Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Online retailers vs local superstores

Local superstores like Myer, Harvey Norman, and David Jones are crying foul over the growing success of online retailers. They say that online retailers have an unfair advantage because they do not pay GST. These chain stores neglect to say that online retailers have to include shipping cost, which inflates the purchase price. Also, they neglect to say that they too can set up online retail shop and have shipping cost advantage over overseas competitors. No, the local chain stores do not wish to see any change in the way they do business, even if it means progress for the consumers. So much for globalization.

The chain stores are asking the government to impose GST on online sales, citing that the uneven playing field may otherwise cause thousands of job loses in the local retail industry. That is really hypocritical because if you walk into any of the chain stores, more than 90% of the products are made overseas. Since when have they been so concerned about the local job market?

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