<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/caulfield-north-vic-3161">Caulfield North</a> isn’t short on prestige, but it is short on boutique new apartment developments with spacious floorplans.

Cue LUMA, the newest development by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/skylife-group-pty-ltd">Skylife Group</a>, which offers just nine apartments on Hawthorn Road.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/luma-caulfield-north-226-hawthorn-road-caulfield-north-vic-3161">LUMA</a> occupies a coveted position near Caulfield Park, encircled by Melbourne's finest schools, parks, and culinary destinations. Its low-rise form by Metaxas Architects channels timeless design principles, wrapped in a restrained yet luxurious material palette.

Every residence embraces natural light and outlooks, thanks to expansive glazing and thoughtfully arranged floorplans.

Ranging from 80 sqm to nearly 160 sqm internally, with terraces or balconies extending up to 30 sqm, the homes offer a diversity of configurations, from two-bedroom residences to three-bedroom layouts with up to three bathrooms.&nbsp;

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The interiors are unified by a calm, light-infused aesthetic. Organic white walls, soft walnut timber joinery, and Aurora Range European Oak flooring are paired with plush carpeted bedrooms, creating a harmonious tactile experience.

The kitchens at LUMA serve both as culinary workspaces and statement design features. Buyers can choose between a lightGlacier Honed or dark Turko Argento natural stone benchtop, with timber-look Polytec Ravine joinery and fluted glass cabinetry providing contrast.&nbsp;

Miele appliances complete the package, tailored to residence size, with premium upgrades for three-bedroom homes including an 80cm induction cooktop and Gen 7000 speed oven.

Bathrooms echo the same sensibility, with natural stone, black EXON fixtures, and frameless glass showers. Select residences offer freestanding baths.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148933 project_image_fid=335513]

Private outdoor spaces, secure parking, and options for EV charging reflect a practical yet elevated lifestyle focus.

As the development progresses toward its late 2026 completion, construction is in the hands of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/rf-construction-management-pty-ltd">RF Construction Management</a>, bringing over 30 years of local high-end building expertise.

LUMA also offers a five per cent deposit structure, allowing buyers time to plan while securing their place in this tightly held precinct.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=148933]

Joel Robinson

Inside Caulfield North's most boutique address, LUMA

Sekisui House Australia's first apartment development in Sydney's Lower North Shore has been a hit with prospective new home buyers.

They recently released <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/waterstone-st-leonards-24-berry-road-st-leonards-nsw-2065">Waterstone</a>, on the fringe of Newlands Park in the emerging St Leonards South precinct, a short walk from the Crows Nest Metro and the heart of St Leonards.

The new development will home&nbsp;207 apartments across five mid-rise buildings, rising between four to nine storeys.

We recently visited the display suite at&nbsp;60 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, to find out more about the development that has been one of the most enquired on developments on Apartments.com.au in the last few months.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rO1K7t6GOgY?si=pwmYyqjNBBzjMNeb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Watersone sales agent Paul Marrum says the orientation of the building was key to Sekisui's wider design philosophy.

“Waterstone has been orientated to face south, capturing views over Newland’s Park and back to the Sydney CBD," Marrum says.

"This deliberate positioning, alongside 30 per cent of the site dedicated to open space designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/aspect-studios">Aspect Studios</a>, roots the project in the developer’s Satoyama philosophy - prioritising balance between the built environment and its surrounding ecosystem."

On offer are a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments, with many including&nbsp;multi-purpose rooms to accommodate shifting lifestyle needs, from work-from-home professionals to growing families and downsizers.&nbsp;

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“Every apartment is open plan, with interiors flowing to balconies or courtyards," Marrum adds.

"The material palette reinforces this flow: soft-toned tactile stone, fluted glass cabinetry, and warm timber joinery work together to create what he describes as a “refined but relaxed atmosphere.”

There’s a distinct human scale to Waterstone’s design. The community is shaped as a network of boutique buildings threaded by a ‘green spine’, a landscape feature that invites movement, reflection, and connection.

Marrum highlights the presence of sensory gardens and native planting throughout, signalling an approach that enhances both wellness and biodiversity.&nbsp;Yet Waterstone doesn’t forgo amenity for serenity however. Residents will have access to a heated outdoor pool and spa, infrared sauna, co-working lounge, fully equipped gym, and even dedicated resident workspaces.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134191 project_image_fid=231]

Waterstone will rise from a prime Berry Road site ideally located near the green Newlands Park but also a short walk to the hear of both St Leonards and Crows Nest, two transport nodes with bus, train, and Sydney Metro lines connecting to the rest of Sydney.

Construction is slated to begin in mid-2025, with completion targeted for late 2027.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134191]

Inside Waterstone St Leonards: Apartments.com.au Video Spotlight

Off the plan buyers at Altona's newest apartment development Voyage, are soon to take their keys, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/spacious-property-development-group-pty-ltd">Spacious Property Development Group</a>&nbsp;approaching completion of the contemporary, coastal building.

Farey &amp; Co can now take prospective buyers through a fully-furnished display apartment on appointment as construction approaches its final stages.

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Situated just 13 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, Voyage Altona beachside apartment development offers a rare opportunity to live moments from the sand, pier, and thriving village life of Pier Street.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/voyage-altona-102-106-pier-street-altona-vic-3018">Voyage</a> is the only new apartment offering currently on the market in <a>Altona</a>. Comprising one, two, and three-bedroom residences, it has been thoughtfully designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers, from first home purchasers to downsizers and lifestyle-focused owner-occupiers.&nbsp;

Prices start from just over $500,000 for one-bedroom apartments, with three-bedroom configurations topping out just over the $1 million mark.

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Voyage's architecture, by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cheah-saw-architecture">Cheah Saw Architecture</a>, is defined by an asymmetrical façade and a refined palette that echoes the surrounding coastal tones.&nbsp;

Inside, a minimalist design language prevails, with full-height glazing inviting expansive views over Port Phillip Bay and hybrid timber flooring grounding the open-plan layouts.&nbsp;

Kitchens are appointed with premium Miele appliances and stone finishes, while the bathrooms feature porcelain tiles and walk-in glass showers.

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Voyage's location on Pier Street places residents at the heart of the suburb’s major activity centre. <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/altona-vic-3018">Altona</a> Station, Altona Beach, and a diverse mix of cafes and shops are all within walking distance.&nbsp;

With the final release now selling, Spacious is offering buyers the chance to secure their future home with just a five per cent deposit, a move that lowers the barrier to entry and positions Voyage as one of the most accessible premium new builds on Melbourne’s bayside fringe.

Spacious Property Development Group collaborated with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/valeo-construction">Valeo Construction</a> to bring this vision to life. The development has advanced significantly, with interior fit-outs and communal landscaping well underway.&nbsp;

Completion is targeted for Q3 2025, with some buyers expected to move in by September.

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Completion is targeted for Q3 2025, with some buyers expected to move in by September

Buyers to move into Voyage Altona this Spring

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/beulah">Beulah</a>&nbsp;has unveiled its latest release of exclusive homes in its sustainable Brunswick townhouse development, Brunswick Established.

The collection, known as ‘The Courtyard House’, has been created in collaboration with Six Degrees Architects to meet the evolving needs of modern families.&nbsp;

With a central courtyard at its heart, the design reimagines the possibilities of multi-generational living, blending flexibility, sustainability and personalisation within a heritage setting. Distinct from a traditional garden, the courtyard delivers natural light, fresh air and a generous sense of space, without the upkeep of a backyard.

Comprised of 23 two-storey townhouses, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/brunswick-established-23-hodgson-st-brunswick-vic-3056">Brunswick Established</a> offers multiple typologies of townhomes to suit different living requirements, allowing residents to grow in place - majority include ground-floor bedrooms for accessibility, while others, known as the ‘The Courtyard House’, provide a unique, flexible detached space separated by a courtyard.

Responsible for both the architecture and interior design, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/six-degrees-architects">Six Degrees</a>’ holistic approach enabled the team to ensure an intrinsic link between the design outcomes; a seamless, harmonious flow from the outside to within.

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“The modern home should flow from inside to outside - the courtyard provides a space which joins the different parts of the home together as the central outside space of the home,” explains Six Degrees Director, Peter Malatt.

“The courtyard is a model used since ancient times, transforming the home from an object within a space to an object enclosing space. It acts as both the visual and social heart of the home, a space to gather, reflect, or simply pause, offering a moment of calm within a busy urban context."

“Courtyards also offer a deeply cultural and emotional resonance, with their timeless presence across human history. They connect us to the past, while shaping how we live today

Malatt says the courtyard also operates as a micro-climate, which can retain heat in winter and be a shaded haven in summer.

"The ability to take warmed or cooled air into the home from the courtyard space is a great way to improve internal health and minimise energy use through heating and cooling. In a compact urban environment like Brunswick, courtyards are also a clever solution - bringing light, greenery and nature into denser living formats while maintaining a strong sense of privacy and connection."

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This concept resonated strongly with early downsizers who recently purchased one of the Courtyard homes at Brunswick Established for themselves and their two adult sons, aged 21 and 24.

“We’re excited to have a home that gives us flexibility as our lives evolve, whether it’s our sons living with us as they finish university, or us being able to lock up and travel. Having separate spaces connected by the courtyard is perfect for our family dynamic, especially as we value our independence but also want to stay close,” they shared.

The couple, who also share their home with two dogs and two cats, highlighted the benefits of multi-generational living in a courtyard home.

“Our sons help care for the pets, we enjoy cooking and spending time together, and the courtyard means we have light, greenery, and privacy all in one. We love that Brunswick Established has thought about sustainability and customisation in such a detailed way, it’s rare to find that in a project.”

Beulah’s approach to design customisation at Brunswick Established, allowing residents to adapt layouts to their lifestyle, has been a major drawcard for buyers seeking homes that evolve alongside them. The detached living space offers flexibility to suit changing needs, whether as a studio, guest retreat, or home office, while maintaining a close link to the main residence, allowing family members to come together or enjoy privacy when needed.

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Malatt added that the&nbsp;homes have been designed for residents’ well-being, allowing couples and families to ‘grow’ in their own homes while ensuring they meet their needs for generations to come.

"Purchasers usually experience multiple lifestyle stages within one home, and we’re looking forward to seeing these unique homes come to life."

As part of this forward-thinking approach, Beulah will also host an exclusive event, The Property Market Decanted, on Wednesday 27 August at The Commons Café &amp; Cocktail Bar, Melbourne. The evening will feature insights from leading property and finance experts on Melbourne’s market outlook and long-term wealth creation strategies, particularly for multi-generational households.&nbsp;

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Beulah release sustainable courtyard townhouse collection at Brunswick Established

Hampton's High Street offers the best of both worlds; halfway between Hampton Beach and Hampton Station, with a myriad of cafes and shops on its doorstep.

It was this unbeatable combination of convenience and connectivity that attracted Nash Project Management to secure a prime site on the corner of Hampton and Holyrood Streets several years ago.

The result is <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/holyrood-hampton-451-461-hampton-street-hampton-vic-3188">Holyrood &amp; Hampton</a>, a newly completed residential development comprising 59 premium apartments set above a full-line Coles supermarket, enhancing the day-to-day ease for residents.

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Those who have already moved into Holyrood &amp; Hampton have highlighted several standout features of their new home, with the location topping the list.

Hampton Station on the Sandringham line (Zone 2), is just down Hampton Street, offering regular services to Flinders Street Station. Multiple bus routes connect to Southland, St Kilda, and Berwick, while scenic cycling paths along the bay provide a relaxing alternative for commuters and weekend riders.

A short walk west leads to Picnic Point and Hampton Beach, beloved for its clean sand and family- and dog-friendly spaces. Ferdinando Gardens, near the pier, is perfect for picnics, while coastal walking trails offer peaceful views and breezes.

The surrounding green spaces—Castlefield Reserve, Triangle Gardens, and Hampton High Reserve—offer playgrounds, sports fields, and a sense of calm. Golfers have several options nearby, including Brighton Public Golf Course just a short drive away.

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Hampton Street remains the heart of the community, with more than 50 fashion boutiques, cafés, and eateries. A Woolworths anchors the retail strip, while independent shops help maintain its village charm.

Health and community services are easily accessible, with local GPs, dental clinics, and the nearby Sandringham Community Hospital, supported by larger hospitals in Brighton and Cheltenham.

Families are well catered to, with top private and public schools within a 1–2 km radius. These include Haileybury College, St Leonards College, Firbank Grammar, Brighton Grammar, Hampton Primary, and Brighton Secondary College.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4629 project_image_fid=1532]

The apartments have been designed for longevity, with spacious, home-like layouts. Many include butler’s pantries, oversized kitchen islands, and quality finishes.

Additional features such as a rooftop terrace, EV charging, secure storage, and direct supermarket access support a highly functional and low-maintenance lifestyle.

Designed by Telha Clarke, Holyrood &amp; Hampton reflects how people want to live today—connected, walkable, and move-in ready.

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Those who have already moved into Holyrood & Hampton have highlighted several standout features of their new home, with the location topping the list.

Holyrood & Hampton presents a walkable, Bayside lifestyle in the heart of Hampton

Amazon

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Stockland has partnered with Amazon to offer Amazon Locker, a secure, self-service kiosk for parcel pickups.
Stockland has recently installed Amazon Locker across a number of retail locations in NSW and Victoria.
Locations include the Piccadilly Centre in Sydney CBD, Stockland Green Hills in Maitland, Stockland The Pines in Doncaster East as well as Stockland centres in Merrylands, Baulkham Hills, Balgowlah, Glendale, Nowra, Shellharbour, Wetherill Park, Point Cook and Wendouree, and others. 
Amazon Locker provides customers with the flexibility to pick up a package at a convenient time, rather than having it delivered to a home or business address.
Shipping to an Amazon Locker at Stockland is available at no additional cost.
During checkout, customers will select a Locker at the nearest Stockland location as their shipping address. Once their package is ready for pickup, customers will receive an e-mail along with a barcode that they’ll use to pick up their package during store hours.   
“Our customers continue to demonstrate their desire for innovative in-centre features, tech-integrated amenity and convenience led initiatives to enhance their everyday shopping experience. It is integral that Australian shopping centres continue to evolve and adapt to retailer, customer and global demands,” Stockland Group Executive and CEO of Commercial Property, Louise Mason said. 
“This partnership with Amazon is another way we are curating our offering to what our customers really want. We view online shopping on platforms such as Amazon as an extension of what our retail town centres can provide customers.
“At Stockland we believe the future of retail is about creating places that are at the heart of communities, provide exceptional convenience and offer tailored and unique experiences for customers.”
 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Stockland partners with Amazon Locker

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Amazon's Australian headquarters will be on Market Street in the Sydney CBD.
As the technology giant steps up its expansion, Amazon already occupied office space at 2 Park Street.
The Australian Financial Review says it is now set to occupy 2 Market Street.
Allianz is leaving the building after it sold its half-stake in the tower to Charter Hall.
Allianz occupies more than 18,000 square metres in the building's total of nearly 40,000 square metres in office space.
The second largest tenant is Caltex with 9,000 sq m. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will be vacating in 2021.
Amazon's distribution centres started in Melbourne's Dandenong South, securing a 24,387 square metre former Bunnings distribution centre from Melbourne's Pellicano family.
The online retailer will open its second distribution centre in Sydney's south-west after leasing a 43,000 square metre facility at Moorebank from Goodman Group.
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Amazon's new Australian headquarters location revealed 

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Online retail giant Amazon’s decision to block Australian shoppers from its US website has prompted an outpouring of anger from its customers. However, economic statistics indicate the actual value of online purchased products entering Australia from international marketplaces is relatively low. While some shoppers will be disappointed by Amazon’s decision, others will simply find ways around the geoblock.
The federal government has been <a href="https://www.2gb.com/gst-on-online-shopping-should-have-happened-ten-years-ago-gerry-harvey-says/" target="_blank">under pressure from legacy retailers like Gerry Harvey</a>, who have called for an end to the GST exemption on overseas online purchases worth less than A$1,000.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison last year <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F345ee0b5-7f9d-47ea-a37c-53d1b10edff0%2F0030%22" target="_blank">introduced legislation</a> for this measure, arguing it will “establish a level playing field for our domestic retailers”. From July 1, 2018, GST will apply to all overseas online purchases.
The Australian Retailers Association has proposed a “<a href="https://www.retail.org.au/mediacentre/ara-calls-productivity-commission-widen-net-gst/" target="_blank">vendor collection model</a>” under which foreign retailers would collect the GST at the time of purchase and then pay it to the Australian Taxation Office.
But the fact is that these measures won’t level the playing field. Overseas online prices for many items are so low that that even if GST were added, they would still be <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/online-shopping/buying-online/articles/buying-cheaper-clothing-online" target="_blank">far cheaper than they are in Australia</a>. For example, a recent search showed Levi’s 510 jeans for A$115 at Myer, compared with A$74.85 in the United States; and a Uniqlo Women’s ultralight down jacket for A$200 here, versus A$154.10 over there.
In 2017 Australians spent an estimated <a href="https://business.nab.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NORSI-DEC-2017.pdf" target="_blank">A$24.2 billion online</a>. Yet this is just 7.8% of the amount spent at bricks-and-mortar shops. And more than 80% of online spending was through domestic retailers, which are subject to GST.
With only A$4.84 billion spent via overseas retailers, a quick calculation indicates that adding 10% GST to those purchases would have added A$484 million to the government’s coffers last year.
<h2>Why has Amazon blocked Australia?</h2>
Amazon has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/31/world/asia/ap-as-australia-amazon" target="_blank">blamed the new GST rules</a> for its decision to bar Australian shoppers, arguing that the vendor collection model would create significant operational difficulties:
<blockquote>
While we regret any inconvenience this may cause customers, we have had to assess the workability of the legislation as a global business with multiple international sites.
</blockquote>
Yet rival online seller eBay seems to have managed to <a href="https://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/content/gst-fees-ebaycomau" target="_blank">implement the vendor collection model</a> without undue trouble. It looks as if Amazon, which generated <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/266282/annual-net-revenue-of-amazoncom/" target="_blank">almost US$180 billion in sales last year</a>, views the Australian market as just too small to justify the hassle. In fact, one study has estimated that Amazon will only gain a <a href="https://www.macquarie.com/au/advisers/expertise/market-insights/is-amazon-the-end-of-australian-retail-as-we-know-it/" target="_blank">16% share of Australian online retail sales by 2025</a>.
Amazon’s view on Australia’s red tape may well be right. Modelling by Australia Post suggests that if the postal service were tasked with assessing and collecting the GST on international deliveries, it would cost almost A$900 million to collect A$300 million in revenue.
<h2>Who are the winners and losers?</h2>
As mentioned above, Amazon probably won’t suffer much from cutting loose its relatively small Australian customer base. But what about the customers themselves, and Amazon’s competitors?
When <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/" target="_blank">Amazon Australia</a> (not to be confused with the now geoblocked US site) launched in December 2017, just in time for the Christmas rush, <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/retail/amazon-australia-3-8-million-aussies-december" target="_blank">3.8 million Australians visited the site</a> during that month alone. But this is well short of the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/does-amazon-australias-retail-launch-spell-the-end-of-ebay-20171205-gzywck" target="_blank">11 million Australian shoppers</a> who visit eBay each month.
Amazon’s withdrawal will undoubtedly benefit eBay and other sites such as <a href="https://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/AU/australia" target="_blank">Alibaba</a>, which look set to attract shoppers who are still hungry for an international bargain.
While some dedicated fans of Amazon’s US site are <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/we-regret-any-inconvenience-this-may-cause-amazon-to-stop-shipping-to-australia-from-july-1/news-story/f90d87e59d29cc589ea9c184f3f5f40b" target="_blank">understandably annoyed</a>, most customers simply won’t notice the difference. Customers will be automatically directed to Amazon’s domestic offering, which claims to stock more than 60 million products.
For Australia’s traditional retailers, the playing field still isn’t really “level”, even without access to Amazon US. Don’t expect everyone to suddenly start banging down Harvey Norman’s doors come July 1. In reality the impact will be minimal.
<h2>How to get around the geoblock</h2>
For the very determined shopper who demands access to Amazon US, there are naturally ways around geoblocking technology, such as re-shipping services, freight forwarders, and <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/electronics-and-technology/internet/internet-privacy-and-safety/articles/bypass-geo-blocking" target="_blank">VPNs</a>.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97612/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">But given that the <a href="https://gopages.neto.com.au/rs/618-SCT-255/images/The%20State%20of%20Ecommerce%20Guide%202017.pdf" target="_blank">average online shopping basket</a> was worth A$145 in 2017, it seems like a lot of trouble to go to just to avoid paying A$14.50.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gary-mortimer-1322" target="_blank">Gary Mortimer</a>, Associate Professor in Marketing and International Business, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847" target="_blank">Queensland University of Technology</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fear-not-shoppers-amazons-australian-geoblock-wont-cramp-your-style-97612" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Online overseas shopping not prevalent before Amazon geoblock

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Amazon has leased a 43,000sq m industrial facility in Sydney's Moorebank, at the Goodman Centenary Distribution Centre.
It is due to start operations in the second half of the year, Robert Bruce, Amazon Australia's operations director said.
"We are thrilled to be establishing our next fulfilment centre in Sydney and working with incredible people in the local community around Moorebank.
"Sydney represents another important development for our growth strategy in Australia, following a steady and progressive increase in customer demand," Robert Bruce said.
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"This new facility builds on the capabilities of our first centre in Dandenong South, allowing us to continue to fulfil our commitment to fast and reliable deliveries for Australian customers."
<div id="article-inline-ad">Amazon's Australian debut was in Melbourne's Dandenong South last year, securing a 24,387sq m former Bunnings distribution centre from Melbourne's Pellicano family.</div>
</div>
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The new Sydney warehouse would allow the company to speed up delivery to customers, Amazon said.
Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller was pleased to welcome Amazon which employs around 1200 already in Australia.
“This is a great win for our local community; the Amazon facility will be a boon for South West Sydney and we look forward to having good jobs for people close to where they live and having a partner involved in the local community.”
 
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Amazon takes Moorebank warehouse space in first South West Sydney lease 

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The Amazon effect has clearly set in.
Long before the online retail giant stepped into Australia, there was nervousness among retailers here.
Now, with Amazon officially launching its marketplace, Myers and Woolworths are among those who are preparing for the increased competition. So are other leading retailers such as JB Hifi and Harvey Norman, among others.
Myer has come up with The Myer Market, which launched recently and is a marketplace that allows third parties to sell their wares, similar to eBay.
At Woolworth's annual general meeting, its Chairman Gordon Cairns said the supermarket chain was ramping up its online offering in response to Amazon’s entry.
Meanwhile, at Mirvac's annual meeting in November, its chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said she was looking forward to Amazon’s arrival.
"Our view is that the fear is far worse than the reality's going to be," Lloyd-Hurwitz told The Australian Financial Review after the AGM.
Mirvac’s portfolio includes the country's most productive mall, the Broadway, in uptown Sydney.
Mirvac's specialty sales growth, a key indicator, is also rising. In the September quarter, specialty sales growth hit 6 per cent among Mirvac's malls, unlike many other malls 
As online shopping surges, it has also had another effect.
Real estate developers are investing record sums of money into new warehouse space, building bigger, taller structures to meet the needs of e-commerce - and the robots that help it along, Bloomberg reported.
Builders spent $US2.7 billion on US warehouse construction in October, the most since the census started keeping track in 1993.
The size of the average warehouse completed this year was 188,000 square feet, more than double the size in 2001, according to a CBRE report cited by Bloomberg.
"It's the notion of the endless aisle," said Joe Dunlap, a managing director at CBRE.
A retailer stocking 30,000 items in its stores might offer 10 times as many items for sale online. More stock means larger footprints. Higher ceilings accommodate mezzanine levels, letting operators cram more shelves into a building.
Amazon recently bought more than 2 hectares of land in Sydney’s southwest, next to a warehouse it has a lease for. It paid $7 million for the land, according to News.com.au.
Earlier this year, Amazon secured its first distribution centre in Melbourne's outer south eastern suburbs (picture above).
The online retail giant had earlier missed its widely anticipated launch on Black Friday.
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Australian retail biggies beef up online presence to combat Amazon

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Did you know that Australians can partner with Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer ($136 billion in sales last year in 11 global markets)?
You can build your own business on their platform without having the usual e-commerce business challenges such as building a website, finding customers or shipping products to those customers.
Amazon is your chance to escape the rat race. Imagine being paid every 2 weeks no matter where in the world you are...you could be travelling, enjoying quality time with your family or helping make the world a better place.
Treat an Amazon business like an investment rather than a traditional business.
Once an Amazon business has been set up correctly it takes less time and effort to manage than a property portfolio.
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You’ve not missed the boat on Amazon...NOW is a great time. RIGHT NOW!!!
Everyday our students are going live on Amazon in the US...and preparing themselves for the Amazon Australia launch!
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spost-fCfKtoCdFu

Right Place, Right Time - Build An Amazon Business Today!

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GUEST OBSERVER
The loss of the high-value young grocery shopper is the biggest risk facing Coles and Woolworths when Amazon disrupts the Australian grocery market.
According to a major new survey of 20,000 Australians conducted by the Roy Morgan Research Institute, while younger Australians like Millennials represent future value for supermarket giants, they also represent the consumers most at risk from the Amazon juggernaut expected to sweep Australian shores in coming months.
An advance briefing by Roy Morgan on their Supermarket Survival Survey revealed that 73 per cent of the highest value younger consumers known as NEO-Millennials already shop online. And they are 85 per cent more likely than the average Australian to shop online. They and their equivalents in Gen X are the fertile feeding ground for Amazon in Australia.
Despite this major shift in the future of shopping behaviour, the survey reveals that supermarket chains have been focusing on what is known as ‘owned media’ – media channels they own and run very well. The best examples of supermarket owned media are their magazines and catalogues.
Their magazine titles, for example, dominate the entire magazine market. The Coles Magazine is Australia’s most read title with 3.2 million readers of an average issue, ahead of Woolworth’s Fresh on 2.7 million readers – both well ahead of Better Homes and Gardens (1.81m), Women’s Weekly (1.76m) and Woman’s Day (1.56m).
However, the research reveals that incumbent supermarket brands may need a new approach to their magazines and catalogues – particularly with the spectre of Amazon looming on the horizon.
The survey reveals that only 2.2 per cent of Australians find magazines useful when purchasing groceries, compared to 49 per cent who find catalogues a useful tool. The Internet (20 per cent), newspapers (6 per cent) and television (5 per cent) are all ahead of magazines as grocery influencers.
In the supermarket category, catalogues rule. In an average 4 weeks 7,179,000 Australians read a Woolworths catalogue, and 7,115,000 read a Coles catalogue. This balance in favour of Woolworths is borne out in the shopping behaviour of Australians with 4.5 million mainly shopping at Woolworths compared to 4.3 million at Coles.
However, future shareholder value and profitable growth of Australia’s supermarket brands lie in the hands of the younger generations like Millennials – particularly the highest value NEO-Millennials. Australia’s 1.5 million NEO-Millennials are even less influenced by magazines with only 1.7 per cent finding them useful when shopping for groceries – in stark contrast to the power of the Internet with 39 per cent using it to inform their grocery spending. Ninety-one per cent of NEO-Millennials are in the top third of discretionary spenders in the economy – and supermarkets are chock-full of discretionary products.
Alarmingly, this high-value supermarket shopper is 157 per cent more likely than the average Australian to buy groceries online. Why is this alarming? While it’s true that a quarter (25.4 per cent) of all Australians say they’d like to buy their groceries online, only 3.7 per cent actually do, seemingly quarantining the big supermarket brands from the Amazon threat.
Elsewhere in the world, the average online grocery behaviour of Amazon-targeted countries is reportedly between 25 and 30 per cent, enabling Amazon to simply transfer online shoppers from existing brands to their Amazon Fresh or Amazon Prime offerings.
In Australia, however, with less than 4 per cent shopping for groceries online, Amazon has to grow the pie before it can take its slice. So, NEO-Millennials are a juicy target for Amazon. They spend their lives online and their online grocery shopping is already approaching 10 per cent. Add to that the fact that sixteen per cent of NEO-Millennials already are Amazon shoppers – 82 per cent more than the average Australian – they have to be considered easy pickings for Amazon.
And because they are younger, they represent lifetime value to the big supermarket chains.
So, how can Australia’s supermarket brands best prepare themselves for the Amazon assault? Certainly not on price or delivery. On all available data, Coles and Woolworths simply cannot win a price war with Amazon. And, despite Coles’ current fulfilment trial using UberRUSH to deliver groceries in Melbourne, the incumbents can’t win on delivery either.
An incumbent supermarket brand may have great supply chain, discounts, sale events, efficient &amp; inexpensive fulfilment, but it had better not have the second-best discounts &amp; fulfilment. When Amazon hits town, every retail brand in its merchandise category line-of-fire will be second best.
The American price / delivery battlefield provides stark evidence. Just look at Walmart, legendary in the US for the cheapest prices across its myriad grocery and general merchandise categories. A US study by Business Insider found that over a diverse basket of 25 grocery &amp; electronics products, Amazon was $US161.05 cheaper than Walmart. And Amazon keeps gazumping it on delivery cost and speed. Unimaginable just a few years ago.
So, what then of the incumbents’ catalogues and magazines? Are they part of the solution?
According to the Supermarket Survival Survey, magazines have a future role to play if the big incumbents adopt the new mantra of ‘think small’. The Supermarket Survival Survey reveals that the biggest threat to the supermarket categories is losing the high-value cohorts across younger generations, those shoppers most likely to already shop online and already consider a familiar Amazon more frictionless, relevant and trustworthy than their brands. These are the consumers motivated by the personal, the local, the handmade and who are moving towards zero friction and the ‘right to forget money’. They are ripe for disruption.
To retain them, Coles or Woolworths might, for example, position Amazon as the global giant, and then make their digital catalogue and magazine content relevant to different (small) communities – geographic communities, NEO-Millennials and communities of interest. Such a strategy would serve to replace the rapidly disappearing local media, highlighting not only the incumbents’ ubiquity but also their local proximity and relevance. Amazon will win on price and delivery but can never win on local authenticity.
So, the catalogues and magazines published by the supermarket incumbents have an opportunity to become their most potent weapons in the looming grocery war, but only with granular sociographic mapping of consumer types, like NEO-Millennials – way beyond geo-demographics and into the realms of local relevance and authenticity.
Dr Ross Honeywill is a social scientist and internationally published author. Executive Director of the Centre for Social Economics, he advises national and global clients on the peak-value consumer ecosystem and can be contacted <a href="https://rosshoneywill.com" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

New Amazon threat to Coles and Woolworths

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82307/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
There was genuine positivity at this year’s Australian Booksellers’ Association Conference in Melbourne in June.
The mood was one of camaraderie and optimism at the sharing of good news. And it only brightened with the news that our National Bookshop Day was to be rebranded this year as Love Your Bookshop Day. Why not?
Saturday is that day. Expect to see your local bookshop buntinged, postered, streamered and perhaps offering special bargains. Assuming, of course, you have a local bookshop. 
Store numbers have steadied in recent years and, as was reported at the conference, both independent and chain or franchise booksellers are expanding. Children’s book sales in particular are performing well. (“The bookshop is dead. Long live the bookshop,” reads a plaque at Embiggen Books in Melbourne’s CBD.) 
But over the past couple of decades the sector has wrestled with the challenges of superstores, GST, the GFC, one-sided international post deals, ebooks and online-only undercutters.
Now the greatest of these online stores, certainly in terms of market share, will soon be competing with Australian bookstores from a new base here. Amazon has secured a massive distribution centre site near Dandenong in outer-eastern Melbourne. Dire predictions for parts of the Australian retail sector have already been made. 
Local booksellers too will need to adjust to this new environment, in which Amazon will likely reduce its delivery time and charges significantly. This will place downward pressure on book prices, and thus booksellers’ margins and capacity to survive.
Amazon has itself experimented with physical bookstores in recent times, to underwhelming reviews, but its primary focus has, of course, been on being able to offer “everything” at the “everyday low prices” of its American precursors (and sometime role models), Walmart and Costco.
Today’s booksellers must choose what to put on their shelves from around 7,000 new releases each month. As all of these will be on the “shelves” of Amazon, local booksellers will need to maintain an intimate knowledge of what will appeal to their customer base.
This curatorial role, which has always been part of what good booksellers do, takes on extra importance in the digital age. Curating, one might say, is the opposite approach to that of Amazon, which instead expertly removes barriers to purchasing, encouraging impulse buying. The extra services local booksellers provide, in addition to low prices and the range of stock, will likely need beefing up also. Community building will be the order of the day.
The current shrinkage of review pages of broadsheet newspapers will also hurt many bookshops, as they depend on a degree of consensus as to what is important and valuable to read.
Price instability may well grow in Australia with the arrival of Amazon. Publishers have argued over the decades that this instability also discourages consumer confidence.
The Productivity Commission doesn’t accept arguments in favour of maintaining price levels for some products in order to keep the costs of others down. But regulatory bodies have special challenges when confronted with large, diverse conglomerates, such as Amazon. It has the capacity to drop prices for products in one category (such as books) to maximise competitiveness, while the overall bottom line is propped up by more profitable parts of the business (such as Amazon Web Services).
In the face of aggressive price cutting from firms like … well, Amazon … regulatory bodies concerned with fair prices for consumers are yet to find an effective means of properly accounting for the fact that its success has been partly based on exploiting publicly developed (and funded) technology and infrastructure, determined strategies of tax minimisation, aggressive use of IP and patent law, and sustained intransigence towards its workforce’s self-organisation and unionisation.
On Tuesday morning this past week, a crowd of parents and kids waited in the cold out the front of our local suburban bookshop till, at 9 o’clock, they could rush in and buy the latest Treehouse book, by Andy Griffiths. The bookseller handed out free copies of a quality cookbook to parents. Community spirit, human connectedness and customer loyalty all bloomed nicely.
As the legendary Collins bookseller, Michael Zifcack, recalled in his memoirs, “I realised early on that customer service was the secret of successful bookselling.”
I’ll be heading to that local shop on Saturday, but can also, of course, appreciate the access to more or less every available product that online shopping provides. No doubt there is room for both retail models within our society.
What remains most important, when thinking about the health of the book industry here, is that no matter how cheap we make these products, there won’t be effective demand for them unless people have the time and desire to read. 
This desire, in turn, rests most powerfully on the belief that what one knows and says matters; that democracy, its public sphere, and reason, evidence and logic are the driving forces of one’s society. For all of us, that challenge is ongoing and, broadly speaking, we will get the books and bookshops we deserve.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-hollier-13619" target="_blank">Nathan Hollier</a> is Director, Monash University Publishing, Monash University and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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Love of bookshops in a time of Amazon and populism

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Amazon's arrival in the Australian retail market has been pinpointed as likely given suggestions it has secured its first distribution centre in Melbourne's outer south eastern suburbs.
Amazon has agreed to lease the 24,387 square metre former Bunnings distribution centre at 29 National Drive in Dandenong (above) within the M2 Industry Park, owned by Melbourne's wealthy Pellicano family, according to the AFR.
The vacant A-Grade warehouse, which stands on a large 7.7 hectare site, could potentially be doubled in size to suit Amazon's needs. 
It has been available for lease since October 2014 with an asking rent of $75 per square metre (or $1.8 million per annum).
The online giant, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, has been scouting for logistics hubs in Sydney and Melbourne since revealing its ambitions earlier this year to offer it full retail offering in Australia,
In Sydney, it is understood there's a deal looming between Amazon and industrial developer Goodman Group on a large fulfillment facility in the west, rumoured to be the Oakdale Industrial Estate, on Old Wallgrove Road, at Eastern Creek. 
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Amazon secures first Aussie distribution centre

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78534/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
E-commerce giant Amazon has struck a deal to acquire Whole Foods Market, an American supermarket chain with more than 400 stores.
The move has put even more pressure on Australian retailers as Amazon sets up shop in Australia. 
But the real threat to Australian retail lies in Amazon’s business model. It is a low-margin retailer that owns several other highly profitable and fast-growing businesses, such as cloud services. These other businesses can and do cross-subsidise its retail operations.
JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman have suggested they will compete with Amazon on price, but given the cost structure of Australian retailers this may not be possible.
Amazon is very lean
While Amazon is extremely large, it is very lean. In 2016 alone, Amazon sold US$94.7 billion of product globally. But the cost of buying (or manufacturing) these products was US$88.3 billion, leading to a gross profit of just US$6.4 billion. 
This means the mark-up Amazon puts on its products is very small. For example, in 2016 Amazon’s gross profit margin (gross profit divided by sales revenue) was just 6.8%. JB Hi-Fi had a margin of 21.9%, Woolworths26.8%, Wesfarmers 31.0%, Harvey Norman 31.4%, Myer 42.1% and Super Retail Group a whopping 43.4%.
But Australian retailers also face high operational costs (wages, advertising, marketing and leases). The two largest, Wesfarmers and Woolworths, both have operating expenses in excess of 24.0% of sales revenue, while Myer, Super Retail Group and Harvey Norman are all around 40.0%. JB Hi-Fi is an outlier at just 16.3%.
Another important measure to consider is the net profit margin. This shows what percentage of each dollar of sales the company ultimately earns after all costs (including tax) are factored in. Net margin is calculated by dividing net profit after tax by sales revenue.
The net profit margins for Australian retailers are, for the most part, quite low – around 2-3%. This means they don’t have much room to move on price. If they drop prices, many will become unprofitable. So even if Amazon doesn’t start a price war in Australia, its business model is such that prices will be extremely competitive. 
Amazon has other businesses
Most Australian retailers are only retailers. Some of the larger groups, such as Myer and Wesfarmers, operate across a few industries. But they ultimately still earn nearly all their revenue from buying and then re-selling physical products.
Amazon, on the other hand, has a profitable and booming services business. Its “services sales” represents about US$41.3 billion in sales, or 30% of its revenue. This covers third-party seller fees (Amazon charges other companies for access to its marketplace and warehouses), Amazon Web Services (a fast-growing provider of cloud services), digital subscriptions, advertising services and co-branded credit card fees.
In its 2016 annual report, Amazon reported US$12.2 billion in revenue from Amazon Web Services alone. The scariest thing for Australian retailers is that this has increased four-fold since 2013, and is responsible for nearly 75% of Amazon’s operating profit. 
Amazon, then, not only has a large, low-margin online retail offering, but is supported by a fast-growing, high-margin cloud service. 
Finding new ways to compete
Most Australian retailers will need to look at other ways of saving costs if they are to remain competitive with Amazon. For example, Coles and Woolworths can put even more pressure on suppliers to reduce their costs. Coles has recently signalled that it will pursue this strategy. And all of our retailers can try to reduce the cost of leases, and shift or reduce staff.
The small margins of most Australian retailers mean reducing prices alone isn’t a viable long-term strategy, especially as Amazon Web Services gains steam and Amazon is profitable in other countries.
Not every retailer will come under the same pressure, though. In the short term at least, groceries are still likely to be purchased in stores. But the same can’t be said of clothing and electronics. This means Woolworths and Wesfarmers should not be as concerned as Myer, Super Retail Group and JB Hi-Fi. 
The answer for retailers may be to look past price and compete on other aspects of the shopping experience, such as convenience or customer service. But only time will tell if that’s what the Australian public wants.
David Bond is Senior Lecturer, Accounting Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-bond-172639" target="_blank">here</a>.
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