SYDNEY: Amazon.com’s Australian arm began an order-taking trial on Thursday, giving life to the hype which has preceded its arrival in the world’s No. 12 economy and weighed on the shares of the brick-and-mortar retail sector.
The trial kicked off at 3pm with the Amazon Australia website’s search box filling in product names automatically. A representative for Amazon, which has never given a start date for Australia, declined to comment.
“It’s obviously working because auto-population is there,” said Liz Cassidy, founder of Amazon-registered beauty products retailer Third Sigma.
Cassidy, who already sells product overseas via Amazon, said she had made no Australian sales in the first hour, but noted that the trial involved a limited number of shoppers.
Australia has long had Amazon-registered sellers but they have been limited to sending goods offshore as Amazon had no warehouse in the country. Until now, Australians have had to wait long periods and pay sizable shipping costs for deliveries.
While online vendors are excited about the opportunities, Australia’s more traditional shopkeepers have faced pressure to convince investors they can compete against the US giant since it confirmed its plans for Australia in April.
Shares of Harvey Norman, Australia’s biggest electronics retailer, are down 9 percent since April 17, the day before Amazon said it was coming to Australia. Shares of Australia’s biggest department store chain Myer Holdings Ltd. are down 39 percent.
“It’s not as if the majority of retailers in Australia are making a fortune and growing their businesses,” said Gerry Harvey, executive chairman of Harvey Norman.
“If you’re in clothes and shoes and handbags, you can’t take a lot more pressure.”
Amazon set up its warehouse in Australia’s second-biggest city of Melbourne, on the east coast where four-fifths of the country’s 24 million people live.
Shoppers will watch delivery times closely with Christmas just around the corner.
“It will be really interesting to see whether it lives up to the hype,” said Tim McKinnon, the Australian managing director for eBay Inc, an Amazon competitor.
Some shoppers took to social media to voice frustration that the Amazon Australia website had not begun taking orders publicly.
Amazon starts Australian trial after months of hype
Amazon starts Australian trial after months of hype
Closing Bell: Saudi main market sheds 85 points to finish at 11,098
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower in the latest session, falling 85.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to finish at 11,098.06.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index declined 0.63 percent to close at 1,495.23, while the parallel market index Nomu dropped 0.91 percent to 23,548.56.
Market breadth was firmly negative, with 42 gainers against 218 decliners on the main market. Trading activity saw 226 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR4.5 billion ($1.19 billion).
Among the session’s gainers, Tourism Enterprise Co. rose 9.40 percent to SR15.02. SHL Finance Co. advanced 4.51 percent to SR16.00, while Almasar Alshamil for Education Co. gained 3.56 percent to SR23.88.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. added 3.03 percent to SR19.70, and Banque Saudi Fransi climbed 2.61 percent to SR19.30.
On the losing side, Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. recorded the steepest decline, falling 6.61 percent to SR96.
Al Moammar Information Systems Co. dropped 5.14 percent to SR164.20, while National Company for Learning and Education declined 4.60 percent to SR124.30. Saudi Ceramic Co. slipped 4.14 percent to SR27.30, and Arabian Contracting Services Co. fell 4.12 percent to SR116.50.
On the announcement front, Saudi Telecom Co. announced the distribution of interim cash dividends for the fourth quarter of 2025 in line with its approved dividend policy.
The company will distribute SR2.74 billion, equivalent to SR0.55 per share, to shareholders for the quarter.
The number of shares eligible for dividends stands at approximately 4.99 billion shares. The eligibility date has been set for Feb. 23, with distribution scheduled for March 12.
The company noted that treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and that payments will be made through Riyad Bank via direct transfer to shareholders’ bank accounts. stc shares last traded at SR44.80, unchanged on the session.
Separately, National Environmental Recycling Co., known as Tadweer, reported its annual financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, posting significant growth in revenue and profit.
Revenue rose 53.5 percent year on year to SR1.24 billion, compared with SR806 million in the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased 68.4 percent to SR60.9 million, up from SR36.2 million a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes and operational expansion.
Tadweer shares last traded at SR3.80, up 2.70 percent.
