Americans about to hit our stores Williams-Sonoma / Pic: Justin Lloyd Source: The Daily Telegraph Michael Kors / Pic: Getty Images Source: The Daily Telegraph WE have had a European shop invasion - now the Americans are coming. While stores such as Zara, Topshop and Miss Selfridge are now part of the Aussie high street, a raft of new American stores are calling Australia home. Californian-based surfwear brand Hollister opened in Bondi Junction Westfield yesterday while, across the road, homewares juggernaut Williams-Sonoma Inc opened four stores on Thursday - Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma.Michael Kors' flagship Sydney store in Westfield CBD was launched last week and American lingerie brand Victoria's Secret has been steadily opening outlets in Australian airports. Pennie Rende, general manager of Williams-Sonoma Inc in Australia, said Australia was chosen as the first location outside North America to have physical stores because of its strong online sales data."Going global was really important to us and Australia was chosen because it met the criteria. It's among the top two countries for online sales," she said. We use online sales and e-commerce to tell us where to open stores. As well as bringing out stock, Rende said the brands would also be exporting the American service model. We're training everybody here. We have amazingly creative people on staff who are hungry to learn our expectation of service models," she said. Our service model is to really listen to our customer. Michael Scheiner, Hollister's president of marketing, said customer service and the store's fit-out was as important as the stock. The store experience is unlike any other. The design of the interior looks like a genuine beach house," he said. Comfortable chairs equipped with magazines provide customers with a place to hang out, relax and take in the view. Stephen Kulmar, the principal at retail consultancy group Retail Oasis, said the influx of international brands would ultimately benefit the local retail offering. "From the consumer perspective, we'd have to say it's all good," he said. We'll have international quality retail brands available, which will put pressure on Australian retailers to improve the overall consumer and brand experience. The standards are going to rise, be that in product, services or in-store experience. Kulmar said the arrival of Zara and Topshop had led to improved product in the marketplace and that these new American brands would change shoppers' expectations of customer service. "American retailers work to create a whole store experience with their displays, visual merchandising and integration with online," he said. The brand experience will be much enhanced and it will encourage all Australian retailers to lift their standards. It was the strength of Australian online purchasing which had attracted the physical stores, he explained: "Brands like Hollister are using online sales as a research tool to work out what market they will enter. Ultimately it's a very good thing for retail."While the increased competition will mean not everyone will survive, Kulmar didn't think that was a bad thing. Retail will radically improve its standards. It's no longer about product at a price sitting in a store. It's about what your brands stand for," he said.