Soon Amazon.com Inc will have ‘real’ presence in Australia. Amazon confirmed its plans to open in Australia in April and will now start shipping within Australia soon.

Though the U.S. e-commerce giant has not given an exact start date, the remarks from Rocco Braeuniger, Amazon’s Country Manager, suggest the company will ship goods from its first Australian warehouse in time for this year’s holiday season. Amazon is believed to have already signed up thousands of sellers. The company had picked a warehouse in Melbourne on the east coast, where most of the population lives.

“Let me tell you we are getting really, really close,” Braeuniger told the prospective product merchants at the Open Day held to encourage them to sell on the website.

Australians can already buy Amazon products from offshore, but having a local warehouse reduces the shipping cost manifolds. This is bound to add pressure on retailers who are already struggling due to infrastructure costs.

Amazon was previously presumed to offer Australia its “marketplace” service, where retailers would hire Amazon’s infrastructure but run their own sales. However, the company now would also be running its own retail unit, and ordering and shipping its own product. The company however, is not venturing into Australia’s grocery market as of now.