Amazon ups ante in Australian expansion
Amazon has launched a process to appoint a real estate firm to find the company a chain of distribution centres to acquire, in a further sign the online retailing behemoth is serious about expanding its presence in Australia.
Sources have confirmed that the group is currently seeking an industrial real estate agent ahead of a spending spree on storage sheds.
Groups likely to be in the running include CBRE, Knight Frank, Jones Lang LaSalle, Colliers International.
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It comes after The Australian revealed in August that Amazon had agreed to lease more than 10,000sqm of office space at the Citigroup Centre in the Sydney central business district.
There is a theory that the group may deal directly with the Australian listed industrial giant, the Goodman Group, with which it deals in the United States.
The Seattle-headquartered Amazon is following a host of international technology companies that have rapidly increased their Sydney office footprint in the past two years, in a boon for landlords in the city.
The move to hire a real estate agent adds further fuel to the speculation surrounding Amazon’s plan to wade into the fresh food market and deeper into general merchandise, a move that has sent a shudder up the spines of Australian retailers.
The group has already been on a hiring spree in Australia and has been rumoured to be on the hunt for logistics sheds for some time.
– with Ben Wilmot
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
