Harvey Norman embraces online sales as net profits plunge

Harvey Norman has something to smile about despite a fall in profits and sales after being recognised as the Best Multichannel Retailer by the Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIA).

The award shows a reformed Harvey Norman; where the retailer was until recently known for rallying against online rivals, now it has embraced the online channel.

Gary Wheelhouse, head of Harvey Norman's digital team, told CRN that "in excess of 3 million people visit the Harvey Norman website and we're driving them into stores".

Wheelhouse said "one of the things that drive our online experience is when we replicate things that happen in store."

Initiatives include Harvey Norman's Live Chats, where dedicated staff support online customers "seven days a week until 10pm," and the launch of GE apply-and-buy finance online.

Wheelhouse believes Harvey Norman's strong "omni-channel" strategy is keeping the company competitive in e-commerce. "If you're not online, you would not be a player."

The nod comes as the retail giant slumped in its full-year results, with profits down sharply off the back of a slight fall in sales.

Harvey Norman reported a net-profit drop of 17.5 percent for the year ending 30 June 2013, to $142.21 million.

Global sales fell 3 percent to $5.57 billion. The revenues cover its operations in Australia, New Zealand, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The full-year results includes a $41.19 million write-down after tax to the company's property portfolio. Without this write-down, Harvey Norman claimed NPAT would have been $183.4 million, a year-on-year drop of just 3.3 percent.

The electronics giant claimed that trading conditions improved in the second half of the year due to low interest rates. This, according to the company, improved sales in the homemaker divisions, a trend Harvey Norman hopes will "continue into Christmas."

The company claims it is in a strong position leading into the Federal election as global sales in the month of July 2013 have increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year.