Sayf Udeen
Up-and-Coming Sensation
You're unAustralian: Gerry Harvey wants online shoppers to pay more for good of country
RETAIL king Gerry Harvey says online shoppers buying bargains from overseas should accept paying more for the good of the country.
The chain store supremo was responding to a public backlash over retailers campaigning to have GST and import duties imposed on purchases from foreign sites, reported the Herald Sun.
He said such shoppers would pay a far higher price in the long run because of lost jobs and a weaker Australian economy.
Mr Harvey said he was not surprised by the reaction to the campaign, which argues retailers need a level playing field against foreigners who escape the taxes on goods worth less than $1000.
"Yes, you might have to pay more, but it's the right thing to do. You'll pay a lot more if we lose jobs and retailers close down," he said.
Retail mogul Solomon Lew agreed, saying those most at risk from online shopping are ordinary workers.
Mr Lew is chairman of Premier Investments, owner of seven of the 21 retail chains behind this week's advertising campaign calling for an end to tax exemptions for purchases from foreign websites worth less than $1000.
Mr Lew said the focus on local versus online prices was beside the point.
"Even if they charge the GST and duty, goods may come in cheaper from overseas, but there's a moral principle at stake here, and at the end of the day it will cost jobs," he told The Australian.
Myer chief Bernie Brookes also said that consumers upset at the suggestion they be charged up to hundreds of dollars more for goods sourced from foreign sites were being "short-sighted".
"It may seem great to buy at that price but there are long-term ramifications," he said.
Mr Brookes has said sales lost as a result of unfair tax breaks for foreign competitors could result in 30,000 jobs being cut in the retail sector.
Mr Brookes denied major retailers who were lobbying the Federal Government for tax changes were ripping off customers.
Businesses had to pay GST and import duties, typically 10 per cent for clothes and 5 per cent for electronics.
Mr Brookes said foreign businesses could also negotiate better bulk buys.
John Anderson, global chief executive of Levi Strauss, said his company was able to sell jeans more cheaply in the US than in Australia because operating costs such as rent and staff wages were cheaper there.
"The cost to do business in Australia is higher, and the lack of scale is a part of that - Australia is a very small market compared to the US."
On the Levis.com website, US-based customers can purchase men's jeans for $US58 ($57.90), about half the regular retail price in Australia, although some styles yesterday were discounted to $69 a pair in Australian Levi's stores, attracting post-Christmas sales shoppers such as Jess Smith.
Simon Fonteyn, managing director of property analysis group leaseinfo.com.au, said fashion retailers in Australia typically paid 50 to 100 per cent more in rent than their US counterparts.
Shopping centre giant Westfield, which has declared its support for the campaign but was not mentioned in this week's newspaper ads, refused to comment yesterday on the role its rental charges played in Australia's higher retail prices. Mr Lew said Westfield had not been named in the ads because the participants wanted to focus on the retail market.
Coalition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey yesterday ruled out opposition support for scrapping the GST exemption, saying it only affected about 3 per cent of retail spending.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has said that collecting GST and import duty on foreign internet purchases would cost more than the revenue it would generate - a figure the retail coalition has estimated at $2.5 billion a year.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matt ... z1AFEjReS8
Haha, it's funny. The owners of large compaies don't care when they're threatening small business - however, when people are going for better deals they try and utilise the 'unAustralian' card.
Bah.
This going on in other countries too?
