Harvey Norman senior brand marketing manager, Gary Brown was recently made redundant due to a business restructure, after almost 20 years with the company.
In his role, Brown led all aspects of marketing and advertising from conceptualisation through to execution across the Harvey Norman Electrical business. He worked closely with the executive team to develop the brand marketing strategy for 183 stores.
Prior to being appointed senior brand marketing manager, Brown was product marketing manager for the TV and audio category from 2002 until 2009.
When Brown first joined Harvey Norman in 2001, he was responsible for the establishment of the home automation and smart home business for the Harvey Norman Commercial division.
“Back then the ‘smart home’ market was well before its time but with my love for technology, it was an opportunity to set up an innovative business as part of the Commercial division based on the Gold Coast and work with one of the best retailers in the CE industry, Steve Cavalier,” Brown said.
Brown joined the CE industry in the early 80s, starting out with Retravision for a short period and then with Brash’s in Canberra, working across the ACT, QLD, and NSW in Sydney metro stores. After closing the Brash’s Roselands store in 1993, Brown joined Samsung as a sales account manager and was later appointed marketing category manager for AV products which is where he found his passion for innovation and technology.
“I have spent my career in the CE and electrical marketplace on both sides of the business and there are a lot of great people in the industry among retail, media, and even competitors. I have always loved the Harvey Norman brand, sharing many great friendships with colleagues over the time.
“I am now seeking a new role relevant to my strengths including marketing, content creation, business development, sales management, editorial, brand ambassador and innovative product launch.
“I feel there is an opportunity to educate consumers on the many benefits of what we sell, rather than the specs. Meaningful innovation is plentiful in today’s market across all price points and communicating this would be advantageous to the whole market in terms of ASP. But more importantly it would give consumers a better in-home product experience and positively impact their lifestyle.”