A Lookback on Amazon Australia with Scott Kilmartin - Episode 111

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Today we are speaking to the very knowledgeable Scott Kilmartin, a retail advisor and Ecommerce architect in Australia. It’s the second time we have Scott on the show and the perfect timing to revisit the topic of Amazon Australia since it has been two years since its launch.

Today Scott is here for a detailed breakdown analysis of what went wrong when Amazon Australia first launched, what were the alternatives for sellers and what are the expectations for Amazon Australia going forward.

Scott Kilmartin advises brands on retail & marketing strategy, export and logistics, and guides large Ecommerce rollouts. He has worked with clients such as Tennis Australia and L’Oreal. A professional that co-founded and continues to run the event series Online Offline, and interviews the brands doing the best of ecommerce, branding, packaging, performance marketing in all areas of consumer-focused business.

“By any reasonable metric, in terms of products on offer or sales numbers, there was nobody that was breaking sales records out of the gate or even doing significant volume. It was a part of their sales channel mix, but we’re talking less than 5%.”
— Scott Kilmartin

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Scott talks about his Amazon Australia docu-series, called “David Versus Amazon”.

  • Why Amazon Australia didn’t have the impact expected and how people lost interest in the launch.

  • How Brick & Mortar stores misinterpreted the Amazon Australia launch.

  • When Amazon first launched, there was no Prime or FBA programs available and there was a very slow roll-out of features.

  • Amazon Australia felt very different compared to amazon.com offering a much more limited offering and array of features.

  • Why the launch didn’t go as planned from Scott’s perspective.

  • Kiri talks about a few Bobsled clients that planned to launch on the Australia market.

  • Why Amazon is not as important in Australia compared to the US.

  • Ebay is still the most dominant marketplace in Australia.

  • How Amazon acted as a catalyst that dragged some legacy retailers online.

  • Kiri talks about how some companies became marketplaces.

  • What innovative strategies is Ebay implementing now in Australia and why they are now a very strong market.

  • Scott talks about the “buy now, pay later” phenomenon and how it became so popular with offerings such as Afterpay.

  • Ebay announced a partnership with Afterpay, but it won’t kick in until 2020.

  • Amazon is opening a warehouse in Perth.

  • Expectations for the future of Amazon Australia.

  • Some tips and recommendations from Scott Kilmartin.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

  • Win a copy of Kiri's book, Amazon for CMOs! All you need to do is write a review of this podcast in iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to this podcast, take a screenshot of the review that you wrote, and email it to Kiri at kiri@bobsledmarketing.com or send it to her on LinkedIn.

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