Harvey Norman on track for first Irish profit

NEWS
Also in this issue:
Destination Ireland:
Top trade bodies team
up to plan retail growth
for all of Ireland.
Page 10
Take a Town: Our
team of mystery
shoppers visits dealers
in Dublin.
Pages 14-16
Editor’s Interview: John Anderson, Sony
“We’re seeing
continuous growth in
our share of the market
in all key areas…”
ERT Ireland talks to Sony’s UK & Ireland country head about revitalising
the business and getting its identity back Pages 12-13
<strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong> on track for first Irish profit
■ By Simon King
HARVEY <strong>Norman</strong> has closed in on
its first Irish profit after more than
a decade in the market.
Sales at the company’s 14 Irish
outlets – 12 in the Republic and two
in Northern Ireland – grew four per
cent to €149.2 million in the year to
the end of last June.
Its like-for-like sales grew by more
than eight per cent, as the previous
year’s results included around €6m
in sales from two stores that have
since been closed.
<strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong> narrowed its
losses last year to €7.4m, down
from about €11m. The company has
now accumulated losses to date
of €106m, but is on track to enter
profit in the second half of its next
financial year, which begins in July.
Its listed Australian parent company
said losses had halved at its
Irish unit in the six months between
July and December 2014.
The directors said, in a note
attached to the accounts, that the
company was now in a growth
phase and that this was not due
to discounting, but improved consumer
sentiment.
Jason Sawkins (pictured), <strong>Harvey</strong>
<strong>Norman</strong>’s general manager for electrical,
told ERT Ireland: “It has been
an encouraging start to the year,
with solid growth in key categories.
There is certainly a feeling that the
worst is behind us and we expect a
solid 2015.
“<strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong> has always performed
well in mid to high-end
TVs. We’re really looking forward to
seeing 4K ramp up and hope the
industry will maximise this wonderful
opportunity to add value.”
Looking ahead, Mr Sawkins
added: “All indications are that the
worst is behind us. We now expect
volumes to increase and, hopefully,
value will too, if retailers are able
to focus more on technology and
benefits and less on price.”
<strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong> in finals of All Ireland
Marketing Awards
AUSTRALIAN retailer <strong>Harvey</strong>
<strong>Norman</strong> has been named as
a finalist in the All Ireland
Marketing Awards for its
Cooking in Style campaign.
Jason Sawkins, <strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong>’s
general manager for electrical, told
ERT Ireland: “This was an exciting
campaign from late last year with the
key message being <strong>Harvey</strong> <strong>Norman</strong>
can make it easy to upgrade your
kitchen. There were a number of
elements with TV, radio, press,
advertorial, online, social, blog and
a week-long cross-promotion with
Ireland AM and Late Lunch Live,
which concluded with a final show
involving a number of live segments
to Lucy Kennedy in the working
kitchen of our new Swords store.”
To be a finalist alongside companies
such as Heineken, Ikea and Tesco is
testament to the fantastic work done
by our in-house marketing team. No
other consumer electronics retailer in
Ireland comes close.”
• The All Ireland Marketing Awards
2015 will be presented to the lucky
winners during a gala ceremony at
the Double Tree Hotel Dublin (formerly
Burlington) on May 14.
Flying start to 2015 for Euronics Ireland
EURONICS Ireland claims it has
had an “excellent start” to 2015,
with business up in all categories.
Aidan Candon, chief executive
of Euronics Ireland, said: “Euronics
have had an excellent start to
the year, with business up in all
categories. But the concern is that
members will continue to discount
in order to attract footfall.
“The mood is definitely
more positive, with consumer
confidence at its highest since
January 2007 and unemployment
at a five-year low. The appliance
market grew by 10 per cent,
Ireland has an a “A” credit rating
again and continued growth is
predicted for 2015 at 5.7 per cent
– which is a European high.”
Looking at the opportunity
for Euronics members in 4K, Mr
Candon said he hoped that the
new technology would bring
profitability back to the CE market.
“I would hope so, but time will
tell,” he added.
Looking ahead to the rest of
2015, Mr Candon said: “I am
positive about the next 12 months.
I think that we will see the market
continue to recover, in particular
home appliances.
“However, the consumer
electronics market is volatile and
under a lot of profit pressure, so,
hopefully, new technologies will
help the bottom line.”
ERT· www.ERTIreland.ie
April 2015 · 3
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