By Patrick Avenell
Harvey Norman franchisees and employees from around the world have converged on Melbourne this week from the retailer’s Global Conference and Expo. Initial reports from the opening day of the show have been very positive.
Delegates met last night (Sunday 11 August 2013) in Melbourne for welcome drinks, with sources saying that everyone was upbeat, even those that had spent the day bumping in their stands for the expo.
Today has been a day of conferencing between members of the retail group, with surprise guest speaker Erin Brockovich providing a motivational speech to the retailers. Brockovich’s struggle to win a landmark legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company became famous when Julia Roberts portrayed her in the 2000 film Erin Brockovich. Roberts won an Academy Award for this performance.
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The conference will move into fully fledged Expo mode tomorrow when delegates begin visiting the various stands of suppliers.
One source said this was an “impressive and slick” set-up, resembling a fully-fledged international trade show, rather than just one retailer’s conference.
“I have never been to a conference of this quality before,” said the supplier. “The scale is enormous and the display are really good quality. It shows how much suppliers need retailers and how much respect the suppliers have for Harvey Norman.
“It has blown me away.”
Current.com.au understands that many of the exhibitors are using the same displays and stands from the various consumer shows that tour the country, such as the Good Food & Wine Show.
Are you attending the Harvey Norman Conference and Expo? Share with us your thoughts.