Amazon to shed light on Australian expansion plans

Suppliers attending Amazon’s first Marketplace sellers summit on Monday are looking for confirmation the world’s biggest online shopping company will kick off its expanded Australian offer within the next two weeks. After originally anticipating a soft launch mid-November, some suppliers now expect Amazon to kick off its expanded offer around November 24 to coincide with Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November 27) online shopping promotions which have become almost as popular in Australia as in the US. Amazon’s Australian country manager Rocco Braeuniger is set to make his first public appearance at the sellers summit and reveal details about the timing of the launch of Amazon’s Marketplace and first-party retail offers during his keynote address. Amazon’s Marketplace boss in Australia Fabio Bertola and Australian Retailers Association chief Russell Zimmerman will also address the summit, which will feature a panel of successful Marketplace sellers. The panel will include Kevin Lippy of Australia-based baby products company Hip Cub, which sells nappy bags on Amazon’s US and UK sites, and Adam Mills, founder of KoalaSafe, which sells products that enable parents to control and track their children’s online activity. Industry sources originally expected Amazon to launch its Marketplace or third-party (3P) offer first, citing Amazon’s lack of distribution and fulfilment infrastructure in Australia. Amazon said last month more than 500 businesses had expressed interest in selling on Amazon Marketplace since it confirmed in April it would roll out its retail offering in Australia. Marketplace sellers would be responsible for delivering products to consumers, at least until Amazon launched its Fulfilment by Amazon service. Those who have entered into agreements with Amazon have been obliged to sign 35-page non-disclosure agreements to ensure details do not reach local competitors such as eBay and Catch Group, which launched an online marketplace in June.

Source: www.afr.com