Harvey Norman has opened the doors to its Merry Hill flagship store in Dudley, West Midlands, with the brand making its debut in Great Britain.

The retailer occupies the ground floor of the former Debenhams store, and offers four distinct product categories – bedding, furniture, home appliances and technology.

Harvey Norman chief executive, Katie Page said the retailer originally planned to open its first store in Great Britain 15 years ago but was thwarted for a number of reasons; not least the global financial crisis and Covid.

Lachlan Roach, who started his career at Harvey Norman in Australia aged 18, is the managing director of Harvey Norman UK, where his remit also includes the stores in Holywood and on Boucher Road in Belfast, both in Northern Ireland.

Harvey Norman UK managing director Lachlan Roach.

Page said: “Lachlan is the right person for the UK. He will work so hard, and we wish him all the success, but our next big job is making sure we get more stores open; we think Merry Hill, which welcomes 20 million shoppers per year, will work pretty quickly. I’ve said to the board, give me three stores. Let me do three stores and make sure that this can work. They will all be in West Midlands.”

Appliance Retailer can exclusively reveal that Harvey Norman’s second store will be in Sutton Coldfield, which is 16 miles (25km) from Merry Hill, and is expected to open in the next 12 months.

Page added: “Lachlan and I will be working hard with the teams to make sure this works, because we want to go to the rest of the UK. There are 70 million people in this great country; there are five million people in the West Midlands and so from here, we’ll just fan out and both Gerry and I are excited.”

Exterior of the Harvey Norman Merry Hill store.

During the VIP opening of the store, Harvey Norman chairman, Gerry Harvey paid tribute to his wife, Katie Page.

Havey said: “Katie’s the one that came over to Great Britain and pushed this market; she’s spent a lot of time over here. Her knowledge of this mark is quite extraordinary.”

Roach started as a salesperson for Harvey Norman in Dubbo, 23 years ago. He recalled: “It was really hot going into summer, and they had a job offer for a part-time salesperson, and without any expectation, I got the role.

“I enjoyed talking to people and enjoyed the technology side of it – my first sale was a 51cm Sony Trinitron TV. Now, we’re going to global head offices, talking with leading brands about what’s next.”

ASKO laundry & Smeg cooking displays.

Roach said he felt humbled from the support of suppliers, and the backing of Katie Page and Gerry Harvey in growing the Harvey Norman brand in Great Britain.

He told Appliance Retailer: “With over 300 stores in eight countries across the globe, it will be no surprise that we’ve been wanting to make our entrance to the English market for a while.

“We’re already in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and brands have been talking to us for a while about what we could do for them in Great Britain; thanks to their support, they have backed us to make this a success.”

Roach continued: “This is our first stake in the ground here, and it’s very important for us to be able to tell British consumers what we’re all about. We’re a customer-centric brand, and Merry Hill has a vibrant community, so we’re thrilled to bring both our extensive range of lifestyle, technology, and entertainment products and the exceptional service that Harvey Norman is renowned for worldwide.”

Samsung, LG & Sony TV displays.

The Merry Hill store employees 80 local people; Roach points out that he and UK general manager, Paul Chapman, are the only “outliers”.

The company’s website, www.harveynorman.co.uk, is trading, offering national delivery and installation services.

Roach said: “Great Britain has a very mature logistics network. Depending on where you are, we can deliver almost next day. If you can wait three to five days, we can pretty much get it anywhere in the country. We have an on-site warehouse in Dudley, which is a very good size, and will suffice for our next store as well.”

Looking ahead, Roach said he’s very excited about the site of the second store in Great Britain.

“We’re really excited by the site in Sutton Coldfield, which is part of an overall rejuvenation program,” he said. “It’s in quite an affluent area, but also gets us into the eastern part of Birmingham; the Merry Hill store is on the west. We’re excited to see what we can do in that location, bringing consumers back to that area. Katie’s got a good vision of what’s next.”

In Northern Ireland, Harvey Norman recently added home appliances and technology departments to its Holywood store, and the Boucher Road store will have these two departments added in the coming months.

Roach added: “When we launch into these new markets, it’s important that our people feel comfortable, first and foremost, and we make sure everything’s working as it is. We’ll now put the accelerator down on our advertising and drive people into these stores.”

Feature image: Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page & Harvey Norman chairman, Gerry Harvey.