Retail in his blood

Managing a retail business that turns over more than $1 billion in sales revenue would most certainly seem like a daunting task for most people, but Harvey Norman's new IT boss, Rutland Smith, relishes the challenge.

"It's an exciting role - you're exposed to all the exciting things about the industry. We've got interesting plans for international expansion and I work with a good bunch of people. It's a fun industry to be a part of."

Over recent years, the big retailer's computer business in Australia has gone from strength to strength to the point where so many competing IT resellers and retailers have found it so difficult to compete.

Pre-dotcom bust, it seemed as though not a week went by when Harvey Norman's former IT retail boss, wild and wacky retail supremo Tony Gattari, was not gracing the pages of the trade and mainstream press passing on his words of wisdom about the future of computer retailing in Australia.

John Slack-Smith, who was recently promoted to chief financial officer at Harvey Norman, eventually took over from Gattari in July 1999, presiding over the retailer's computer business and growing it to a point where it captured around 40 percent of Australia's retail market.

In November last year, Slack-Smith was replaced by Smith, who compared to the two before him, particularly Gattari, is more introverted, and you can hear the cogs turning as he carefully considers his choice of words when asked questions relating to one of the fastest growing areas of business for the retail empire.

Smith has been involved in IT retail his whole working life. He began his career as a retail merchandiser at Apple Computer Australia while studying for a commerce/law degree at the University if New South Wales, eventually deciding to drop the law component and earn a commerce degree.

A stint as retail manager at IBM's PC company (now owned by Chinese giant Lenovo) followed. "At both those places, Harvey Norman was my biggest customer," he recalls.

Smith then joined the Harvey Norman franchisee network as the proprietor of a store in Marion, South Australia, the first of the retailer's stores in that state.

"I was a franchisee there for a little under three years before moving to the Maribyrnong store in Victoria, where I was a computer franchisee before coming to Flemington."

At Flemington in Sydney, he was the Australian business manager before taking on the role as computers head honcho, managing a computer business that employs 1500 people.