Is Harvey Norman on the brink?

The company is losing money in Ireland, big time. (In fairness, other companies are, too.) At least one major retail chain will leave Ireland by the summertime.

Comments

[Orlaith]

The fact that Harvey Norman came out recently and admitted that they regretted their decision to compete in the Irish marketplace is a pretty damning indication of how bad things have become for the retail sector. I wonder what will become of the IKEA store in Ballymun?

In recent weeks I purchased a monitor and a multi-functional printer. I made both purchases from online stores in the UK because the price was considerably cheaper. In fact I couldn't be bothered traipsing around stores in Dublin, it's just easier to research your options, compare prices and do shopping online for these types of goods. Could companies like Harvey Norman just adapt their business model to an online warehouse? While the loss of jobs would be devastating to the people affected, at least some jobs could be retained and it might serve customers better in the long term?

[Yourtech]

Orlaith,

Interesting poser. But don't forget that HN have to get the goods to and from its warehouse in Ireland (realistically, they'd have to go for a Europe-wide online business if they were to do this). That usually incurs a little more cost.

[Aaron]

Why do you say HN in particular? DSGi is cutting costs like a mother... something... They cut their B2B business in IE late last year.

And the smaller guys? Peats etc. I think their survival depends more on who their financial backers are, not sales.