Chinese online marketplaces put pressure on local retailers.

 

Officeworks, which recently axed several senior buying executives following the appointment of new CEO John Gualtieri, is undergoing a major strategic shift that industry insiders say could see the retailer move further toward house brands and lower-cost Asian-made products.

 

Several suppliers told consumer electronics website ChannelNews that locally designed and developed products are increasingly being replaced with cheaper Chinese-manufactured goods, particularly in the accessories market, where major trade shows such as the Canton Fair are now key sourcing grounds for Australian retailers and distributors.

 

Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott has partly blamed the growth of Chinese sites Temu and Shein for the failure of the group’s local online marketplace, Catch, which was closed earlier this year.

 

Temu, which launched into Australia in 2023, was named as the fastest-growing digital brand in the country by Similarweb’s 2025 Digital 100 Australia report.

 

Temu’s own data boasts a staggering 72 per cent increase in unique website visits in 2024, a claim echoed by its reign as the most downloaded app on iPhones that same year.

 

In September, ChannelNews reported that Gualtieri restructured the retailer’s leadership, removing chief commercial officer Jim Berndelis, general manager of merchandise Jarryd McCarthy and head of commercial strategy Troy Verhagen. 

 

Gualtieri, formerly CEO of Kmart and Target, is now steering Officeworks toward a private-label strategy similar to Kmart and Target, where Wesfarmers’ own Anko brand dominates product ranges and margins.