I see Gerry Harvey is bitching again about GST not being paid on items valued under $1000 and purchased overseas from various websites.
Get over it Gerry.
What you are saying is that you want the Australian government to implement GST collection on everything purchased, irrespective of value.
You're obviously a smart businessman, and you would well know that it would cost the government more to implement this collection than what it would make in the collection of GST. But deep down what do you care? You're only interested in your empire and your profits. You might disguise that as "speaking for all retailers", but I'm not so sure.
Get over it Gerry.
What you are saying is that you want the Australian government to implement GST collection on everything purchased, irrespective of value.
You're obviously a smart businessman, and you would well know that it would cost the government more to implement this collection than what it would make in the collection of GST. But deep down what do you care? You're only interested in your empire and your profits. You might disguise that as "speaking for all retailers", but I'm not so sure.
"Oh, that GST pain is getting worse"
Whether you like it or not, the face of retailing is changing. Some shoppers are getting savvy and are moving away from traditional sources to make purchases. Not everyone mind you - I'd never buy clothes over the internet. It's not worth the hassle if they don't fit etc etc. There are some things you have to put your hands on before spending your hard earned money.
Retailers like Harvey Norman make good profits, and profits are still being made, but lets face it - Harvey Norman retailers aren't exactly the cheapest in the market, so do you blame shoppers becoming more savvy and shopping around?
Take this example: I went to buy a new computer monitor a few years ago. I checked out a nice LG 17" at Harvey Normans and it was valued at $799 (yes, a few years ago!!). I didn't buy immediately and decided to hum and ha about it for a while. By pure chance I dropped in to a small computer shop just around the corner a day or so later and picked up a pricelist on their counter. Damn it, but there was exactly the same monitor for $550. I double checked the model to make sure it wasn't a lesser 17", but no, it was the same. I went back to Harvey Norman with said pricelist in hand and asked if they could match or better it. No, he couldn't. I think the best he could do was $599. Needless to say, I ended up back at the small computer store. OK, they had to get the monitor in, but next day, I picked it up and parted with $550.
Maybe the business model of Harvey Norman is starting to date. Gerry has had it good for a while, but franchise arrangements may not be the way of the future. The store has to make a profit for itself, and they have to give some of that profit to Gerry, so overall, their competitiveness is not as good. That's not the consumers fault, that is just the way Gerry's business model works. Why should the consumer have to pay more to support Gerry and his empire? Where Gerry does do it well is with all the promotions they have "24 months interest free, no repayments till blah blah". Even I have taken advantage of this system, and given I'll have 24 months to pay something off, don't mind paying extra for it.
Take another example of how things are changing. I have to buy a new set of cutters and foils for my Remington razor. I checked with a few retailers of shavers in Adelaide; my replacement would be around $45 irrespective of retailer.
A quick check on eBay revealed the following (copied and pasted at end of email):
If I purchase through eBay, It'll cost me around AU$24.50, that's 50% less than what I can buy locally. It also includes postage, and even if I had to pay GST, would only push up the cost to around $27, still much less than what I can buy it for locally. Good ol' Gerry seems to think people are only saving 10% or so buying from overseas or on-line.
What do I do? Fork out my hard earned money and pay the $20 extra and support local business, or buy wisely, wait for 10 days and get my item off eBay and save $20?
In time, I think the whole retail industry will be forced to look hard at how they do things. Maybe one day, the importer will sell direct to the retailer and cut out the wholesaler? I don't know how it will pan out. And, even if GST were charged, I still don't think it would make a lot of difference.
CD and DVD retailers are in the same boat. Many consumers are starting to watch movies streamed from various internet sources and slowly sales and movie rentals will die off. It's sad, but that's the way it's heading. Adapt and make changes or slowly see your sales ebb away.
Get Real
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