This is exactly the sort of protectionism we need to avoid. Retailers need to adapt to be able to compete with online sales. Being a middle man is not an essential industry for Australia. Compete or perish.

Be interesting to see the amount of retail space per person as a comparison with the USA.

The number of shops may be much higher in Australia thus putting up costs.

It worries me to see no customers in some shops when window shopping.

There is a fine line between protectionism and allowing in multinationals to form what are essentially monopolies.

With the loss of many Australian manufacturing industries, there has also been the loss of many Australian retailers, allowing in multinational companies to basically form monopolies and begin making huge profits.

EG.

"Woolworths has reported a 10.1% increase in net profit, to a total of $2 billion"

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/08/26/woolworths-reports-solid-profits.html

Now that the multinational have such a stranglehold over retail, they can begin to charge whatever they want.

"employee wages and salaries account for only 10-12 per cent of the value of retail sales"

I would assume that this means that wages in retail are only 10-12 per cent of costs. In manufacturing wages are normally less than 20 per cent of costs, and the excuse that we cannot compete in manufacturing with foreign countries because our wages are too high holds no water.

Wages are only a small part of costs.

Last weekend I ordered 4 books online from the USA. They cost $136, including delivery. The cheapest I could have bought the same goods from an Australian retailer was over $200. I have never found a book or books from Australian suppliers even remotely close to within 10% of the overseas price, especially now many overseas suppliers no longer charge postage.

This website helpfully identifies the costs including postage of buying books and CDs from Australian and overseas suppliers. Can anyone find a book or CD that would be cheaper to buy in Australia if 10% GST applied to imports?

http://booko.com.au/

Vanna, I think you are confusing cause and effect. Wages are a relatively low proportion of manufacturing costs because Australian manufacturing has moved away from producing low value-added labour-intensive products like clothing and footwear and focusing on more technological and sophisticated products requiring more highly skilled labour and sophisticated technology

Rhian, What "technological and sophisticated products requiring more highly skilled labour and sophisticated technology" are you talking about?

I haven't noticed anything.

As for books and CDs, there probably won't be that much produced in Australia in future years, as the large publishing houses usually have a multinational as the parent company.

Instead of free trade, read multinational.

When did Woolworths become a multinational? It is an Australian company, founded in Australia, floated on the ASX and operating in Australia and New Zealand. It has no connection to the American Woolworths, the European Woolworth or the (now defunct, I believe) British Woolworths.

That said, Woolworths Limited sits in a similar place to the other Australian retailers whose profits look to be cut by the online shopping phenomenon. Luckily for them, things like fresh produce will no doubt continue to be sourced locally. This may allow them to outlast the less competitive small businesses who rely on the sales of items now sourced easily and cheaply online.

Otokonoko,
I wouldn't consider it a good thing for Australia if more is purchased online. It simply means that more is imported, and I wonder how much tax is paid to the Australian government by offshore companies that sell online.

As a teacher you would also know of the number of teachers who tell their students to "get it from the internet".

This then trains generations of students to not develop anything, but to get it from somewhere else, and that other place is normally outside of the country.

On Australia Day, there isn't much left in Australia that could be called Australian, and personally I don't believe teachers and various members of government departments should be paid taxpayer funding to have a holiday on Australia Day.

Fair enough, vanna. While I don't fully agree with you, you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

And a fifth point... we are a more sexist nation.

Look around the better retail space in Sydney. You see Fashion, fashion, shoes, cosmetics, foodie shops, jewlery, chocolate shops, stupidly expensive trophy-child fashion shops, etc... All female indulgences.

Almost nothing 'basic' and nothing indulgent for men. All female stuff and all empty of customers and yet profitable - which means vastly overpriced.

If women spend so much time shopping, why aren't they any good at it? Men pay less for suits, for car repairs, for hair cuts... pretty much everything men buy they get for less.

The old saying goes, "Men earn the money, women spend it" and this is especially true in Australia. Our Child support payments (almost all are payments from deds to women) for example are the most generous (to the women) in the World.

Retaillers know that to get women, you have to indulge them. Shopping is an 'experience'. What does that mean? It means suck-up to them. Shopping is therepy because people are paid to tell you how beautiful you are, how good your taste is, how special this coffee is.

Advertisers don't waste their time targetting men. Advertising is an emotional medium. Good advertising attaches emotions and attractiveness to a product. But men just aren't very susceptable to this sort of stuff. We buy stuff that's good, and is a good price. We're more rational, less emotional. And that's a good thing.

Every ad on TV that shows men and women with some sort of story (and that's nearly all of them), they show the same thing. They show the woman to be in control, clever, sassy, or simply exploitative. While the man is stupid, lazy. Or the opposite, where the man is a loyal hardworking servant mistreated by the woman, or even assaulted and abused by her.

Women spend so much effort shopping, why are they so bad at it?
PartTimeParent@pobox.com

Another reason I believe is the Australian retailers' propensity to turn some international brands, particularly US ones, into premium items even when they are not.

A case in point, Polo Ralph Lauren. In the US this brand is relatively run of the mill. Found in all the chain stores, often on discount tables their clothing as pitched as stylish but relatively low cost. A typical business shirt might cost USD$30-$40. In Australia however, Myer, DJs etc all have turned it into a premium brand. t is featured with special sales areas, special signage etc and therefore charging upwards of $140 for the same shirt. My US friends always snicker when they come to Aus and see the price differential.

One other point.

I note that Gerry Harvey, the owner of Harvey Norman, is one of the most vociferous anti-online buying voices in this country.

He is also a billionaire.

How can he have the slightest credibilty therefore to demand we pay GST online because local retailers are hurting? Perhaps if he dropped his prices we might buy more.

Oh no that would mean his net worth would drop so it will never happen