A virtual Gerry Harvey joined his wife, Katie Page (also Harvey Norman CEO) and executive director, David Ackery on the stage at the Crown Palladium on Friday evening and proclaimed that, “business is going very well.” The pre-recorded message was heard by 900 franchisees and suppliers at a capacity gala dinner following the Harvey Norman bi-annual Expo in Melbourne last week. By Claire Moffat and James Wells.
“I don’t know whether to thank you (Ackery), or the proprietors or all of you, but whatever it is, we are going extremely well and our market shares are improving in practically every category.”
“So when I look at it, I get this nice fuzzy feeling inside because it means you are all doing a good job and you can keep your jobs – David can keep his job and Katie can keep her job,” Harvey said to laughter from the audience.
“I think at Harvey Norman – we are doing a better job than our opposition when you look at our shops and when you go into them. Our job in Harvey Norman is to give you a good showroom and give you a good buying price, and your jobs (franchisees) is to make sure you have very good salespeople out there, and that it all comes together and we present a better case than the opposition.”
“ There is no argument with anyone out there about that, I am aware that in our shops we give you a better presentation, we give you a better offer and it is a superior product to the opposition,” Harvey stated.
Katie Page added, “We are in the sweet spot at the moment, the housing industry with what’s happening there and the Gerry Harvey small business tax deduction. So you when you look at that, we are delivering something that is called a homemaker department store which is unique in the world.”
“You have got to remember we are not just electrical and IT, we are furniture and bedding we are bathrooms and floor coverings and that’s always kept us in good stead, compared to the opposition. So when somebody comes in to buy a fridge for example they can also buy a lounge – it is the same customer.”
David Ackery added, “No other retailer, certainly in Australia, launches technology. (Our opposition) are all very good at launching pricepoints, but we actually launch technology.”