Tourists Boosting Retail Sales of Australia

John Poulakis, the founder of Harrolds estimates that nearly a fifth of the sales from his boutique shop can be safely attributed to the rising number of tourists in the region. And, he has added that the tourist arrival figures have been increasing with every passing year.

Fashion conscious travellers from places as remote as the Middle East are the regular visitors to Harrolds shops based in the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney.

In addition, the Asian holidaymakers have also started pouring into the likes of Valentino, Kenzo and Givenchy. The local regional shoppers of Harrolds continue to dominate the sales that have grown at a double-digit rate for the last five years as per the account of Mr. Poulakis. But then, he said that the tourist market had grown considerably in the last few years.

He said that they have a wide range of international people who are fond of shopping with the brand.

And, he mentioned that a large number of Chinese tourists used to frequent these shops about five years ago but then at present they do not shop in these places. However, the brand witnesses a great deal of New Zealanders and even people from the Arab states.

The rise of overseas shoppers in the major capital cities of Australia is offering a much-needed boost to the retail sales.

David Rumbens, a partner at Deloitte said that the number of foreign tourists visiting Australia was at record highs.

And, the spending was rapidly rising too. Mr. Rumbens said that the tourism sector was offering the retail sector with a ‘big boost’. But then, the influx of tourists was also likely to usher in a greater number of international retailers to the shores of Australia.

Mr. Rumbens went on to add that while tourism adds one of the important markets to the retailers of Australia, it also exposes their vulnerability to international competition.

The official records of Deloitte portray that the retail profits had dropped to the lowest level in five years in the last six months.

The brand has forecasted a ‘steady improvement’ in retail sales through 2017, thanks to the tourists thronging to this area. Furthermore, it is expected to also bring about an improvement in job growth during the same period.