Harvey Norman departed with tradition last Friday evening at its Gala Awards ceremony held at the Melbourne’s Crown Palladium, when no Awards were made to suppliers. While this left a few executives who had been expectant of picking up a trophy somewhat downcast and the collective sigh in the room was audible, the mood lifted when executive director David Ackery asked franchisees and head office representatives to give suppliers as standing ovation.
It’s believed that the dominance of companies such as Samsung across several categories, has made it extremely difficult for retailers to create a level playing field when it comes to awards. Narta was the first retailer to do away with supplier awards many years ago.
Ackery explained, “We have had a bit of a change. It’s all about the franchisees. We had a long look at the supplier awards, with the support we get from an array of suppliers, indeed hundreds of suppliers, we felt it was unfair and unreflective of our business to single out a supplier out in a particular category.”
Performer Ian Moss
“It’s very hard when some of the decisions go down to one vote. It’s great for the guy [supplier] who wins. It’s not so great if you run second by one vote. Rather than single one company out, I would ask all staff and franchisees to be upstanding.”
Meanwhile, the evening was hosted by Daniel McPherson and performers were David Campbell (son of Cold Chisel) lead singer Jimmy Barnes’ son.
David’s sister and Jimmy’s daughter, Mahalia Barnes, also performed.
Lead act was Ian Moss who performed prior to being joined by Mahalia Barnes and David Campbell for a stunning rendition of the Cold Chisel classic Khe Sanh.