Australian retail shares tanked today as Trump tariffs caused a massive decline in retail, consumer electronics, and appliance company shares.
Following the market down was the Australian dollar, which dropped below 60 US cents for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic but at 2.30pm had pulled back to hold at &0.60.
It marked the currency’s biggest one-day fall in 17 years, amplifying the blow for import-reliant sectors.
Major retailers led the slump in retail shares as management tried to get a grip on costing and future supply.
JB Hi-Fi dropped 5.45%, Harvey Norman fell 4.14%, and Super Retail Group lost 4.13%.
Online-focused companies were hit even harder, Temple & Webster sank 6.22%, while Kogan declined 5.28%.
Distributors also suffered.
Ambertech, a supplier of consumer and professional audio-visual gear, fell 6.67%, and Shriro, which distributes Omega and Casio, dropped 5.3%.
Even large, diversified retailers weren’t immune.
Wesfarmers, which owns Bunnings, Kmart, and Officeworks, dropped 5.55%, and Woolworths slid 1.96%.
The broad-based sell-off came after US President Donald Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, said he didn’t want global markets to fall, but wasn’t concerned about the rout either.
“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters.
Earlier, after spending the weekend golfing in Florida, Trump admitted, “It won’t be easy.”
Global markets were roiled by Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on a range of Chinese and Asian-made goods, particularly in the electronics sector.
The impact was immediate, Sony plunged 10.52%, Nintendo dropped 6.79%, and Samsung fell 4.46%.
The local market followed suit.
The S&P/ASX 200 index plummeted 481.5 points, or 6.3%, to 7186.5 by late morning, with more than $144 billion in value wiped from the Australian stock exchange.
Banks and miners also saw steep losses.
The sharp fall in the Australian dollar raised fresh concerns for local distributors.
“Certainly, if the Aussie dollar falls very steeply, it’s because something bad is happening somewhere,” said currency analyst Sean Callow from ITC Markets, speaking to ABC News.
Local importers now face increased pressure, with the cost of goods rising at the same time as consumers tighten their belts.
Phil Sawyer, CEO of Melbourne-based Synergy, a distributor of high-end audio brands like McIntosh, Rega, and Sonus Faber, said, “We have seen this before, it could lead to price rises, but at this stage, we are still waiting to see what will happen.”
Some businesses, however, are trying to stay optimistic.
Executives from Temp, a distributor that works closely with Chinese manufacturers, claimed they were “only seeing benefits,” suggesting some suppliers in China could benefit from falling commodity prices.
Still, the outlook remains volatile.
With US futures pointing to further declines and fears of a recession looming, Australia’s retail and consumer sectors face a difficult road ahead, caught between rising costs, shaky consumer confidence, and an unpredictable global trade environment.
