Australian retailers rally as Amazon gets cool reception

Sydney

AMAZON.COM's Australian arm took its first orders on Tuesday, ending the suspense over its opening date and sending retail stocks higher amid complaints of limited product range and uncompetitive prices on the US e-commerce platform.

The cool reception suggests the US$550 billion newcomer will need to trim its margins and ramp up stock selection in the world's No 12 economy, and eased the market's worst fears about its potential to devastate brick-and-mortar incumbents.

While Amazon.com.au was generally competitive on price, analysts found some items were more expensive on the US company's website. An iPhone 7 Plus was selling on Amazon for A$1,345 (S$1,384) compared with A$1,199 at elect…