Despite reporting a 36 per cent fall in profits and a 9 per cent sales slide, Gerry Harvey told investors at Harvey Norman’s annual general meeting this morning that he’s optimistic about consumer spending, noting the pent-up demand.
“There’s more money sitting in bank accounts in Australia than there ever has been,” Harvey told shareholders.
He also noted that retailers obsessing about Black Friday sales was “overdone” and at Harvey Norman, everyday is like Black Friday.
“We’re in there playing the game every day, and trying to sell one more fridge than the next bloke,” he says.
“We tend to play it a little bit differently.”
Harvey Norman’s profits plummeted by 36 per cent in the four months to the end of October, with an 8.8 per cent dive in sales from July 1 to November 21.
Harvey warns that, although stores have reopened, following the lockdown, they aren’t out of the woods.
“This pandemic is not over yet,” he said. “There will be different variants”.
