Are there any Aussie icon brands left?

Consumers who want to celebrate Australia Day this weekend by buying Australian could be in a bit of trouble.

There are very few, if any, consumer brands that are truly Australian. Vegemite of course is owned by Americans, Tooheys is owned by the Japanese, Myer by the Dutch and OPSM by the Italians. Then Country Road is owned by South Africans and Sorbent by Netherlanders.

So what are Australian icons? Ruthven nominates the services industries. “They are the things we spend most of our money on. You have companies like HBA, the banks like NAB and airlines like Qantas.”

Ruthven says the surveys he has seen that ask “would you buy Australian?” reveal that jingoism is dead. “The patriotism went along with the Aussie brands. People say they will buy Australian only if the product is as good or better than a foreign brand. I don’t think even Dick Smith, who is trying to get people to buy local peanut butter instead of Kraft, will succeed unless it is better.”

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Read the full article here

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