Harvey Norman founder on Amazon in Australia: the battle plan

Gerry Harvey, one half of the founding duo behind household goods retailer Harvey Norman, recently spoke out against the rise of Amazon, the fall of small businesses and why he’s confident Harvey Norman will weather the storm.
Speaking to 9news’ Eddy Meyer, Harvey bemoaned the lack of corporate etiquette present in Amazon’s operating practices that have led to its success at the expense of smaller enterprises. “In America, it is regarded as a very poor corporate citizen,” he said. “It sent a lot of other retailers broke that used to employ people. They used to pay taxes. Amazon pays virtually no taxes, and they just put a lot of people out of business.”
On Amazon entering the Australian market, Harvey explained that he is not worried for his business’ survival, even though he doesn’t expect the online e-commerce giant to play fair. “For years they’ve been sending goods into Australia with no GST, and we all pay GST. We have been subsidising Amazon for years, now they’re coming here to try and send us all broke. They’re not going to send Harvey Norman broke, but they’re going to be a pain in the backside.”
Norman stated that key to his company’s continuing success will be the service customers receive in store, same-day home delivery and price matching. “We will be competitive with them come hell or high water,” he said. “We are not going to lie down for Amazon and we will still make good profits and pay taxes, which they won’t.”
Norman has no delusions about the battle ahead, “[These] are fighting words,” he told Meyer. “Amazon’s coming here, they’re fighting me, okay? Make no mistake – I’ve got a gun in my holster too.”