Over 240 Harvey Norman floor staff have attended the inaugural Major Domestic Appliance Expo held in the last week of September at Rosehill Racecourse.
The Major Domestic Appliance Expo included a showcase from major Harvey Norman suppliers in four product categories – refrigeration, laundry, dishwashers and air conditioning.
Representing all Harvey Norman stores nationally, the floor staff were selected to attend by store proprietors and represented the lead salesperson in the categories on display at the Expo.
The two-day event was the first event of its kind and based on feedback is expected to become an annual event.
The format of the Major Domestic Appliance Expo followed the successful annual Harvey Norman Cooking Expo held in July which ran for the second time this year growing from 180 floor staff in attendance in 2024 to over 400 floor staff in 2025.
Harvey Norman general manager of major domestic appliances, Chris Coen, told Appliance Retailer these training events provide floor staff with knowledge that will translate into improved sales for the business.
“This is an experiential and hands-on opportunity for our floor staff to understand innovation within each of these major appliance categories. This will provide our teams with the information required to help us achieve our goals in the business over the next six months including the key sales periods across Black Friday and Boxing Day.
“Our suppliers have come prepared with information about their innovation pipeline and product stories to help drive ASPs which is our advantage when it comes to the assisted sales model.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to the suppliers. We had an overwhelming response to the Cooking Expo and number of these suppliers were the first to say that they were in for this event and wanted the biggest stand possible. We believe with these events we have created a reputation for being able to deliver value for supplier partners and they are supporting this strategy which is fantastic.
“In my presentation to the sales staff, I mentioned that they are the key to our business executing and achieving the higher than market ASPs that we have been able to achieve consistently over time.
“We feel the next 18-24 months is critical for selling these appliances in packages to those consumers trading up as well as those in the renovation market. We are predicting there will be a cycling through of the large volume of purchases made during Covid and this is a huge opportunity for our sales staff in major appliances.
“The replacement market will always be there, but we see greater consumer confidence emerging and economists are all indicating the next move on interest rates will be down – and this will bring further discretionary funds into the wallets of consumers,” Coen said.
Harvey Norman business development manager – major domestic appliances, Iain Tennant told Appliance Retailer he was impressed by the investment made by suppliers in the Expo.
“Our suppliers have created a lot of excitement for our sales staff – it feels like a mini-IFA exhibition. We have timed this event to coincide with the launch of refrigeration season and air conditioning season as well as new models in the laundry category.
“This Expo is about bringing together our key suppliers as we approach the biggest trading period of the year and setting the tone for our business by getting our team match fit for this crucial retail sales period. We know we have the best salespeople in the industry, and we are making sure that we are investing in product knowledge going into these key selling periods,” Tennant said.
Here is a gallery of the supplier stands at the inaugural Harvey Norman Major Domestic Appliance Expo:
