http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/gerry-harveys…
Mr Norman called Amazon a "parasite" that "contributes nothing to society".
I think he might be having a few sleepless nights.
Would you guys still go to places like Harvey Norman once Amazon starts its operations?
HD 4K HDMI cable.
Priceless LOL.
It is platinum, says Gerry.
Only loosers buy HDMI cables for $159.
Successiful people buy proper AudioQuest Diamond 1m cables from Amazon for only USD $1,094.75
The reviews on that $1000 cable are pretty good!
his tears sustain me :D
oh, and just what has he contributed to society? gouging consumers doesn't count.
Jawbs (of useless people) and groth (of his empire)
it is alright when those in power or exploitative businessmen are parasites. when others try to topple them they become 'social parasites'. amazon may actually be removing obsolete parasites like geoff harvey. unfortunately technological change is hard. we need new ways to cope in society as these old parasites give way to the new wave. we need different social structures, ways of living.
Geoff?
LMAO. Seriously though - best half yearly profit ever and then a complaint about how a competitor will add little to society.
Gotta ask you Gerry, when did other companies have to be upright and moral but you can charge high prices, offer next to nothing in terms of range and customer service and walk way with a fat wad of cash seeking our sympathy when a competitor rolls into town?
Or did you forget that part of the free-market economy under which you made the best ever half yearly profit?
The reason people go to Amazon is because it offers what they want, at better prices and we don't have to darken the door of HN stores. I like Doctor Who but I don't feel the need to travel back in time when doing my shopping.
And news.com.au - can you just file Gerry under 'O' for 'old-timer who rants at the internet', and then just leave him alone.
Heard Gerry being interviewed on the radio yesterday afternoon. I could hear the jubilation in his voice when he proudly announced "best half yearly profit ever" and how he had 6 horses in races last weekend that all came home for a win. So when the reporter asked what does he put this recent success at the Harvey Norman stores down to - is it him; or his wife Katie or is it the market improving - Mr Norman's response was that it was the new policies that they had put in the stores and the way that they ran them. Now I thought that these stores were run under a franchise type model and he just simply charges these business owners' rent for the property and obviously a marketing fee and probably takes a percentage of their profit. But it seems that when it is successful - it is all because of what they have done and when it is not - it is the bloody internet sales that have interferred with their business. He still rants on about how internet sales are nothing for their business. So lets see what Amazon does for his business!? Looking forward to it…….
Jerry's company sells the product to the stores, so he makes on all the goods regardless of what they sell for. With that said, tye franchisees are all indebted to Jerry so he maintains control. If he doesn't like what they are doing they get wound up, often without much notice.
Don't worry his employees will always be able to find jobs in the secondhand car industry
or selling off bits of Oz to overseas criminals
At worst there's lots of old ladies to escorted to 5o'clock dinner and spoon feed
Careful what you wish for. Harvey pays tax in Australia and is a tough businessman. Amazon is a multinational corporation with a record of paying negligible tax in countries that are not tax havens and for being ruthless with employees. Australia has a few laws Amazon are going to have to deal with now. Who says they are not already working on ways to sidestep them?
Not a fan of Harvey Norman shops, but my take on the interview is just as stated above. He is warning people to get on his side due to Amazon's history of tax avoidance. Obviously he gains from this, but he has a point in that why should we support companies that don't help Australia.
tax avoidance is a misleading label. They follow the letter of the law, as laid out by our government and tax department. If the law changes then their tax responsibility changes.
We need to change the law so that multinational companies pay fair taxes relative to local businesses so competition is fair and so that they're forced to contribute to Australia's economic wellbeing.
Unfortunately every Government drafts proposed law changes with advisors from the same multinational firms (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC etc) that develop the tax minimisation structures and strategies. The majority of Aussies will need to kick up a really big stink if we want any meaningful changes.
Tax avoidance is the correct label as it means using legal methods to avoid paying tax.
Tax evasion is the term used for illegal evasion of taxes
Gerry minimises his tax like everyone else. His tears are from jealousy, he would love to be in Amazons position.
I don't have an issue with Amazon, but I have issues with multinationals who make a huge profit in Australia but pay no tax here.
I presume that Amazon will structure its operations in Australia so that sales in Australia generate profits in overseas territories to avoid paying company tax in Australia.
Of course they will.
We should have a law that stops the transfer pricing.
Make a profit here, pay tax here. I think it's a simple enough request.
Policing it is the difficult part and the ATO can't afford to take on these billion dollar companies, much easier to get tax from the little guys.
In Amazon case above, the recorded a profit of 34.4million on sales on 5.3 billion, which equates to a profit margin of 0.65%.
Surely, we can say that profits must be a minimum of 3% of sales. If profit was in reality only 3% of revenue, they would voluntarily pack their bags and GTFO of here.
Comparing Amazon US to UK there is a huge price difference. We might not be able to get the same deals here from Amazon AUS as what we get from US site.
Also got tho ask what the local vendors distributers will do, the likes of Sony Samsung Apple Levis,etc. That is were Mr Harvey will be pushing the hardest to get the best deals to compete against Amazon. But I think the problem will be distribution /Logistics costs which are added to the final sale of the product.
I think Amazon uk prices include VAT whereas US only gets added once you include postcode
I take it from the comments that I am not the only person who has tried to get a warranty repair at a HN store.
Amazon are less hassle.
I guess I got lucky then. I bought a 75" TV from them. It died a couple of years later and the manufacturer said it would be too expensive to fix, so I was refunded the full purchase price and then bought a smart 75" TV from Sony instead (an eBay deal that was posted on here, of course) :)
You may well have - there are some fair franchises around and others who have a different view of their obligations.
Wow, this guy is special.
The whole Harvey Norman franchise model is a picture is screwing the consumer, and he has the raisins to stand up and whine about 'evil Amazon'
I for one welcome our new Amazon overlords. Mr Norman is quivering in his dunlop volleys. Face facts, his stores need an overhaul to catch up to modern "society".
what has gerry contributed?
Lately? I'm sure penfolds estate is doing quite nicely,
also there's probably a lot of short people employed that would otherwise be struggling to find regular chimney sweep work
He helps out struggling/failing mining magnates like Nathan Tinkler with 60? million bucks to buy racehorses. :p It's God's work.
I will probably become broke when Amazon launch in AU. So much stuff I passed on because it doesn't ship to AU previously
Wow, he's got a world of pain coming to him if he thinks that the Harvey Norman chain provides a worthy online retail service that shouldn't be challenged by a site like Amazon/eBay Retail/etc. I think there's a few other big name chains (JB HiFi, Good Guys, Bing Lee to name a few) who've embraced the online space via partnership/selling through eBay stores and aggressively marketing sales/events. I'd say they're in a good position to keep doing what they're doing successfully into the future alongside Amazon as it grows here in Australia.
I've noticed Harvey Norman's online site seems to have improved recently (probably in fear of Amazon's arrival), but I can't help but feel it won't be enough, in my experience they're overpriced for most things, have up until recently had an awful online presence and delivery costs (at least to Perth/suburbs) were prohibitive.
Might be biased having seen just how amazing same-day/next day delivery via Amazon Prime was having lived in the UK, and I realise that's an unrealistic goal given the size of Australian states/cities. I don't like to see the small guys get pushed out of business as I'm sure will happen (collateral damage), but Amazon's arrival should definitely shake up the online retail market for the better, whether or not Harvey Norman can adapt, remains to be seen!
Gerry will just have to compete or become obsolete.
He can also just sell now while he's ahead.
if havery norman offered a better returns policy/ after sales support. I might be more inclined to shop there. But returning any item under warranty thru their store is a nightmare. They just don't want to know you.
Even the purchasing process is painful.
I had to argue for a solid 5 minutes that no, I really do not want an extended warranty. Only went there because Amex was doing a cashback promo.
You are so right.
Back in 2009, i budgeted about 2500$ for plasma tv and a salesmen try to push a extended warranty on me. After i said no numerous times, it wasn't until I was at the pay counter and the salesmen kept dropping comments that something will go wrong and your not covered.
Got sick of it and said 'you can keep the TV' and left the store.
ahhh…good old Gerry Harvey - runs a crappy brick and mortar store with no 'deals' and poor customer service and then complains when others beat him at his own game and expects the government to block or penalise the competition.
Aussie entitlement at its best.
When I shop around I always pass through HN and every time I wonder why.
I have got some happy OzBargains from HN buying online and picking up instore, but their salespeople and instore experience is woeful. A while ago they had a 15% off discontinued digital cameras advertisement. I went instore and they refused to say which cameras were discontinued/on sale. I asked if the Nikon S6200 was on sale, on account of the 6300 then 6400 then 6500 being released after each other and he denied they existed.
Yeah - forget about trying to price match
sometimes for a laugh i will check the price on something at HN auburn then compare it with msy or digitalstar which are both a 5 minute walk away
Amazon has been shipping to here for years.. lol. Be good when mainstream can also get onto it.
If anything Gerry Harvey doesn't have much to worry about, he is still the preferred choice for the older generation customers.
The ones who should worry the most are smaller business like Mom and Pop shops and smaller chain stores like Retravision which had already been underperformed for years.
Is there anything he isn't upset about? At this stage, I just picture him as the old man that shouts "Get off my lawn you young'uns! back in my day…"
Only time I visit HN is when there is an AMEX deal on… and thats only if I really need something lol.
-Edit-
I lost it when he said "if Australia had a choice, it should stop the retailer coming in, “like Donald Trump not letting the Muslims in”."
If only we had of built a wall along the qld border years ago and ploughed the runways
Instead of BrisVeygus MegaCity
Cough Cough
He will still do okay, every time I go into a domino's and see people paying full price I want to stop them, but then I remember it's people paying full price that makes my constantly and considerably discounted pizza possible, These are the kind of people who will walk into a HN store, get a tiny amount off of a vastly over inflated list price and feel like they have got a good deal. These people will likely keep on doing the same thing.
poor two faced harvey
What it means by Amazon arriving in Aus? Warehouse in Aus? I meant we always could order from Amazon for some items anyway
Is there a website I can sign up to know when HN's closing down sale starts?
Gerry Harvey in the article says:
"if Australia had a choice, it should stop the retailer (Amazon) coming in, “like Donald Trump not letting the Muslims in”.
Kinda ironic considering Amazon was one of the primary companies in the case challenging the legal validity of Trump's ban.
another reason to support Amazon lol
If he made odious comparisons like that, I'll be even more pleased to prefer Amazon to HN.
From the article:
Any big operator who uses their scale to increase their margin, rather than innovate for customers, should be worried.
No wonder Gerry is so upset.
Harvey Norman and JB HiFi do serve a purpose, and are good for some things. A lot of items - they cannot compete - or are too inept or tied to a particular business model to compete.
Even major items like TV's, white goods, etc. They are good in that you get service, a person who is product trained and hopefully can offer genuine insight/advice (not all do - but some certainly do) and if they are willing to price match - then why not? In fact, there is a certain premium value for stores like this where if there are issues, it is a face to face discussion and return. Range in the one place is good, and it gets you out of the house, great!
Want to beat Amazon Gerry? How about look at how they structure, and maybe compete. Open a side business directly targeting them with a similar model while maintaining HN stores.
Whilst JB definitely isn't as good as they once were, I still prefer them over most of the other stores around. I feel JB is still more honest than their competitors are are more willing to do price matches.
Us "professionals" will Shop elsewhere :)
Viva la Parasites !!!
Gerry can go do horrid things to himself.
HN has always been a complete rip off aimed at stupid people with money, who in the end get no better buying experience than if they shopped at any other large retailer, only the customer pays much more. But hey, it made gerry a billionaire.
"i had an almost total monopoly for a very long time, now i have actual competition! waaaaaa boohoo i cant rip off the Australian population anymore!!!"
The consumer will ALWAYS vote with their pocket, regardless of the effect on local economy\business
The local Harvey Norman has a nice Cafe', it's the only business they get from me
How many small electrical and furniture stores have closed after a HN opened near by?
Eat a bucket of phallus Gerry.
Would be AMAZING if Amazon could sell imported beer and smash Dan Murphy on prices!
It's kind of funny that not only is the imported beer in Dan Murphy the better stuff, it's also cheaper than the stuff from down the road.
Too much of Australia has been running on acknowledging no competition for far too long. They can't compete on price, quality, or customer service.
Just hope Amazon pays corporation tax on sales here in Aus.
Spoiler: They will find a way to avoid most of it by booking the profits overseas in a low tax country. E.g. say Amazon Australia sells 1 bottle of whisky for $50. The true cost of purchasing that bottle for them might be say $20 from the source supplier in Scotland. However, they will first set up a company in a low tax country (e.g. Amazon Liquor Ireland) that will buy the scotch for $20 and then sell that bottle to Amazon Aust for $48.
Amazon Australia makes only $2 profit on that bottle while Amazon Liquor Ireland makes $28 for purchasing from Scotland and Selling to Amazon Aust. Ireland charges 10% tax. Australia Charges 30% tax but the ATO only gets to charge 30% tax on $2 worth of profit, not the true profit that the global Amazon group makes. Ireland gets to tax 10% on $28 for income that was not even earned in Ireland in reality.
This is why the issue of corporate tax is much more complex than people think. People always scream tax those big companies more that are mostly foreign owned anyway… Well if you put your tax rate up, those corporations are going to just book their profits elsewhere. While in Singapore, they are getting tax dollars basically for nothing because they charge a low tax and corporations set up companies there just to book profits in a low tax environment.
LOL. I wouldn't worry too much for Gerry Harvey. He's a retail genius. Has nearly 100 overseas stores. Has Domayne and Joyce Mayne. Probably shares in other businesses too.
Gerry is purely motivated from self interest. As a retail veteran Gerry knows Amazon won't outprice Harvey Norman into oblivion. More likely that Amazon Australia will raise their prices to be the same price as Harvey Norman. Think Optus-vs-Telstra, Coles-vs-Woolworths, Caltex-vs-Shell-vs-BP, Ford-vs-Holden.
Dick Smith use to promote Australian products and Australian jobs whilst selling mostly Chinese manufactured goods. Dick Smith ended up selling his company and is sitting on a personal fortune. So what do you think Gerry will do?
While I don't like amazon as a company much they will almost certainly NOT do as you indicated as it would leave them open to other multi nationals to take their business as they will also be eyeing the Australian market now the GST for overseas goods has changed. I am sure they won't be priced as nicely as the US or UK but they will almost certainly be better than HN, Domayne etc. similar to how newegg is here, not as good as the US but still well below the standard retail shops.
It was pretty stupid comments, but hes a businessman at the end of the day, downplaying his competition - nothing new there. On another topic, the HN profit result was pretty huge - just shows that consumer confidence isnt as bad as canberra will have you believe….
I've spent over 5k at Amazon(i did a big splurge when our dollar was at parity).. saved over 5k in the process. I bought everything from Makita tools to kitchen utensils. Gerry Harvey thinks he is entitled to MY 5k saving. My 5k saving allows me to pay off my house. Adding 5k to Gerry's bottom line buys him an expensive dinner. The nerve of this guy, it enrages me.
Harvey Norman has fridges for $500? I guess thats what they pay then up the price a few thousand.
Waiting for the amazon voucher codes to be hand, thanks
I used to feel for Australian retailers and wanted to give my money to them and at least help delay the sinking of the ship that is Australian retail industry. Employing Australians is expensive and what not. What did they give me in return? Only greed, shafting me and rude service.
Since they want to sink so badly, all my money now goes to the cheapest and fastest - online stores, including Amazon. It's not good for anyone, except Jeff Bezos, and will push us as a country to lower level, but I'll be little bit more comfortable, knowing that I have saved some money and didn't have to see a HN sales people.
So in the short term, great we can buy cheaper CDs from Amazon. But when all the tax revenue dries up from HN, JBHIFI and co, the government will look to raise taxes to meet the shortfall — and it'll be the little guy (us) that pays more GST etc..
Ahh compact discs. Thanks for the nostalgic trip back to the early noughties.
Gerry Harvey represents everything wrong with Australian retail. This is his second moronic idea to stop international competition, the first was that the Federal Government should charge GST on international purchases under $1000. The problem with that? It would cost the Government more to collect it than they'd receive from it - so basically taxpayers would shell out more so that international purchases cost those same taxpayers more… Oh and international items would tend to still be cheaper.
Australian retailers tend, when faced with competition, to go into "the Government needs to protect us" mode rather than at any stage seeking to become more efficient, try new ways of conducting business etc. It's such a ridiculously old mindset that simply doesn't work in the digital age. I really hope Australian retail wakes up one day, but I'm not holding my breath.
it's a shame the government doesn't work as hard to protect our farmers as it does our retailers
Time to short their shares
Does anyone remember when they launched "http://www.harveynormandirectimport.com/" as they always complained that online and grey imports had the advantage.
I remember. Didn't last long, just like me.
Was that the feedback from your missus regarding your in-bed performance?
Luckly that Havey Normans has never hosted their website on Amazon servers lol
https://thenextweb.com/media/2012/11/12/amazon-web-services-…
that is lol
Quick someone Fax gerry and let him know that they are using the parasites!!
Mr Norman called Amazon a "parasite"
I guess a dead guy would be good at recognising parasites… but not so good at 'calling.'
F#ck off, Larry. You f#ck.
The last time I went to Harvey Norman was sometime in 2012, and I wondered why anyone would go there for anything electrical/electronic. JB Hifi and Good Guys run rings around Mr Norman on price and range.
Mr Norman can be upset and gnash his remaining teeth as much as he likes, but he's one of very very few upset people.
I'm a professional.
Gerry is a professional.
We will all learn to adapt, as professionals.
I wouldn't go the Harvey Normans now!
I made the decision to completely avoid Harvey Norman the first time Gerry Harvey began to flap his chops about how the internet is the tool of the devil, and how everyone should support local blah, blah freaking blah.
At the time I was a sessional Trainer for a First Aid organisation that required me to travel about an hour and a half to the city from country Victoria.
One day I needed a cable to print off dome documents before I ran a course (yes it was back in those dark tech times of 2005 lol), walk into Harvey Norman to shell out about $10 for a basic cable, to find the $40 "gold plated" USB of my dreams …apparently. (only hook full of stock mind you)
I asked the salesman if there were any others, I just need a basic cable as its more than likely disposable on this trip, to be told I wouldn't find one for under $20 etc, Insert rolling eyes here.
Walked straight out of Harvey's, and straight into a Safeway on the next block, and purchased one for $5.
It was that day I said Gerry can shove it, its one thing to complain about how the internet is the downfall of retail but if your going to be ripping ignorant people off in broad daylight, you probably deserve the fight that's coming.
gerry comments only defensing the business owner, dor a consumer with a low income, whichever peovide cheaper price… there is where the consumer goes, unless the consumer happy to get broke to support local expensive stuff… which i guess will be big sacrifice, giving profit for local expensive item, while the consumer himself/herself goes broke
Once Amazon start operating here, I wonder if that means, GST will be charged on all overseas Amazon site (.com, co.uk etc) purchases, as the GST system will be set up for the oz site
Does Gerry know about the nbn?
One day, I will be able to tell my Grandchildren with pride that I never, ever shopped at Harvey Norman
Everything that is wrong with Australian retail is embodied in that company and its owner
The whole foreign corporation not paying tax is one big joke. It is the responsibility of any company to pay as little tax as legally possible (as it is for any individual for that matter). If the government is not happy with this then they need to change the tax laws. But this will only work if all countries do it, and that is not going to happen as some countries like Ireland and Singapore use very low tax rates to lure business to their shores
Cry me a river Gerry. Amazon is so much better. I've had good experiences shopping from Amazon UK. Amazon Australia will also be getting my business over Harvey Norman.
Jeez Louise. Tell me about it mate. He can go jump. I'll take a foreign company over that 'Aussie battler'.
i'm curious what supermarket range amazon is going to launch that they have mentioned, how many products what price, and mostly what's going to be the deal with amazon prime pricing for Aussies and any local pricing deals ? im so over aussie monopolies and oligpolies i really hope amazon is aggressive….
Send him a fax? Maybe a telegram?