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Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is an Australian multinational retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2022, there are 304 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas.
Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman opened their first store in 1961, that specialised in electrical goods and appliances. Harvey and Norman had first met when both were working as door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen. The store's success prompted Harvey and Norman to expand the business and conduct talks with retailer Keith Lord, who sought to expand his own retail group. They could not settle on a name for the new business, with Harvey and Lord reluctant to take on the other's name. They eventually decided to retain Norman's name and that of its first store manager, Peter Ross. This spawned the retail chain Norman Ross.
Norman Ross became one of the largest appliance retail chains and by 1979 controlled 42 stores with sales of more than $240 million. In the early 1980s, Alan Bond and Grace Bros sought to acquire the chain, spawning a bidding war that saw Grace Bros incorporate the chain in 1982. Three weeks later however, a determined Alan Bond successfully convinced the Grace Bros director Michael Grace to sell the chain to Bond. Shortly after, Harvey and Norman were given notice and redundancy package of six months pay. Reasons for their sacking were not publicised, although Harvey later told The Daily Telegraph: "I said I wished Alan Bond would pack up his marbles and go back to Perth. Then I got a telegram telling me I was sacked".
Norman Ross went into liquidation in 1992. In October 1982, Harvey and Norman purchased a new shopping centre in the outer Sydney suburb of Auburn for A$3 million, and opened the first Harvey Norman store.[citation needed] The enterprise was intended to be a single store but its success led to the opening of others. Harvey Norman Holdings Limited was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 3 September 1987.[citation needed]
In the early 1990s, Harvey Norman adopted the superstore format then successful in the United States, and entered the computer and furniture markets. The first computer superstore was opened at Bennetts Green, Newcastle, in late 1993 with much fanfare. That was followed several weeks later by the opening of a larger superstore at Auburn. Many stores later expanded their computer sections.
The launch of Windows 95 was a huge success, with a few Sydney stores opening at midnight, and some regional areas opening at 6 a.m.[citation needed] Harvey Norman sold Apple Computer products for several years. Apple decided to stop supplying the chain in the late 1990s, but returned in 2004 with the iPod range, which later expanded into iPads, iPhones and iMacs.[citation needed]
A Norman Ross store was opened at Bennetts Green in 1995, with the purpose of being a clearance centre.[citation needed] That had mixed results, and was closed within 12 months. However, the Bennetts Green store expanded into larger premises in 1996, where it operates today.[citation needed] Part of the relocation was a dedicated educational centre, named Kidscape. Specialist employees from Dataflow provided advice to parents on which software was best for their child. Kidscape was installed at a number of stores, but it was discontinued at a number of them within two years.
Some stores also opened early for the Windows 98 launch, which included a number of offers, including an SPC CD with Harvard Graphics and Quicken. Other products, such as modems and printers, were promoted at $98.
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Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is an Australian multinational retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2022, there are 304 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas.
Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman opened their first store in 1961, that specialised in electrical goods and appliances. Harvey and Norman had first met when both were working as door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen. The store's success prompted Harvey and Norman to expand the business and conduct talks with retailer Keith Lord, who sought to expand his own retail group. They could not settle on a name for the new business, with Harvey and Lord reluctant to take on the other's name. They eventually decided to retain Norman's name and that of its first store manager, Peter Ross. This spawned the retail chain Norman Ross.
Norman Ross became one of the largest appliance retail chains and by 1979 controlled 42 stores with sales of more than $240 million. In the early 1980s, Alan Bond and Grace Bros sought to acquire the chain, spawning a bidding war that saw Grace Bros incorporate the chain in 1982. Three weeks later however, a determined Alan Bond successfully convinced the Grace Bros director Michael Grace to sell the chain to Bond. Shortly after, Harvey and Norman were given notice and redundancy package of six months pay. Reasons for their sacking were not publicised, although Harvey later told The Daily Telegraph: "I said I wished Alan Bond would pack up his marbles and go back to Perth. Then I got a telegram telling me I was sacked".
Norman Ross went into liquidation in 1992. In October 1982, Harvey and Norman purchased a new shopping centre in the outer Sydney suburb of Auburn for A$3 million, and opened the first Harvey Norman store.[citation needed] The enterprise was intended to be a single store but its success led to the opening of others. Harvey Norman Holdings Limited was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 3 September 1987.[citation needed]
In the early 1990s, Harvey Norman adopted the superstore format then successful in the United States, and entered the computer and furniture markets. The first computer superstore was opened at Bennetts Green, Newcastle, in late 1993 with much fanfare. That was followed several weeks later by the opening of a larger superstore at Auburn. Many stores later expanded their computer sections.
The launch of Windows 95 was a huge success, with a few Sydney stores opening at midnight, and some regional areas opening at 6 a.m.[citation needed] Harvey Norman sold Apple Computer products for several years. Apple decided to stop supplying the chain in the late 1990s, but returned in 2004 with the iPod range, which later expanded into iPads, iPhones and iMacs.[citation needed]
A Norman Ross store was opened at Bennetts Green in 1995, with the purpose of being a clearance centre.[citation needed] That had mixed results, and was closed within 12 months. However, the Bennetts Green store expanded into larger premises in 1996, where it operates today.[citation needed] Part of the relocation was a dedicated educational centre, named Kidscape. Specialist employees from Dataflow provided advice to parents on which software was best for their child. Kidscape was installed at a number of stores, but it was discontinued at a number of them within two years.
Some stores also opened early for the Windows 98 launch, which included a number of offers, including an SPC CD with Harvard Graphics and Quicken. Other products, such as modems and printers, were promoted at $98.