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Gerry Harvey is a whinger

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Inside Shoulder

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Torn Hammy said:
In Oz there are around 10,000 employees in the 196 HN stores.
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Well prop him up like the car industry.....
Theres a philosophical debate thats never been had in this country and it concerns whether it is better to "globalise" our economy completely or whether it is more important to employ people in industries that compete with lower waged economies at whatever cost to the economy.
At the moment we havent made up our minds: we want the material benefits that access to global products are thought to bring but we want our village like employment to continue.
I think there is a good argument for self sufficiency - eating our own food, making cars etc. The problem with that is that we dont own the food producing assets or the car companies or anything else.
And no one wants to stop buying iphones.
 
Blue

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
I have no sympathy for bricks and mortar businesses complaining about being cannabalised. Wake up.

I spent many years of my career working with these kinds of businesses to try and get them to create an online presence and to think online on their overall business strategy. It was like drawing blood from a stone in most cases.

The early adopters the world over are the ones who are now thriving. Most Australian retailers have been ignorant and those who are not willing to throw big money at it now will suffer. They simply were not willing to engage in high risk (at the time) projecst six or seven years ago.

I buy as little as possible in stores. You can get just about anything for cheaper online, including the overseas shipping. There are relatively easy ways to avoid being ripped off by smug local corporations. If you buy sports gear, small electronics, books, DVDs and even clothing in retail stores good luck to you. I honestly can't remember when last I walked into a store in town and spent more than a few bucks.

Now if only I can bank where I want. That would make me very happy.
 
Torn Hammy

Torn Hammy

Johnnie Wallace (23)
Interesting to see where this goes.

How long are photographic retailers going to give advice to people who then go and spend their money with an overseas online operator whose overheads and wages a fraction of the retailer's. Like bookshops, these retailers will disappear along with the jobs they provided

My local Italian baker just closed his shop one day because he couldn't compete with the franchised Vietnamese bakers whose yeast pumped product used half as much flour. My Italian baker was a craftsman and his bread was superb but he is gone now and will never come back.
 
sonny crockett

sonny crockett

Allen Oxlade (6)
Is the photographic information and advice not available online. the shop I use at the gold coast is owned and run by professional photographers, they give the best advice I could ask for and are more than happy to answer all queries. If you look at people in HN stores, I have received dodgy advice from them on many things, so usually do my own research in any case.
 
I like to watch

I like to watch

David Codey (61)
Torn Hammy said:
In Oz there are around 10,000 employees in the 196 HN stores.
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Of those employees & stores not all dept's are at risk of overseas online competitors, I know I am not going to order a new washing machine or a king sized bed from China online.
His principal business is a landlord to his franchisees.He is a prisoner to retail the old fashioned way.

When it's all said and done, the business that is at risk was not a department in his stores in the early days.It was an add on when Harvey saw an opportunity. This has been the case for several other departments ( home renovations etc) There will be many new areas that HN will expand into the future, just as he has done so in the past.
Yep it will hurt his ego and some of his franchisees, but the business itself will trundle along whether the Gov charges GST or not on online purchases.
 
sonny crockett

sonny crockett

Allen Oxlade (6)
Exactly, it is about streamlining your business to the demand profile that exists, and population demographics, baby boomers etc etc. The only thing that remains constant is change.
 
ACT Crusader

ACT Crusader

Jim Lenehan (48)
Moses said:
No, I believe it's the Government's role to provide employment, the role of a Business is to maximise returns to shareholders.
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Hahaha

GH does make a sound point IMO regarding Australia's position economically. If people stopped retail spending then a vast majority of people's livelihoods would be stuffed given the large number of people are employed and own retail businesses.

Banks would shed even more jobs than they already do because they wouldn't have to process all those CC debts/statements.

On the HN business itself, Gerry has prided himself on the big store and job creation. He either needs to get real and change his strategy or be willing to bleed money to maintain the number of stores and cut prices to compete with the JB's or Fantastic Furnitures of this world or the convenience of online cheaper shopping.
 
Moses

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
sonny crockett said:
My actual thoughts would be that the government should provide the environment that allows maximised returns and growth that brings about employment. Governments providing employment is a dangerous place to be.
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Sorry, that's what I meant..
 
Ruggo

Ruggo

Mark Ella (57)
Gerry Harvey is pushing his own barrow of self interest. That is his right I guess. The internet aside HN is always the most expensive in the market anyways. Bit like Stratco is in the building and hardware sector. The customer service in HN stores is never up to scratch and help is hard to find.
 
Scotty

Scotty

David Codey (61)
I thought it was obvious that was what you were getting at!

If it were another member of this site saying that I might have thought otherwise though. :)
 
Scotty

Scotty

David Codey (61)
ACT Crusader said:
Hahaha

GH does make a sound point IMO regarding Australia's position economically. If people stopped retail spending then a vast majority of people's livelihoods would be stuffed given the large number of people are employed and own retail businesses.

Banks would shed even more jobs than they already do because they wouldn't have to process all those CC debts/statements.

On the HN business itself, Gerry has prided himself on the big store and job creation. He either needs to get real and change his strategy or be willing to bleed money to maintain the number of stores and cut prices to compete with the JB's or Fantastic Furnitures of this world or the convenience of online cheaper shopping.
Click to expand...

Governments should be looking to invest funds in research and start ups that are going to be world leading or the very least world competitive. They should not be throwing away money at industries that would not compete if left alone.

The current governments step with the nbn is actually a good idea, just badly implemented in their rush to prove themselves. We also invest in a fair bit of r&d, such as geothermal power, but it could be a lot more. It would be a hard message to sell but in the long run we would develop more world leading industries.
 
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