Harvey Norman will have 50 stores in Malaysia and will be a force in both North and South America in 10 years time — so says chairman Gerry Harvey.
Although speaking somewhat tongue in cheek, every joke has some degree of truth, and Harvey Norman’s continued push into overseas markets will not be reined in, said Harvey at the company’s AGM yesterday.
Harvey is quoted in Fairfax papers today saying that Harvey Norman is the only Australian retailer to invest so heavily in overseas operations, and that such a venture is not easy.
''We're devoted to making Harvey Norman a world company and sure, it's harder than what we thought, it's so bloody hard no other Australian retailer has tried it before — certainly not to the extent that we're trying it,'' he said.
“If I could sit here in another 10 years, and I'd be 82, but still going strong, and say to you that we've got 50 shops in Malaysia now, and it's one of the most profitable arms of our business, and we've got shops in the UK…and we've just ventured into the United States [and] we're going down to South America…
“I genuinely believe that's what I'm going to be telling you at 82.”
Meanwhile, over at News Limited websites, Harvey has been criticising the lifestyles of young Australian technology consumers.
“They live on the bloody things [technology products]. It's so invasive into your lifestyle,” he said.
To read the full stories from Fairfax and News Limited, click on the links in the above story.