Death of Australian department stores.

Discussion in 'Markets & Economies' started by leo25, Aug 30, 2019.

  1. alor

    alor Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    e-commerce have been growing 7% each year every year >10+ years
    you can buy silver via IG FB etc
     
  2. TreasureHunter

    TreasureHunter Well-Known Member

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    One thing I never head about is the influence of ecommerce on retail/brick&mortar stores.

    I think retail stores and stores in general have overstretched and there's an implosion in that particular sector, but it's not necessarily due to the entire economy going down or people losing purchase power.

    But obviously that is also happening: when purchase power goes down, people buy less things that aren't really necessary and focus on food, clothing, medicine, hygiene products etc.
     
  3. leo25

    leo25 Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    This song is dedicated to all the brick & mortar department stores.

    Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' with the beautiful visuals of Watchmen. :)

     
  4. Silverling

    Silverling Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Department stores just can't compete. I recently bought a new fridge and washing machine from Appliances Online. Not only were they substantially cheaper in price, the goods were delivered and installed free of charge. Plus they took away the old units for free. Now that is service and I will definitely be using them again.
     
  5. TreasureHunter

    TreasureHunter Well-Known Member

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    ^
    We did the exact same thing with our fridge a few years ago :)
     
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  6. Oddjob

    Oddjob Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Yep, have a tumble dryer clap out one Sunday winters afternoon last year. Had a new one delivered by 9am the following day by same mob. Very impressed.
     
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  7. alor

    alor Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    the retails just closed down and leave...they don't tell anybody , they got replaced by other stores until the whole mall got vacated, and taken over by the warehouses of the eCommerce stores
    click apps on mobiles, goods delivered to your post boxes
     
  8. mrsilverservice

    mrsilverservice Well-Known Member

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    That is great for us consumers but if we roll it forward a bit many more bricks and mortars store will be closing creating more unemployment,more miserable people and even some ghosts towns :confused:

    I was in Newcastle CBD recently and the amount of closed and closing stores continues to grow year on year,the place has been going backwards for years having it own mini recession o_O

    With us being so reliant on China for so much coming in and going out our future will be interesting :rolleyes:

    -

    The Book of Psalms Chapter 116 verse 5

    Gracious is the Lord,and righteous,yes,our God is merciful :)
     
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  9. Jislizard

    Jislizard Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I think it was Harvey Norman who lobbied to have GST put onto all imports on online sales. Originally it was thought to be too expensive to collect (more than would be recovered) but they went ahead anyway, probably to help even the playing field for the large stores.

    I still find it cheaper to buy from overseas companies.
     
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  10. openeyes

    openeyes Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Agreed
     
  11. Roswell Crash Survivor

    Roswell Crash Survivor Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Robbing? They are paying the asking price for a product that is on sale.

    Just because someone is 'local' doesn't entitle them to an allocation - this isn't a Planned Economy with ration cards.
     
  12. Oddjob

    Oddjob Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Whilst the rise of online retailing does cause ensure closure of bricks and mortar stores as we have discussed here, at the end of the day, this is capitalism at work in a free market for retail goods no different to the way the internet has nearly killed off the print media as we knew it but given rise to many more online news services / outlets which provide both new investment opportunities, employment and many more sources of information for the public.

    Some "walk in" retailers have survived and thrived such as a JB HiFi as they specialise in a specific range of products, provide great sales and tech advice and for a good price....thus they still generate inward foot traffic along with on line sales. Whether all bricks and mortar retailers / shopping centres can adapt / survive, only time will tell. I suspect many retailers will but others won't change and will be like the horse and cart deliveries of ice to homes had a slow death into the 1950/60's due to the ability of people to afford a fridge / freezer of their own,

    Like all changes to industry over the centuries, there is initial social dislocation as the changes wash through and industry evolves and moves one.

    I'd rather be living in this society where we are seeing such evolution in retail (being the thread topic) as we are getting better products, for better prices and quicker than we ever have rather than a socialist / govt controlled economy where one may have to wait weeks / months / years for a particular product that maybe inferior and cost more.
     
  13. mrsilverservice

    mrsilverservice Well-Known Member

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    You remind me of JulieW,what a load of waffle :rolleyes:

    I guess I just have higher expectations of human behavior than you,it is amazing what rubbish we will settle for today from "our citizenry" and think it is normal,acceptable and good enough :confused:

    -

    The Book of Psalms Chapter 116 verse 17

    I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanks giving and will call upon the name of the Lord :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2019
  14. ddevil

    ddevil Active Member Silver Stacker

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    For me, its the recovery, plus watching the Aussies in the Boxing Day Test
     
  15. Krakked789

    Krakked789 Well-Known Member

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    Great observation and one that I also had recently. If the technocrats have their way, this is merely the beginning. Think of these soulless places, but on a larger scale. Will whole cities be like this? Surely that could never happen...?

    When you purchase from such retailers, you are signing up to this potential future. Every electronic transaction is an agreement you are making with increased enslavement. I can't tap and go any more without thinking that I'm agreeing to my own downfall.

    I have come to embrace the cash economy: op shops, Gumtree, collecting freebies off lawns, barter. I have saved a fortune, reduced the burden on the environment, stimulated community engagement and stuck my finger up at the politicians and their technocratic agenda. The quality of the goods often craps all over what you might get at Ikea, Target, Kmart, etc. The stores are becoming pretty much one-and-the-same. No money for the taxman, either. As if we don't pay enough already.

    We need to stop supporting this rubbish. It's an individual and collective effort. We can't wait for others to lead us to freedom.
     
  16. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    Presumably none of the goods you bought originated in any of those stores? :p
     
  17. Krakked789

    Krakked789 Well-Known Member

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    They most likely did, but I didn't fuel the creation of more junk to rape the planet only to end up in landfill.
     
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  18. betterinvestmentthanshare

    betterinvestmentthanshare Active Member

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    Norman has stores throughout south east asia. He is a "do as i say, not do as i do" guy. He has no interest in benefiting Australian consumer whats so ever.
     
  19. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    Interest in benefitting customers doesn’t enter the business equation. Every time someone buys something from a Harvey Norman store there is an expansion in net wealth for both the store and the consumer. This is the same for every transaction that happens every day in every store or online.
     
  20. Ipv6Ready

    Ipv6Ready Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    If a brick and mortar store can't compete on price, service or exclusivity of products vs online stores, basically the store is badly run, full stop.

    In 2019 online stores are ONLY killing badly run stores.

    50% of brick and mortar stores that is run out of business dont have online store linked on their websites or dont even have a website or intenet presence.
    10% have ridiculus pricing for an online store
    30% might as well not have one (see my story David Jones below)
    10% have it balanced well.

    David Jones.

    1. I ordered a $2600 briefcase for pick up at my nearest store Barangaroo in Sydney
    2. The platform told me it had the briefcase in stock
    3. 24 hours later my order is cancelled by David Jones, UNILATERALLY
    4. I ring up customer service and ask why, what went wrong thinking my Amex stuffed up payment. Only to be told that the store does not have it in stock.
    5. I asked the CS if other stores have the briefcase in stock...I am told Market Street only 2km away from Brangaroo store had many in stock.... WTF

    So David Jones cancelled a $2600 sale, because they could not ring or email to say, "Sorry Barangaroo store is out of stock, but Market St store has them, would you like to pick up from Market St or we can have delivered to Barangaroo or your work/home" (note home delivery for orders above $99 is free!)

    This is not an isolated case and this happened another time as well. Now I don't order from David Jones online store
     
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