Australia's new haul of Chinese online goods helps tame inflation
Chinese e-commerce platforms are not new in Australia, with Temu capturing big chunks of online sales, but their broadening appeal to Australians comes as they wrestle with lingering cost-of-living pressures.
Singapore-based online fast-fashion retailer Shein, which sells clothes made in China, earlier this month held a pop-up store in Sydney and launched its first Australia-focused brand, Aralina.
Alibaba had been a low-key cross-border player until last year when it started investing aggressively to boost global sales, including in Australia. Its main competitor JD.COM also launched its Australian site in March.
The push was initially designed to reach more Chinese buyers overseas, but Trump's tariff chaos thrust the e-commerce sites into the spotlight, with Taobao offering an English version of the app.
Taobao is promoting sales in English for the annual '618" shopping festival on June 18, one of China's largest. It offers free shipping to Australia for clothes worth more than 249-yuan (R613.23).
Consumers interviewed by Reuters said Taobao's app is easy to use and has translation functions to help communicate with sellers. High shipping costs can sometimes be a hindrance, but in some cases it is cheaper than buying locally.
The site's growing profile in English-speaking communities has elevated the 'Taobao haul' trend on TikTok in markets such as Australia.
Australian consumer Jessica Cox shared her first Taobao experience on social media, which included purchases of imitations of AirPods Max headphones. She also bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner and New Balance shoes, which were on the way.
'I thought I'd give it a try as a lot of people were saying they are pretty close to being mirror fakes,' she said.
'I thought, what do I have to lose?'
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Here we go Germn midfielder Florian Wirtz is set to complete a move to Liverpool in the Premier League. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP Image: Franck Fife/AFP The golden boy of German football is set to become the new prince of the Premier League as Florian Wirtz prepares to join Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee. Fresh from winning a 20th English top-flight title, Arne Slot's Reds have broken the bank to land a rising star already labelled as one of the world's best by former Reds midfielder and Wirtz's former coach Xabi Alonso. British media reported on Friday that the Premier League champions had agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116 million ($157 million) to secure the services of the attacking midfielder. Liverpool can now agree personal terms with a player coveted by a number of top European clubs. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Wirtz's abundant potential as a teenager sparked a row between his hometown club Cologne and Leverkusen five years ago when Leverkusen, who are backed by pharmaceutical giants Bayer, swooped to sign him at 17. Cologne argued that a gentleman's agreement not to poach youth team players had been violated, but Leverkusen said Wirtz was a first-team signing and within months he had made his Bundesliga debut. His rise was interrupted by a cruciate knee ligament injury in March 2022 that forced him to miss the next 10 months. By the time he returned, Alonso had been installed as Leverkusen boss and together they would spearhead the club's greatest days. Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich's grip on the Bundesliga in stunning fashion, romping to the title and the German Cup without losing a single match in the 2023/24 season. Wirtz netted his first career hat-trick on the day the title was sealed against Werder Bremen, on his way to being crowned Bundesliga player of the year. "Flo is one of the top players in the world, he's world class," said Alonso, who compared his protege to Lionel Messi in terms of his understanding of the game. "Why is Messi so good? Because he knows how and when to play simple passes. Messi says: 'You're in a better position? Here, there you have the ball'," said Alonso, a hero of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph. "It's not always about making the most brilliant move, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that. That's why he's so good." 'The full package' Both star player and coach committed to staying with the Leverkusen project for another 12 months, but defeat in the Europa League final to Atalanta to round off the 2023/24 campaign was a sign of things to come. Bayern restored their grip on the German game last season but could not convince Wirtz to follow the lead of many others in joining from their Bundesliga rivals. Instead, he made it clear his preference was a move to the Premier League champions and the chance to add his name to Liverpool's cast of legends. "A huge talent, huge future in front of him, so Liverpool is the place for him," said the club's former captain Steven Gerrard. Despite 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen, Wirtz will begin life at Anfield in the shadow of Mohamed Salah. But the Reds are banking on Wirtz's creativity to help maintain the 32-year-old's prolific goalscoring numbers and ease the burden of carrying the Liverpool attack. The club's previous record signing, £85 million recruit Darwin Nunez, has failed to deliver and could be sold to help recoup some of their major outlay on new faces. Liverpool will hope Wirtz can handle the pressure of his price tag and the physicality of the Premier League to ensure there is no second season slump under Slot. Former Germany head coach Hansi Flick is in no doubt about what the midfielder has to offer. "He's simply an outstanding technician, loves to play, is very creative, has a good shot, runs hard and is quick," he said. "He's the full package." AFP Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
