The figurehead of one of Australia’s leading electronic retailers has had a go at his rivals, joked about punishing shoplifters and hailed the arrival of game-changing consumer technology.
While he’s not ready to say what the mystery tech is, Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey told AAP he believes it will do more to change people’s lives in the next 10 years than anything that’s happened in the past 30.
“There’s quite a lot of this new product just around the corner. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but I know,” Mr Norman said.
“So this product is coming out, and it will be game-changer stuff.”
Earlier in an interview after the conclusion of Harvey Norman’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, Mr Harvey mentioned the “AI influence” over products ranging from fridges to televisions, and also talked about robots.
“If you said to me, will I be selling robots in the showroom in 18 months, I’d say ‘yeah, probably’.
“Can it load the washing machine? Can it load the fridge? Can it get you some butter out of the fridge and put it on the toaster? I don’t know – but that robot’s going to be a part of our lives.”
Mr Harvey noted CEO Katie Page, who is also his wife, meets regularly with executives from Harvey Norman’s top suppliers, although those meetings are now occurring every three or four months rather than every six months.
“The world’s moving too quickly, with people like Nvidia and Microsoft and others,” he said.
Mr Harvey said Harvey Norman was trying to prepare for a high-tech future by spending money on fit-outs and salespeople.
“We’ve got the best showrooms in the country by a mile,” he said.
“You go into a JB Hi-Fi, and you don’t think, ‘what a beautiful fit-out’.
“You go into a Good Guys, and it’s maybe a little bit better.”
Harvey Norman boasts a better quality showroom, quality salespeople and excellent lighting, Mr Harvey said.
“If you’ve got a big name manufacturer that’s produced a brand new product, then he wants to launch it with you, not with the others.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, the 86-year-old entrepreneur gave shareholders a tongue-in-cheek solution to retail crime, suggesting staff should hit thieves “as hard as you can” to discourage them.
Mr Norman later clarified the comments were not to be taken literally.
Harvey Norman also announced on Wednesday that sales revenue for the period July 1 to November 20 was up 9.1 per cent, compared to the same time in 2024.
Same-store sales in Harvey Norman’s Australian franchises were up 6.4 per cent during that time, the company said.
Harvey Norman shares were down about two per cent on Wednesday afternoon to $7.24.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
