By Martin Vedris

SYDNEY: In a bid to maintain its leading position in Australian electrical retail, Harvey Norman has decided to move a large number of franchisees to different locations and hire new franchisees.

“The new franchisees are due to start in their new locations on 1 April and there are around 30 franchisee changes with, from memory, about six or seven new franchisees to the business,” Harvey Norman executive director, electrical, David Ackery, told Current.com.au today.

Ackery said that moving franchisees around to new locations is nothing new for Harvey Norman.

“We are always making changes to the franchisees, it is an ongoing part of our business,” he said.

“Harvey Norman has a very established business model, the franchisee model works very well and we’re always making changes to the franchisees as we see the need.”

This franchisees news follows the revelations that two long-time Harvey Norman employees will be moving on from the company. Darrel Jones, a buyer for small appliances and seasonal products, accepted a redundancy package and industry veteran Ross Morgan retired as general manager of Harvey Norman’s Joyce Mayne division.

Ackery said that while the Harvey Norman group’s sales are up on a like-for-like basis, and the company is in a strong position, the company is not waiting for an economic downturn before it makes changes to maintain competitiveness.

“Harvey Norman is not waiting for the economy to change before we make changes to our business,” he said. “We’re proactively making changes to stay ahead.”