Harvey Norman who sees growth coming from their International operation in the future, have finally opened their new UK operation.

The Australian retailers new 5,295 square meters, store is in the West Midlands and is south-west of Dudley town centre which about 16 kilometres west of Birmingham.

ChannelNews visited the shopping centre recently, as the store was still being fitted out.

The region where the where the store is located is under pressure and the opening comes at a time when UK consumers are cutting back with replacement business driving business for the likes of Curry’s who have a major store in the centre, they are the equivalent of JB HI Fi in the UK.

The model that is similar to Australia will see the new store sell appliances, consumer electronics technology, and entertainment as well as furniture and bedding.

Most of the same brands the Company sells in Australia are ranged on the floor including Ninja, Samsung, LG, Miele and Sage, Shark, Logitech, and Acer.

A key category is cooking with the Company setting up a dedicated cooking area similar to what they have in their Australian stores such as Bundall on the Gold Coast.

Harvey Norman UK MD Lachlan Roach told the UK publication Retail Gazette “With over 300 stores in eight countries across the globe, it will be no surprise that we have been wanting to make our entrance to the English market for a while.

“The opportunity we had to open in a key national destination like Merry Hill was not one to miss, and it makes for the perfect home for our flagship location.

“We’re a customer-centric brand, and Merry Hill has a vibrant community, so we are thrilled to bring both our extensive range of lifestyle, technology, and entertainment products and the exceptional service that Harvey Norman is renowned for worldwide.”

Currently the business is looking to hire additional management for the operation.

This is not the first time that a major Australian retailer has had a crack at trying to enter the UK market, Bunnings, tried to conquer the UK market, by revamping local UK Company Homebase but ended up writing off A$1bn after a catalogue of major mistakes.

“Homebase was undoubtedly the most disastrous retail acquisition in the UK ever,” says GlobalData’s retail analyst, Patrick O’Brien. “I can’t think of a worse one that has made these kinds of losses so quickly.