Is Australia set for a US retailer invasion?

http://internationalbs.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/perhaps-theyre-yanking-our-chain/

by Specstacular • 16 years ago

5 15 16 years ago

internationalbs.wordpress.com

MattF2• 16 years ago

I'm an Aussie who's been living in the US for almost 3 years now and I'm amazed at how different the two cultures are, considering how similar they are :). I think the fashion chains have the name to survive, but it's the little things, like icecream and cookies, that will struggle. The preferred flavours and styles are just so different. For an intensely personal example, I haven't seen a Monte Carlo biscuit or anything like it for almost 3 years - I dream about the little buggers.

weeksie4• 16 years ago

Bingo, I can't believe that a US ice cream chain would have any chance of displacing any of the a-ma-zing local gelati shops. The Gap, Victoria's Secret, and Forever 21 will probably do just fine though.

//edit:

Oh yeah and how frickin' shocked was I to see Tim Tam's under the Pepperidge Farms label a while back. Or that they've started importing Darrel Leah licorice!

MattF2• 16 years ago

I think my parents are keeping Australia Post in business with their Tim Tam "care" packages...

dugmartin• 16 years ago

I was in Sydney last April for a wedding and I got addicted to Fountain Sweet Chilli Sauce. I bought a bunch of bottles and I'm down to my last one.

Import that.

weeksie4• 16 years ago

You can find sweet chili sauce at most Asian grocers in the states.

Specstacular• 16 years ago

The fashion chains do face one pretty nasty issue - different seasons... do they offer Aussies 6 month old styles each spring/summer? ... or do they use Australia as the testing ground for the US.

That issue is what has prevented H&M, Zara, Top Shop and many, many other European brands fast fashion chains from heading to Australia (one of very few Southern Hemisphere markets).

weeksie4• 16 years ago

Hasn't stopped American Apparel. Not to mention actual high fashion brands who arguably have more to worry about with seasonal differences in fashion. Then again, I'm no expert.

detst2• 16 years ago

Is this really a concern for more than a very small fraction of the population?

I can understand this concern for very high-end fashion but it just doesn't make any sense to me otherwise.

taitems• 16 years ago

Everyone saw straight through the farce that is Cost Co in Melbourne's Docklands area. We're simply not that type of "bigger is better" community. It's refreshing to head down to the Queen Vic Markets on a Saturday and still barely be able to move.

detst2• 16 years ago

I don't think the concept of Costco is so much "bigger is better" but rather saving by buying in quantity and reducing stops at the store. If you have the space and don't actually enjoy shopping, it makes sense. (I don't shop there)

froo3• 16 years ago

Wouldn't it have been more prudent to have linked to the actual article instead of a summary on someone elses domain?

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/20100216-us-companies....

Significantly more information contained within.

Is Australia set for a US retailer invasion?

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