Amazon hype may not be reality

ASK almost any market analyst about Amazon’s muchtouted foray into the Australian market and they’ll probably start jumping for joy.

But the online tech outfit is proving to be slow off the mark, with signs of delays in establishing its presence on our shores.

That’s the analysis of outspoken retail billionaire Gerry Harvey, who believes predictions of greatness for Amazon have been overstated.

“Amazon to my knowledge haven’t even bought a block of land in Australia,” the Harvey Norman chairman said. “And I read Amazon is going to be fully operational in late 2018.

“Let’s assume I buy a block of land tomorrow. I’ve got to buy it, pay for it, put in a development application. If that happens within three years, that’s very quick.”

Macquarie forecast Amazon would nab a $14 billion chunk of the country’s retail spending by 2025 and Deloitte tipped it would “disrupt almost every retail category”.

CBRE has been charged with finding land for Amazon in Australia. It wants at least four large warehouses and four smaller facilities.

Harvey said he was sceptical about how the company could hope to expand.

“For their model to work they would need 50 warehouses in Australia. Start with two – one in Sydney and one in Melbourne – and then it’s how do you deliver? That’s the bestcase scenario.”