Harvey Norman opens at Merry Hill Centre

Express & Star

The Merry Hill Centre has a new store as Australian lifestyle chain Harvey Norman has opened its doors to customers.  The flagship store, which is the first in England, has taken over the space previously occupied by Debenhams.  James Vukmirovic went along to see the place and speak to the people behind it and the people shopping at it.

Transcript

00:30Hello, I'm James McMirovich and I'm here at the Harvey Norman store in Maryhill, an Australian

00:40chain that's become part of the British scenery. I'm here with Lachlan Mann who is the Managing

00:44Director. So tell us a bit about Harvey Norman first of all, tell us about the brand.

00:48Yeah sure, so we've been around since 1982, we've got over 300 stores around the world

00:53and we're really proud that in Maryhill we've got our first flagship store in Great Britain.

00:59What was the central ethos of it when it first started?

01:02So Harvey Norman was created by Ian Norman and Gerry Harvey in 1982 and they're all about

01:07great value, big brands and great customer service.

01:10Who was Harvey?

01:11Gerry Harvey is one of the founders and still our Chairman and he'll actually be in the

01:16store this Saturday.

01:17Oh okay, so it is very much a family industry then?

01:20So definitely, we're a founder led organisation, we are a public listed company but it's really

01:26good that we're still led by Gerry.

01:28And what is it about Maryhill that persuaded you to bring it here?

01:31So we love the population density, the West Midlands region has over 5 million people,

01:36it's similar market size to New Zealand where we have 46 stores and Ireland where we have

01:4016. We really like how dense the population is because from a logistics standpoint we

01:46can get to all those people in not a very big distance at all and then secondly to that

01:50what we really like about the West Midlands is the vibrancy of the diversity, the different

01:56people with different tastes support our massive range of appliances and furniture

02:00and bedding.

02:01Well this is it, we've had a chance to have a quick walk around and see what there is

02:04but it's very much centred on the house and the home isn't it?

02:07Yeah it sure is, so we focus on lifestyle, technology and innovation. So if you're after

02:12a lounge, if you're after a bed, if you're after a big screen TV, the latest in cooking

02:16appliances, latest from Apple, laptops, all that kind of great stuff you can come and

02:22shop with us.

02:23High end appliances as well.

02:24It's everything, so whether you're looking for a £19 kettle or you're looking for the

02:28latest in Dolce & Gabbana kettles from Smeg for £5.99, we've got you covered.

02:34How many jobs have been created by this store opening?

02:36Yeah great question, we're very very proud that we're supporting over 75 locals with

02:40just our first store alone.

02:42Is this the first store in the UK or just within the West Midlands area?

02:45So this is the first store in Great Britain, we've currently got two stores in Northern

02:49Ireland, one of which is furniture and bedding and the other one is furniture, bedding, electrical

02:53and computers as well, both in Belfast.

02:56It's quite a landmark occasion opening up today isn't it here?

02:58It's fantastic, the centre management have been fantastic to deal with and over the first

03:02three days of trade we've been very very appreciative of the great people who have been coming in

03:07to check out our store.

03:08I'm assuming there's been a good reaction to it as well?

03:10It's been brilliant, we've been very very humbled. We thought we'd build and create

03:14a flagship store in the area and the people are loving it.

03:18And you've actually revived part of the Murray Hill Centre as well because this used to be

03:20the depot.

03:21Yeah, so you know what, there's so many people coming in telling their stories about how

03:24they used to shop with Debenhams which is great and hopefully they'll stay with Harvey

03:28Norman now that we're in the same building.

03:51So what's your first impressions Harvey, what's it like?

04:14Very nice indeed, it's nice to see the store open again after we've closed for so long

04:19It seems very well laid out, very bright, good range of stock, the staff seem very friendly

04:25and helpful as well, they don't crowd you at all, they ask you a thing and then they

04:31go away.

04:32Was that your view as well?

04:33Absolutely yes, very nice people here, I think they've got a good atmosphere in the store.

04:38How much did you know about Harvey Norman before it opened up?

04:41Absolutely nothing.

04:42It's also the first store in the UK as well, it's an Australian chain.

04:46Oh I didn't realise that.

04:49It must say something about this area that they thought let's bring it here?

04:52Well I think so, I mean it's quite a popular area with Mary Hill Centre, you do get quite

04:57a lot of the bigger stores coming here, as long as Debenhams did for quite a few years.

05:03Were you regularly using Debenhams in the past?

05:06Yes.

05:07And do you think you'll be coming here more often because it's a sensory overload isn't

05:11it?

05:12It is, I think we probably would for the electrical equipment certainly, we don't often buy chairs

05:17and beds and things like that but definitely electrical equipment.

05:19If you need a hoover or a kettle?

05:20Oh what do you think of a hoover then?

05:22And as well as that there's also Dolce & Gabbana equipment as well.

05:26I haven't seen that!

05:47So what was your impression of the store when you walked in?

05:55Lovely layout, it's very easy to find what you're looking for, very clean.

06:01Very bright, very Stafford balcony.

06:04Very new effects basically?

06:05Yeah.

06:06How much did you know about Harvey Norman before you walked in?

06:09Was it literally just you walked in and you thought that was it?

06:12Yeah that was it, I'd not really heard much about Harvey Norman before.

06:17Well I'll tell you, it's an Australian chain, it's the first ever store in the UK by Harvey

06:24Norman.

06:25Yeah we could see that it was a flagship store.

06:28And it's here in the Merrihill Centre, what does that say about them bringing it to the

06:31Merrihill Centre?

06:32Hopefully it'll bring more football as well, bring more shops to the centre.

06:37Yeah it gives people the opportunity to open flagship stores in Bristol as well.

06:42And I realise that you're here just browsing, but is there anything in particular that's

06:45caught your eye?

06:47The fridge that you can write on and the Woodfire Ninja stuff, it's not very often you can see

06:54stores like this.

06:55Did you see the Dolce & Gabbana?

06:56I did, I actually tagged it on Facebook.

07:01It would look good in your house wouldn't it?

07:02Yeah.

07:03Yeah it would, yeah.

Category

Transcript

Recommended