Gerry Harvey
Gerry Harvey
Gerry Harveyis an Australian entrepreneur best known for being the executive chairman of Harvey Norman Holdings, a company which runs Australian retail chain Harvey Norman. He co-founded it with Ian Norman in 1982...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth18 September 1939
CountryAustralia
expanding meant minute supposed
We're supposed to be an entrepreneurial company; we're meant to be expanding and looking for opportunities - but the minute you do it, you get your head bashed in.
business hour minimum money paying people per
I know people like myself where we've got resorts, or we're in the hospitality business, and we just can't make money because you're paying someone minimum $42 per hour or something on a Sunday.
business carry fairly ordinary prefer typical wear
I'm probably not your typical business person in many ways. I don't wear a suit. I don't carry a briefcase. I don't wear a tie. I'm fairly casual. I haven't got a big office, and it's in a very ordinary part of town. I'd much prefer to downplay than impress.
society supposed
Society might have been better off without them, but we are supposed to look after the disadvantaged, and so we do it. But it doesn't help the society.
air crazy extent good greatest milk time
You get that air of satisfaction from achievement. It makes you feel good. We are only here for a very short time, and so you're crazy if you don't go out and try to milk it to the greatest extent you can.
assess buy knows people shops
Some analysts think people come into our shops and then go and buy the product on the Internet, but the manufacturer knows if the customer can't see the product and assess it, they won't buy.
areas believer favour fingers govern great heap people possible power stick sticky
I'm a great believer in governments doing as little as possible and people power doing the rest, so I'm in favour of governments being there to govern in the areas that need governing, not a whole heap of other things that they stick their sticky fingers into.
harvey mind next norman opened shop trial
I had a trial run with Norman Ross for 21 years, from '61 to '82. I didn't have it in mind to open a chain like Harvey Norman. I opened one shop, but then the next thing you know, I've got another shop and then another shop.
closer people relationship
I get a lot of comments from people that I'm just an ordinary bloke. They immediately feel they have a closer relationship with you; they relate to you.
achieve believe believers common eventually genuinely love people wonderful
If you do genuinely care about people and love them a little, eventually you all have this common goal about where you want to go. They see it, and they believe it, and they become believers with you, and you can achieve wonderful things.
display job suit
If you are a manufacturer, an Internet company doesn't suit you. An Internet company does not display your product; it can't upsell. But we do a better job than any of the opposition.
successful people the-end-of-the-day
When people talk about successful retailers and those that are not so successful, the customer determines at the end of the day who is successful and for what reason.
couple years here-i-am
I went to university for a couple of years and I didn't enjoy university. The studying and the accountancy, economics, I just hated that stuff. Now the irony is here I am lawyer, accountant, I do it all day every day and sit at a desk. So I've never ended up where I wanted to be in many ways. I always wanted to be a farmer.
ambition people stuff
Businesses are made by people. We've proven time and time again that you can have wonderful shop, and put a bloke in there who's no good, and he'll stuff it up. Put a good bloke in, and it just turns around like that .