American Retailers Winners in Australian GST Debate.
American retailers winners in Australian GST debate. A campaign for all eBay sellers.
Online, May 12, 2011 (Newswire.com) - International online retail businesses are celebrating the effects of the ongoing campaign by local retailers for the Government to lower the $1000 GST threshold for imported goods.
ShopNewYork.com.au Australian founder, Mr. Phil Leahy, says that since the debate his sales have jumped. "We are up over 180% on last year & the website traffic has increased by 40% in the last month alone."
"This campaign is toxic for Australian retailers" says Phil Leahy. "The public is against lowering the threshold because what they want is low prices & choice. It also had the unintended effect of alerting Aussie consumers to the great value & selection available off shore" continued Leahy.
Leahy believes one positive of the campaign is that Australian businesses are now more focused than ever in investing online. "Harvey Norman's Gerry Harvey had a recent about face on the issue and now has a number of sites rolling out over the course of the year. I think Mr. Harvey's focus is late but nevertheless is a leading example to other traditional retailers of the course to take".
Leahy's potentially controversial approach is that protectionism is not the answer to the challenge. Mr. Leahy's message to proponents of more tax. "Give up while you're behind and get creative about delivering a better online business. If not, keep your current path and wait to see your business decline."
Phil Leahy is also the founder of the Australian Chapter of the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, which runs an annual Internet Conference. The fifth annual event, due to run in July this year, will attract 600+ online retailers to the two day event (internetconference.com.au).
ShopNewYork.com.au features thousands of shoes by partnering with a Manhattan based online retailer. Shoes are purchased in bulk from New York's major Department stores. Shop New York offers shipping for $10 and a local address for returns. The store has Australian size charts and is in Australian dollars.