This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
GLOBAL retail behemoth Amazon has entered into an agreement with Goodman Group and the Queensland government to open a new fulfilment centre in the Brisbane that will be open by Christmas.
Construction will start immediately and create more than 170 construction jobs and an additional 200 jobs once operational. Goodman will overhaul an existing 16,300 sqm warehouse within its Port Industry Park in Lytton, and purchase an adjacent site from the state government. The resulting facility will be on land spanning more than four hectares.
State Development Minister Kate Jones said the government had worked hard to negotiate the sale of surplus industrial land in Lytton to Goodman.
Amazon Australia director of operations Craig Fuller said Brisbane is a key strategic location to meet customer demand in Queensland.
“This significant investment will benefit Queensland customers and small to medium size businesses, as well as create around 200 job opportunities to support the local economy. We’re proud to have played a unique role in supporting Australians during this unprecedented time, helping our customers to get the goods they need for their families without leaving their homes.
“Opening our Brisbane fulfilment centre will build on our capability to support Queenslanders, whilst providing job opportunities for local workers in a safe work environment, along with competitive pay.” Fuller said.
Amazon is Goodman’s biggest tenant, opening a 43,000 sqm warehouse within the group’s Centenary Distribution Centre in Sydney’s Moore Park.
The first Amazon facility down under was a 24,000 sqm warehouse in Melbourne’s Dandenong South that opened in 2017, and another warehouse within the Perth Airport Business Precinct opened late last year.
Retail spending tumbled by a record 17.7% in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, after panic buying amid the introduction of coronavirus lockdowns took sales to an 8.5% increase in March. However, the pandemic appears to have fast-tracked the surge in online retailing as Australians did their shopping from home. Westpac tipped a 20% increase in retail shopping during April, while the NAB Online Retail Sales Index recorded a 16.2% jump.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said lifestyle patterns and purchasing behaviours changed significantly throughout the global pandemic, which meant a lot of Queensland businesses focussed their attentions online.
“There is no doubt the ‘stay at home economy’ has grown significantly in the past few months,” the premier said. “E-commerce companies like Amazon have a key role to play in supporting that growing economy and helping facilitate Queensland businesses deliver their products to the door.”
Member for Lytton, Joan Pease said bringing Amazon to Queensland would create hundreds of jobs for locals and will have a great flow-on effect for local businesses, with orders and deliveries processed quicker and easier.
Amazon’s Australian workforce totals over 2,500 employees across amazon.com.au, Amazon Web Services, Kindle, Audible, Alexa and Prime Video.
Goodman Australia general manager Jason Little said Goodman has a long-standing working relationship with both the Queensland Government and Amazon, and together, we are working to open up economic opportunities for Queenslanders.
The industrial property giant has maintained its double digits growth earnings forecast despite the coronavirus pandemic.
“Despite the challenging global environment, customer demand in the online, logistics, food, consumer goods and digital economy, is supporting portfolio fundamentals and development activity,” chief executive officer Greg Goodman said last month.
