In recent weeks a number of consumer tech brands have announced Australia will be one of the few markets worldwide to retail specialised products such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge, LG’s technology-combining Ultra HD and OLED TVs and Nintendo’s New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL.
“Recognising our passion for new technology, Australia has been specifically selected as one of a select few countries in the world to launch the Note Edge, an exciting new device that will transform our understanding of smartphone screen technology,” said Arno Lenior chief marketing officer, Samsung Electronics Australia.
Australia is also a sophisticated market for appliances, said Mike Lilly, head of home appliances, Samsung Electronics Australia.
“Australians are some of the earliest adopters of technology and demand the best from brands they choose to buy. For Samsung, we see a pathway guided by constant innovation and improvement to meet the evolving lifestyles of our customers. We’ll continue to see a great focus on combining premium design and engineering with the latest in functional technology.”
The reasons behind suppliers’ fondness of Australia isn’t just about our keenness to embrace new technologies; the nation is small, yet its diverse population means it’s a great test bed for products.
Jeff Julian is the creative director at Newcastle University and over his career has developed content and intellectual property for clients including Apple, American Express, Adidas, Nike, BMW and Rolls Royce. Julian spoke to Appliance Retailer about key trends in the consumer electronics industry.
He said that in some cases cutting edge products are available in Australia and not other locations because it is relatively inexpensive to trial products in Australia and then expand to other markets.
“For decades Australia has always been used as a test bed for new technology because it has a relatively small population, but it’s got a very diverse population that represents Europe and America, as well as Asia very well.”
Julian said that Australia has the right culture to develop its own innovative consumer tech companies and products, but so far there has been no economic need to do so thanks to our abundance of natural resources.
“There is great innovation that has always happened in this country but it hasn’t had to be part of the DNA of the country.”
He makes the comparison with Japan, which due to a lack of certain resources was forced to import steel and coal and think innovatively about their manufacturing industries because they had to produce something of value to export.
“You’ve seen how Japan exploded from the 1950s onward, because they had to. In Australia, just like Canada, Russia and countries that have a lot of natural resources you haven’t had to do that. It hasn’t had to happen.”
Julian said a culture of innovation — similar to that in the USA — is “starting to really come online here”, a trend that needs to continue so Australia can capitalise on the economic opportunities and applications provided by new software and hardware.
“We should have our own Samsung. Or Apple. There’s no reason why we couldn’t have that.”