This Week In Ecommerce

Ecom Nation

🎙️ This Week in Ecommerce is your weekly download on the headlines shaping Australian retail. Hosted by industry legend Mal Chia and rising star Alex Ross, each episode dives into the biggest stories—from billion-dollar deals to platform updates, policy shifts, and consumer trends. Sharp insights, no fluff, and plenty of honest takes. New episodes every Wednesday. Powered by Ecom Nation.

  1. 14 jul

    They Took Your Money and Told You to Call Your Bank

    It's bloody freezing, we're one week out from Online Retailer in Sydney (expect an impromptu Qantas Lounge recording), and before the conference chaos kicks off we've got a genuinely grim week of retail to unpack — three collapses, a national outage and a $40m loss. The Stax saga got worse, and it's the one to read twice: customers who "bought" during the late-June pre-sale weren't paying for stock on a shelf — they were funding product that was never made, and now they're getting neither the goods nor a refund, with founders Don and Matilda pointing them to their banks for a chargeback. It's a masterclass in torching a brand on the way out. We get into that, plus who (if anyone) buys what's left. Prime's Australian distributor collapses with ~$85k in the bank and millions owed — the inevitable end of a hype brand that never converted the queues into a repeat purchase.Stax's pre-sale buyers are left with no product, no refund and a "talk to your bank" — and that trust doesn't come back under new ownership.A four-hour Telstra outage knocked out payments nationwide, and the real lesson is single-vendor reliance plus a crisis-comms scorecard (Telstra fronted it fast; Optus's ghost still lingers).Retail spending is actually up — but only because over-65s lifted spend 14% year-on-year while younger cohorts contract, and most brands are still aiming at the shrinking half.Adairs is prepping investors for a $40m loss that's really a Focus on Furniture write-down, not an operating collapse — the core brand's EBIT still grew 15%, and the squeezed middle of furniture is where the pain sits.City Chic retreats from the US as unit economics and tariffs bite, while Uniqlo books a fifth straight record year — two opposite answers to "should you go global?".

  2. 7 jul

    Betts, Stax, Depop's Fee War & the Accent Group Takeover

    We're on the other side of EOFY and into the thick of H2 — and Australian retail served up one of its messiest weeks in a while. Two heritage-adjacent brands hit crisis on the very same day, a resale platform war escalated, and a two-year-old takeover saga added another wrinkle, all while Myer and T2 quietly proved that some operators are still finding real growth in this market. The standout story is the Betts and Stax double: on the same day, Betts entered a managed restructure — closing 20 of its remaining 35 stores and pivoting hard to online — while Stax entered receivership and is now in a rushed fire sale, reportedly triggered by a disgruntled major creditor. One is a 134-year-old retailer trying to right-size before it's too late; the other is a five-year-old DTC brand that's been unprofitable for three-plus years and is now drowning in unfulfilled pre-orders and refund complaints. Same week, same headlines, very different stories underneath. Country Road Group made MD Helen Wright redundant after just 18 months, splitting the role into a Chief Product Officer and a GM of Apparel & Accessories (Shani Delargy) — a structural signal, not just a personnel change.Myer added 25,000 products to its marketplace, with marketplace sales up 41% in FY25 and 80% of marketplace shoppers also buying Myer's own stock.T2 turned 30 with EBIT up 20% year-on-year, proof that retail theatre and premium packaging can still win in the most commoditised category imaginable.US Prime Day pushed online spend to $26.4bn (+9.3% YoY) with BNPL up 9.5%, while adult women drove real growth in the toy category — Lego, plush toys and collector cards, not just kids' stuff.Betts entered a managed restructure (20 of 35 stores closing) and Stax entered receivership on the same day, with Stax now in a fast-tracked fire sale after years of unprofitability.Depop is scrapping its 10% AU seller fee from 22 July after Vinted's zero-fee Australian launch — a genuine seller win, or a defensive land-grab to lock in supply before the competitive dust settles.The Accent Group takeover saga rolled on, with Frasers selling its Malaysian Sports Direct business to MAP Active to fund its $0.65-a-share bid for Accent, which the company's independent board committee has rejected as undervalued.Heading to Online Retailer in a couple of weeks? Check the show notes for the TWIEVIP code for a free expo floor pass.

  3. 1 jul

    The ATO Is Quietly Killing Your Favourite Brands

    End of financial year is done and — despite the sale noise — the market actually went backwards in real terms, with Roy Morgan tipping EOFY growth of just 1.9%, under CPI. Mal's on the road in Sydney (yet another hotel), Alex is dodging a South Australian thunderstorm, and between the World Cup and NBA free agency it's basically Christmas in Mal's world. Plenty to get through. The spine of this week: community is the last real moat — and the tax office is quietly pulling the rug out from under brands that forgot it. Hyrox is a billion-dollar cult with near-zero acquisition cost, while Stax and Geedup — two former Young Rich List darlings — have collapsed inside a fortnight, with the ATO increasingly the trigger. Plus a new boss at David Jones, a COO move at Adore Beauty, an Uber Eats campaign we loved, and a Made-in-Australia marketplace worth watching. EOFY reality check — Roy Morgan tipped EOFY sales growth at just 1.9% (below CPI), and while some brands cleared stock brilliantly, the 80%-off-for-three-weeks crowd waved a red flag on margin.Discovery is the new battleground — timings were all over the place (Click Frenzy's comeback, early vs late-June sales), and getting onto a curated list like Two Broke Chicks' EOFY round-up is earned-media gold.David Jones' new CEO — Erica Berchtold (ex-The Iconic, ex-Mosaic) becomes DJ's first female CEO, replacing Scott Fyfe, with PE owner Anchorage Capital unlikely to be patient as pre-tax losses widen to $95.5m on sales of ~$2bn.Adore Beauty's new COO — Jasmine Russell joins from gifting brand Lvly as Adore leans further into its store rollout and omnichannel growth.Uber Eats "bags" the city — giant Uber Eats bags wrapped around rival brands' billboards (GYG, Maccas, KFC, Hungry Jack's, Petbarn) — a masterclass in leaning on a distinctive brand asset rather than making Meta and Google do all the lifting.Made in Australia marketplace — Haroon Sheikh's new platform lists only verified Australian-made brands and competes on founder storytelling over price, with the real test being whether that goodwill converts at a viable cost of acquisition.Hyrox's billion-dollar cult — LVMH-backed L Catterton is reportedly in talks to take a major stake in Hyrox at a valuation as high as ~$1bn, buying not a sport but a cashed-up, referral-driven community with almost no paid acquisition.The AU brand reckoning — Stax entered receivership on 24 June across all four entities (12 stores down to two, permanently 50% off) and Geedup into liquidation, with Mal's "gym test" and a failure to renew the brand as the cautionary tale.The ATO is the silent assassin — insolvencies are up sharply YoY (retail and hospo leading), the ATO is now a leading creditor and far less willing to negotiate payment plans, so budget for tax like a household bill — buy the Hyundai, not the Lambo.See us at Online Retailer (22–23 July) — all-access passes are nearly gone, but free expo-floor passes are available (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.onlineretailer.com/en-gb/register.html?cat%3DRetailer%26ct%3DU2FsdGVkX18zizAT%252FPRxllJH9%252FV5p%2B%2BH4EYAQXzu%2BZFrIUBftFov4nFdHg365ESU%26utm_source%3DMalChia%26utm_medium%3DPartner%26utm_campaign%3DMarComms&source=gmail&ust=1782853352122000&sa=E); Mal's hosting the NORA podcast stage. Use code: TWIEVIP

  4. 23 jun

    Google Agentic Commerce, ChatGPT Ads & the Death of Pure DTC

    Alex is back from the dead, Mal's discovered the Riverside sound-effects board, and the World Cup has well and truly taken over the Cheer household — but underneath the banter this is a big one. It's the episode where AI stopped nibbling at the edges of ecommerce and started eating the actual buying journey: discovery, the checkout, and the ad auction, all at once. The headline: Google has switched on agentic commerce in Australia — we're the first market in the region — letting shoppers buy straight out of Search, AI Mode and Gemini, with Kogan, Bunnings, Adore Beauty, Petbarn and The Iconic first in the door. The cart is moving into the model, and if your product feed isn't clean you simply won't exist. From there it's ChatGPT ads, the death of growth-at-all-costs DTC, and why the smartest money this year is getting off Meta and Google. Google agentic commerce lands in Australia — the checkout moves into Search, AI Mode and Gemini, and clean structured product data becomes the price of entry.New York's world-first "synthetic performer" law forces AI-actor disclosure on any ad reaching the state — and the ACCC's $138k HiSmile fine proves the same honesty crackdown is already here at home.A pack of TikTok-native activewear challengers is out-creating the incumbents on speed — a lesson for Australia's crowded field of Stax, P.E Nation, Muscle Nation and Nimble.Ads have arrived in ChatGPT off the back of OpenAI's eye-watering $39bn loss — and the early-adopter window looks a lot like the early days of Meta.Pure-play DTC's growth-at-all-costs model is dead: Dôen, La Ligne and Cinq à Sept grew to nine figures and stayed profitable by being deliberate, while Everlane, Glossier and Allbirds sold for scraps.Paramount's US-only CTV deck is really a case for diversification — get off the small screen, use the surfaces nobody's touching, and remember the 95:5 rule: you're ignoring 95% of your market chasing ROAS.

  5. 19 jun

    One-Click Cancel, Greenwashed Burgers & Elon's Trillion

    Solo show from a gate at Sydney Airport — Alex is out sick, and the week didn't slow down to match. Regulation, reputation and the biggest float in history, all at once. 🎟️ Online Retailer 2026 — 50 listener passes, plus free expo passes. First in, first served. Use code TWIEPodcast (link below). This week: The EU "withdrawal button" (live 19 June) — if a customer can buy in one click, they now have to cancel in one click. Applies to any Aussie brand selling into the EU; penalties up to 4% of regional sales. Check Shopify's comms now.Grill'd in the Federal Court — the ACCC alleges only ~4% of 5M "Tree Day Tuesday" burgers actually triggered the promised tree-planting donation. Cause marketing you can't back up is now a legal risk, not just a trust one.Lincraft closes all ~60 stores, going online-only — but craft is a touch-and-feel category, so this reads more like a managed exit than a pivot.Drop Shop reinvents the bottle shop — Dan Sims' konbini-style store sorts wine by occasion and budget, not grape. Clever, but a feature not a moat. If it works, Dan Murphy's copies it.Nike's first global gym deal (The Yard) — two months after shutting its own gyms, Nike rents presence in 100+ rooms full of its exact customer. Build vs partner, done right.SpaceX floats at ~$1.8T — the biggest IPO ever, and because your super tracks the indices, you probably just helped make Elon a trillionaire.

  6. 12 jun

    The Scarcity Trap: Why Hype Brands Keep Going Broke

    EOFY is in full swing, Mal's recording from yet another airport — Perth this time, en route to a Singapore keynote — and the retail news is ramping as fast as the sales calendar. This week is a tale of two retails: brands hitting the wall, and brands quietly cleaning up by doing the exact opposite. The headline act is a streetwear bloodbath. Trapstar and Geedup — two scarcity-drop darlings on opposite sides of the world — both tipped into administration in the same week, and the post-mortem lands on one culprit: the drop model is a working-capital trap, and the moment your gear is on every kid on the block, you stop being special. Around it: a collapse, a comeback, a viral data scandal, and a value-brand land grab. Barbeques Galore — creditors knock back the rescue deal, 59 company-owned stores wind up by month's end, and the gift-card "two-for-one" sting tells you everything about the exit.Okanui — the hibiscus-print boardies are booming, proof that Aussie 70s/80s retro heritage is a moat Temu can't knock off (and yes, Oscar Piastri's Lego figure picked floral boardies and thongs).Click Frenzy — returns 18 June under the Leibovich brothers, with Australia Post footing the bill for the first 500 retailers, and Mal's "go short, go hard" advice for the EOFY scrum.Coles × Palantir — the two-year-old deal goes viral on TikTok again, and we're not buying the "nothing to see here" on what a CIA-and-ICE contractor does with your flybuys data.Trapstar + Geedup — the deep dive: scarcity, over-saturation, directors drawing down the working capital, and the difference between a 100-year business and a get-in-get-out play.Kmart's Anko — squares up to IKEA with its first standalone K Home store as the squeezed middle keeps losing ground to both ends.🎟️ Online Retailer is coming up — we've got 50 all-access passes for verified retailers (plus free expo passes). First in, first served — details in the links. https://www.onlineretailer.com/en-gb/register.html?cat=Retailer&ct=U2FsdGVkX18zizAT%2FPRxllJH9%2FV5p++H4EYAQXzu+ZFrIUBftFov4nFdHg365ESU&utm_source=MalChia&utm_medium=Partner&utm_campaign=MarComms Use code: TWIEPodcast

  7. 3 jun

    Two retail failures, one Kogan win, and the death of the click

    The week the funnel finally collapsed. New data shows that when Google serves an AI Overview, only 1% of users click through — down from 15–20% on a standard SERP. People are discovering brands on ChatGPT and Claude, then arriving directly via branded search, if they arrive at all. Traffic isn't dying. Attribution is. Two retail failures landed in the same 48 hours and both told the same story. Stateside Sports went into voluntary administration, weighed down by 31 stores and licensing fees on US sports merchandise. OzGoods Depot called in liquidators owing $2.5m, with the top three creditors being Meta, Microsoft Advertising and Shopify Capital — a creditor list that is its own diagnosis. Meanwhile Kogan reported gross sales up 13% to $876m, Mighty Ape trimmed its losses, and LVLY did the opposite of every other brand by pulling humans back into customer service and lifting NPS from 58 to 76 in a year. 🎟️ Online Retailer 2026 — TWIE listener passes. We have 50 all-access passes and 50 show-floor passes for the 23–24 July event. Codes are dropping in the show notes — or DM us and we'll send the link directly: TWIEPodcast Online retail share has barely moved — Mandala/Inside Retail estimate online shopping saves households around $1,400/year, but online retail is stuck at ~12% of total, up roughly 1% in three years. Omnichannel isn't a buzzword, it's the actual ceiling.Stateside Sports enters voluntary administration — 31 stores, a major warehouse, and licensing fees on every unit. The cost stack on licensed retail is brutal at scale.OzGoods Depot calls in liquidators owing $2.5m — top three creditors: Meta, Microsoft Advertising, and Shopify Capital. If your debt sheet is paid acquisition and revenue-based finance, the model is the problem.Kogan reports gross sales up 13% to $876m, gross profit up 11%, EBITDA up 8.6% — the marketplace flywheel is paying off, and Mighty Ape's loss is shrinking the same way Iconic's eventually did after a decade.ACCC takes federal court action against Amazon over 41 unicorn backpacks failing battery warning rules — the first real litmus test for the new platform liability laws. If Amazon wins, the floodgates open.Google AI Overviews are killing click-through — 1% versus the 15–20% you'd see on a normal SERP. The research, discovery and intent stages are now collapsing into a single AI conversation, and your traffic metrics will not tell you what's happening.Article (Redbubble) narrows its losses to -1.1% from -9.3%, gross profit up 10.2% — print-on-demand and personalisation are accelerating, but the margin stack (artist + print + fulfilment + ads) is what makes the model so hard to run.LVLY lifts NPS from 58 to 76 in a year by going the opposite direction on AI — real-time delivery updates, live chat with real humans, and a care team empowered to fix issues without escalations.

  8. 27 mei

    GYG retreats, Alo invades, and Amazon goes full agentic

    The week the market said "thanks for staying focused." Guzman & Gomez quietly closed its eight Chicago stores and the share price jumped 20%. Skin Candy pulled off the first properly successful retail ASX listing of the year. And Alo Yoga planted a flag directly opposite Lululemon at Chatswood Chase — a brand move with a price tag and a clear message. The deep dive everyone needs to sit with: Amazon's new Rufus + Alexa agentic shopping assistant is live in the US, and Mal's been using it. It is, in his words, "weirdly like the future." Meanwhile Shopify has quietly opted every store into its agentic storefront — so if you haven't started optimising your product feed for LLM discovery, you're already behind. We close on the AI layoffs wave (Meta, Microsoft, Intuit, Upwork all swinging the axe) and what Klarna's quiet customer-service backflip tells us about where the real line sits. 🎟️ Online Retailer 2026 — free Show Floor Pass for TWIE listeners. Use code TWIEVIP at checkout for a complimentary Retailer Show Floor Pass. Unlimited passes, but the 100% discount only runs until May 31 — after that the code still works but no longer covers the full cost. Grab it now: [insert Online Retailer registration link] Guzman & Gomez pulls out of the US — eight Chicago stores shuttered, share price up 20%, and the market just rewarded focus over a vanity expansion.2,000 Rebel Sport managers launch a class action — Super Retail Group in the firing line again over unpaid pre/post-shift hours and through-break work.Heaps Normal's Marrickville Health Club named one of the top 10 global retail experiences alongside Zara, Rolex and Erewhon — four months after opening.Alo Yoga's first AU sanctuary opens at Chatswood Chase, literally opposite Lululemon, with four more sites locked in by year-end.Amazon's new agentic shopping assistant merges Rufus and Alexa — Mal road-tested it in the US and it changes the discovery game, while Shopify quietly opted every store into its agentic storefront.Skin Candy's ASX debut — the first genuinely successful retail listing of the year at $245m cap, up 5% on day one, proving the service + product hybrid model still pulls capital.The AI layoff wave hits 200k+ globally — Meta, Cloudflare, Upwork, Microsoft and Intuit all cut deep, but Klarna's quiet rehiring of customer service staff says the limits are real.

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🎙️ This Week in Ecommerce is your weekly download on the headlines shaping Australian retail. Hosted by industry legend Mal Chia and rising star Alex Ross, each episode dives into the biggest stories—from billion-dollar deals to platform updates, policy shifts, and consumer trends. Sharp insights, no fluff, and plenty of honest takes. New episodes every Wednesday. Powered by Ecom Nation.

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