RETAILER PROFILE 18
Lachlan Roach, managing director of Harvey Norman UK, said: “We’re about to sign our next full-format store in Great Britain, taking our total to five (including the two stores in Northern Ireland), and we’ve also just taken a short term lease on what will be the Harvey Norman Clearance Store, located here at the Gracechurch Centre in Sutton Coldfield.” On current trading, Mr Roach said that every day the retailer sees a very high percentage of new customers still coming in to the stores, which he said is fantastic. “We are seeing an increase in repeat customers, which is especially important with the cost of acquisition higher for a new entry into the market,” Mr Roach said. “We’re very happy with the amount of return business as well. “We always knew it was going to be a good
Harvey Norman UK to open third full-format store and first clearance store
Building on the success of the first two full-format Harvey Norman stores in Great Britain, the company has indicated the location for its third full-format store, which is set to open in Q3 2027. Simon King caught up with Lachlan Roach, managing director of Harvey Norman UK
H
arvey Norman’s 40,000sq ft store will be on the Bescot Retail Park in Walsall, which is located just off junction nine of the M6 motorway. This store once open, will join the
two other Harvey Norman stores that have opened in the last two years, Merry Hill in Dudley, and Gracechurch Shopping Centre in Sutton Coldfield.
three to five years to build up that customer base and have them coming back and purchasing. We’ve still got people coming into the stores from a discovery phase as well, really understanding what the Harvey Norman proposition is all about, how we differentiate ourselves to the market, but how we still have market leading pricing, the best brands and our improved installation and delivery program.” The new Walsall store marks a change for Harvey Norman on these shores. This will be its first store in Great Britain on a traditional retail park. “Currently, it doesn’t have an anchor tenant, and we will be the anchor tenant, which excites us,” he said. “The Bescot Retail Park has a very popular pet store and a branch of Halfords, it also has a branch of McDonald’s. “The retail park gets a lot of traffic and it’s now all about educating people that it’s a place where you can buy everything that Harvey Newman sells. It’s very close to a busy motorway junction. That’s really important because accessibility is a big thing. “It’s very easy to get to the store. You’ll be able to see it from the motorway as well. It’s right behind Walsall Football Club, which is in the fourth tier of English football.” Harvey Norman’s warehouse is in Merry Hill, so if customers want to pick up their purchase, it’s about a 25-minute drive.
The Harvey Norman Clearance Store Mr Roach said the Harvey Norman Clearance Store will open in the former Marks & Spencer
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