Gerry Harvey made an interesting appearance on ABC TV’s Lateline on Monday night (19 March 2012). Although he admitted to having doubts about whether he was in touch with the modern retailing reality, even to the point of seeking counsel, he ultimately decided he was still at the vanguard.

“I think I’m up there as close to anyone,” Harvey said. “I think I’ve got as good a hold on it as anyone, but I am seen by people out there writing about me as someone that has missed the boat, yesterday’s man, your time is over, you’ve had your moment in the sun [and] it’s all over.

“I look at that and I think, ‘are they right? Is there any truth in what they are saying?’

“And then I go to the people who work with me and for me and I ask them, ‘Have I missed it? Tell me if I’m losing it,’ and they say, ‘No, no, no, no,’ they say, ‘You’re not – you’re up there’.

“And I can argue [about] the internet and all the things that are going to happen and all the things that have happened, I think as well as anyone.

“I definitely am right up there with it…”

It was at this point that host Emma Alberici interjected, though viewers could clearly make out Gerry’s final point:

“…But I’m not seen like that.”