If Gerry Harvey is to be believed, nobody can make a dollar from the internet. But that isn’t going to stop this true Australian hero from trying, for the love of meat pies and barbecues. Harvey Norman is going online.
It seems that the 21st century is dragging Harvey online, kicking and screaming. As Harvey told Meredith Booth from the Herald Sun:
“By this time next year you’ll see Harvey Norman with a pretty sizeable internet presence. My heart’s beating very strongly on whether we make any money out of it.
“I haven’t got any choice. I’ve got to cannibalise our stores.”
Poor Gerry! Forced to eat his own kind just to get by. What’s worse is that there’s no guarantee he’ll satisfy his craving for human flesh bricks and mortar retail stores.
“They’re kicking us on the internet at the moment but there’s no history of anyone making money on it.
Really? Surely there are plenty of online-only companies making a profit out there. It’ sad that a businessman like Gerry Harvey has to be forced to move into the 21st century, when it’s clear he doesn’t want to be there.
Now, who’s going to offer to give Gerry a virtual hug in the form of an online purchase? Or are all your money-hugs reserved for companies who want to hug you back?
[News]
Lillee
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 9:56 AMlol, still wouldn’t buy from him…
Gerry
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:03 AMGerry your best years are behind you. You should just retire, relax in the country with your $quillians and let some new blood look after the future of HN.
Rob Bailey
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:06 AMExcellent, so not only now can i pay twice as much as i should in a harvey norman store i can soon do it online to. He is right he won’t make any money out of it because the people who shop online are smart enough to find it elsewhere at much better prices.
BrashesVoucher
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:19 AMSo true! You’ve got my vote for best comment!
Bjorn Rostron
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 1:58 PM+ 1
NaE
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 6:06 PM+1 from me too
Glenn
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:07 AMGerry Harvey… A businessman?… HAH!
I won’t be shopping on the Hardley Normal website, because not only will it not offer competitive prices, they’ll charge outrageous amounts for shipping as well!
The sooner Gerry Harvey goes the way of Borders the better.
Sam
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:07 AMI’m sure they’ll be more expensive than everywhere else online too.
Still the line “They’re kicking us on the internet at the moment but there’s no history of anyone making money on it.” cracks me up.
wsDK_II
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:07 AMMr. Harvey’s online effort will probably fail as he does not understand how to appeal to consumers (low DECENT prices, good information about products, links to reviews and help on the product and most importantly, GOOD PRODUCTS THAT DONT BREAK DOWN AFTER 4-6 years).
Im going to get my next TV from an online store, probably Kogan.
Normandy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:08 AMGOOD LUCK. People Buy online as its cheaper! Harvey Norman was expensive in store prices for their productions, and their web site is going to go stale if their online prices are anything like their in store prices.
Ollie
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:08 AMFor f*cks sake, even if they at least had a PROPER catalogue online of what they sell it would benefit them immensely, then you wouldn’t have to deal with f-wit nooblar salespeople either ignoring you completely while you stand there like a nonce waiting, or trying to upsell you garbage that you don’t need.
You could browse, say hey, they’ve got it in stock, and it’s a good price, hey I’m gonna drop by Hardly Normal after work and pick that up!
Hallelujah what a brainwave.
Paddy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:08 AMIt’s about bloody time! Will they screw us over though, by making us pick up from stores, or will they actually (God forbid!) DELIVER IT TO YOUR HOME??
Cathie
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:08 AMPathetic.
I will surely be extending my bricks and mortar boycott to his online presence too.
And hey Gerry, if you can’t eat ‘em – join ‘em??
Pffft.
Ollie
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:10 AMFurther to that, probably the best example I can think of is Officeworks. Their website doesn’t always mirror their stores, sometimes they have stuff either online or in store that isn’t on the other, but you can see what they’ve got and either get it delivered or go pick it up if you want to check it out. Last time I checked, Officeworks wasn’t doing too bad for itself Gerry.
Trjn
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:12 AMIf nobody is making any money on it, why bother getting involved?
Not that it should come across as a surprise to anyone that he does that, he does make regular appearances on Today Tonight and A Current Affair.
woodsdog
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:19 AMnever before seen, a business finally make a website… 10 years to late and you all advertise it for them… Cant beleive you all fall for his free advertising scam… who are the dumbarses around here… Gerry or the news outlets…
Gadget seller
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:20 AMYou know, you should really do your research before bagging companies online.
HN was one of the first major CE retailers to have an online store years ago.
But back then online shopping wasn’t very popular and the average sale price of tech was much higher.
They used to and still have a huge % of the market share.
I bet a large number of your readers actually go to their stores to try product before they buy online, mainly due to your ever increasing biased opinions and cash for comment journalism.
As for hugs…. I think you’re the one who may need one….
Regards, HN competitor
Nick Broughall
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:37 AMYou’re right. I could use a money hug today. Send the cheque to Allure Media offices, care of me.
:)
Nick Broughall
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:38 AMAlso, Biased opinions? Are there any other types of opinions?
As for cash for comment – sigh.
Owen
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:43 AMA large number of us will never set foot in their stores due to ruptured eardrums from their ads.
glennc
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:34 PMHarvey Norman dug their own grave with high prices (even for retail) and their dodgy useless sales people. for someone that tests sales people with questions i already know the answer to, harvey norman fails every time.
his sales force are dinosaurs. i think this whole company needs to move into the 21st century, not just his online presence. they are too old school, and will basically sell you what they want you to buy, not what your needs are.
yes i am generalising, but it is my constant experience with that retailer – every store, every time. so i do go there, but just to check out their clearance stock, there are still bargains to be had, i just can’t speak to their dishonest sales people.
Regards
Knowledgeable Consumer
Tim
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 5:45 PMThe reason the Harvey Norman website failed originally was because he could not use the power of the internet because he uses a franchise model so he could not offer the lower prices that the internet affords (i.e. no built in price for a lazy salesperson who does his best to avoid you for 30 mins along with the expensive real estate costs). Why would you pay MORE for something online (i.e. in-store price PLUS shipping)? People shop online primarily for low prices and convenience. I can only assume HN will cannibalise their own stores and offer lower prices online (i.e. direct form the warehouse). If they do not do that they will fail online again. But again – the issue with the HN online model is not that they are a bricks and mortar store (as there are plenty of these stores doing well online) but that they are a franchised model – so any online discount bites the hand that feeds them.
Oh – and Nick – that iinet advertisement makes Chrome want to fall over and die… It could be Chrome on XP (sigh) but either way it does not like Giz when i get that ad!
Daniel
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:25 AMJust don’t link to their website without their written consent. They don’t like that:
http://www.dawnstar.id.au/geek/link-inane-website-terms-conditions/
adam smolkowicz
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:31 AMI knew he would eventually sway to the online world.
Lillee
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 2:28 PMWell if he doesn’t he’s going to sway to the extinct world
Jamie Carl
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:34 AMGreat timing too now considering it looks like the bricks and mortar stores are actually competing with the online stores quite well. My experience just yesterday was after getting fed up with waiting 3 weeks for my backordered notebook to arrive I cancelled the order, walked into a JB Hi-Fi and managed to walk out with the exact notebook I wanted at a cheaper price than ANYWHERE online.
Still, I won’t be buying from HardlyNormals ever again. Bought a TV there once and within a week their delivery guys came back to collect said TV while I wasn’t home. :/
John
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:37 AMWell, at least it will save time. Instead of driving to HN to be ignored by snotty salesmen (or worse, talked down to as if you were a complete idiot) now you can go to their website to pay too much for your electrical goods.
I haven’t had a decent retail experience at HN for years now – and I won’t be using their website or their stores in future.
Mahqnetic
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:43 AMDOUCHEBAG spelt with a capital RIPOFF! Time to retire and pack up your troubles in your old kit bag Harvey…
Chris
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:03 AMTo me, this is the beginning of the end for HN. Gerry Harvey is effectively conceding he can play his monopoly game no more. Well, there’ll always be new players in the market, new companies anyway, so I’d say it’s good news to all Australians.
Paddy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:05 AMWhilst we’re bagging out HN:
Our local one ONLY stocks Monster branded HDMI cables and surge protectors. Charging $300 for something that’s worth $30.
Because it’s rural they are the only retailer and regularly con people into spending unnecessary dollars. I really upsets me.
Paddy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:06 AMSorry “IT” not “I” really upsets me!
Normandy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:36 AMHey Paddy, I live rural too, gladly I dont have a HN near me, so all my stuff I buy, ONLINE! you should too!
glennc
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:39 PMDo they have that Monster HDMI demonstration where they put it up against a .50c composite cable? somehow this is supposed to demonstrate Monster cables yet it compares apples to oranges. this must be illegal.
Paddy
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 3:33 PMNo demonstrations, fortunately. I would like to put there $300 HDMI up against a coat-hanger instore!
They’re a joke. I have bought things there, but got them to price match. Every time it’s painful, though. It’s just obvious, now.
1st off, I bought a TV. Knew what I wanted, went in to buy it and get a good deal. I did. Upon being told ‘I must have good cables’ and then shown the Monster selection. I replied that I would never buy anything by Monster and that it was a scam and they are unethical.
I then was forced to sit through 20 mins of shite trying to convince me to buy a $4000 home theatre system, despite the fact that I had said I wanted model x upon entering the conversation. The salesman disdainfully showed me ‘my’ saying how crap it sounded. It did. But then the settings had been screwed around with and 4 (including subwoofer) of the speakers weren’t even plugged in!
I left satisfied with my purchases’ price but nothing else.
Finally, I went around to my in-laws the other day after they had bought TV+bluray theatre from HN and had it installed by them. They were showing me ‘how good’ the HD looked on Foxtel. It wasn’t that good and when I looked at the connections the installers had hooked the Foxtel up to SCART??? WTF!?
Luke
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:10 AMNo hope in hell i will be purchasing from Gerry Hervey, i dont care if his price is cheaper. His stores, retail or online are not places i even consider approaching when shopping for anything new.
Gavin
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:14 AMGerry is not wrong, the internet does drive prices down which makes it very hard to make money as a bricks and mortar business… the public will understand this when they start to lose their jobs because the company they work for has outsourced staffing to a cheaper company overseas or has dropped their retail locations to minimise overheads so they can be competitive! I am not against online business, it just bothers me that the only way they have to be competitive and offer value to their customers is to offer lower prices!
Ron Hastings
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:39 AMHey well some of us get great deals …. Maybe others are just not capable of watching out for them. I shop all over Asia and still can get a best price from Harvey Norman
glennc
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:42 PMsure you can. or are we talking clearance stock here? considering there are cheaper prices than harvey norman anywhere else in THIS country, including retail, i think you are full of shit.
Corteks
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:19 PM“They’re kicking us on the internet at the moment but there’s no history of anyone making money on it.”
LoLwut?
Maybe he should look at, you know, the world around him.
I’ve visited the old Harvey Norman site before and I was pretty amazed at how pathetic their online presence is. Whether they are selling online or not is irrelevant, a big business like that should have some kind of half-decent website.