Harvey Norman's total sales across franchisees and company-owned stores fell nearly 7% in the first half of this year.
👉 Background: Harvey Norman is the Australian TV, white goods and furniture retailer, with the iconic jingle "Go Harvey Go."
👉 What happened: Over the past 6 months, Harvey Norman hasn't quite been 'going' like its jingle. In fact, its total sales across franchisees and company-owned stores fell nearly 7% in the first half of this year. And, its expenses were up more than $40 million. So, it's no surprise that their pre-tax profit got whacked by over 45%.
👉 What else: But founder Gerry Harvey is confident that the worst is behind us. He reckons we're starting to see an uptick in home renovation, construction, and migration, all thanks to higher consumer confidence levels.
💡Consumer confidence measures what consumers are feeling about their financial situation as well as the overall economy.
💡In Australia, there is a monthly measure of consumer confidence levels, which jumped by more than 6% in February, the highest level in over 20 months.
💡We know there is a strong correlation between consumer confidence and overall consumption. So, as consumer confidence goes up, Harvey Norman is looking to benefit from higher consumption.
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