buy stuff from overseas directly. That’s the free global market you guys have been championing in the past. You can’t just come back and say that it is wrong now because you couldn’t add another million to your bank account.
