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Harvey Norman bully Nintendo, Nintendo bite back

vooks.net — Back in September there were reports that Nintendo and Harvey Norman were on track to start stocking Wii in light of the local PS3 delay. It now seems Harvey Norman will not be stocking any Nintendo consoles, with Nintendo refusing to accept Harvey Normans ’ trading terms and denying the retailer the hot ticket item this Christmas. OWNED

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  • daspacepirate, on 10/12/2007, -2/+31Way to go Nintendo! Stick it to the Man!
    • ghm101, on 10/12/2007, -4/+25I wouldn't call Harvey Norman "the man" in this scenario, Just really thick.

      Globally speaking, Harvey Norman would be a flea on Nintendo's hide, and between the other retailers and internet availablitity this will not cost Nintendo 1 unit sale.

      But it will cost HN heaps, it is these Hot products that get the public into these stores where they pick up other higher margin items and accessories.


    • jkenneth, on 10/12/2007, -11/+96Anyone else wondering who the hell Harvey Norman is?
    • 0x0000ff, on 10/12/2007, -2/+56jkenneth -- Huge Australian retailer of electronic goods, furniture and stuff like that.

      Weird seeing an Aussie story on the front page, but then again it is about Nintendo :p
    • youmustagree, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13"Harvey Norman is a large retailer of electrical, computer, furniture and bedding goods based in Australia. Essentially Harvey Norman is a franchise (and the main brand) owned by Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The group comprises a number of franchises with each an individual franchisee. There are more than 160 Harvey Norman stores in Australia, New Zealand, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Malaysia and Singapore." - wikipedia
    • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Harvey Norman is a huge chain here in Australia and are usually considered to be a 'higher class' store.

      I'm trying to think of a US store to compare it against but I can't.. think of a store which you would consider higher in class than Wal-Mart which focuses on consumer electronics (Computers, TVs, consoles, etc) and even some furniture.

      It's generally a good store though a lot of the time their prices aren't the best. I picked up some Sennheiser headphones from the closest one yesterday and inquired about HDTV tuners and they had good products / info, just horrible prices. :(
    • Monolith2, on 10/12/2007, -30/+1Who the ***** is Harvey Norman?
    • Raider007, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13@ estvir
      bad example, cause anything is higher class than Wal-Mart, i can't think of any store that's lower class than that to be honest...Fry's would be a good comparison maybe though

      i do have a question though, what are these "terms" they keep speaking of...
    • orlyyarly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9estvir: Costco? Not high class, but much higher than WalMart
    • ironicsans, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1Harvey Norman? Wasn't he on the Carol Burnett Show?
    • Marlor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26@Raider007:

      Harvey Norman were probably asking for better margins (i.e. a better price than other stores).

      The negotiation probably went something like this:
      Nintendo: "The wholesale price for the Wii is $X"
      Harvey Norman: "If you want us to sell it, you had better give us a better price than that"
      Nintendo: "No, that's the price"
      Harvey Norman: "We are the almighty Harvey Norman, without us you will fail. If you don't give us a better price, we won't stock your console!"
      Nintendo: "Fine, Toys'R'Us has been begging for more, and they are happy to pay what we are asking. Too bad for you, Harvey."
      Harvey Norman: "WTF!?! That trick usually works... damn it, now what are we going to sell at Christmas?"
    • laserdisc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think the better comparison might be Brookstone or The Sharper Image.
    • TyRaNNOus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Dare I say the sony store? lol Nicely overpriced and considered to be upper class because rich people like paying more for less.
    • Timmyftw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Heres to Pre-Ordering with ToysR'us. Free game FTW
    • Spudgy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@Timmyftw

      Don't get too excited about the free game. According to a few at OCAU who had pre-ordered with them, the free game from Toys r Us is Open Season.
  • WhereAmI, on 10/12/2007, -27/+4back in September? we all know how long ago that was.

    anyway so when liksang gets shut down, people panic but when this place can't sell Wii's people applaud?
    • Mullinator, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Liksang provided a service that many enjoyed. The result of Liksang being closed down has also caused just about every other importer to stop trading Sony products as well which means Sony shut down that entire service for many. When it comes to Harvey Norman it really doesn't matter to anyone, just go to another store that is probably just accross the street in many occasions and there you go, problem solved.
    • syl1985, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22Yessm, Harvey Norman is a horrible retailer and this is going to hurt a lot, Toys R Us are actually being nice for once, it will be my first purchase ever from them :D
    • Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Suing a business into nonexistence through global legal fees is one thing, denying them product is entirely another.
  • D3koy, on 10/12/2007, -8/+7Subject Verb agreement is so hard, I don't blame VOOK for screwing it up...
    • jmknx01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18If VOOK is in Australia like Harvey Norman apparently is, then the subject verb agreement is correct. In the US, we treat collective nouns (like companies) as singular. In the UK and Australia (and probably other places I don't know about) they treat them as plural.

      (If it's vice versa, I blame the cold medicine.)
  • thomasprebble, on 10/12/2007, -17/+3Is the Wii really going to be the hot ticket this year though? We are all educated and stuff but there are alot of morons out there who will just buy the PS3 out of instinct.
    • 0x0000ff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17The PS3 doesn't come out until March in Australia, so its far from a hot xmas item even for the ignorant.
    • Renton, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Let zetsurin and whereami buy what they want.
    • cmdrNacho, on 10/12/2007, -3/+93 out of 4 people won't be getting a PS3 this christmas either, unless they're willing to shell out over grand on ebay.
  • vvvv, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3I thought Bully was only available for PS2.
  • chrisrad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Regardless, I'd be taking JB HiFi over Harvey Norman any day.
  • b04155, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21There. Their. They're.

    Choose wisely.
  • mikeazorin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9http://www.harveynorman.com.au/
  • Cglass, on 10/12/2007, -29/+4Now all 7 ppl in austrailia can cry =(
    • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Nah, it'd be a lot more. Harvey Norman had huge 360 preorders / sales and are a common place for people to buy videogame consoles/games/peripherals/etc.

      Oh, you're saying there aren't many gamers in Australia. :(

      Quality of quantity ? :P

      In all seriousness a lot of places are sold out of Wiis (As in, all preorders filled) and especially at stores like EB.
    • koonkii, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9heh, such an ignorant comment.
    • rufus001, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Wanker.
    • Cglass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1rofl dude its a joke, i love austrailians and i have 4 good friends there =), I was just poking fun at the shape of your continentry
  • darryl242, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3Wow, it's been almost 2 hours without Wii SPAM on the front page. Wonder if that's a new record?
  • carapi, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2How exactly does this mean that he got Owned?
  • bossywalker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9LOL, sucks to be Harvey Norman. Their prices are too high compared to other places which is why some people like me call them Hardley Normal.
  • DjOverEZ, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I need to get my eyes fixed, my head fixed or both. I kept reading Harvey Birdman.
  • motorhead9999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Can anyone explain exactly what this store was demanding from Nintendo? The article mentioned something about a disagreement on profit margins, but didn't go into much detail. Was their demands (beside the fact that they were apparantly demanding something) really that bad?
    • youmustagree, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5On http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/?v=news&p=6632 bobafett_h left a comment that might answer your question...

      "HN have done similar things with other companies before. They make a deal for a lower wholesale price than what other retailers get and then charge the same as everyone else. But some companies seem to think that cause HN is so big, that the product will sill better there and hence allow them to make more money out of it. Good work on Nintendo, there are plenty of other department stores (ie. Kmart even) around that will sell just as many if not more units than Hardly Normal ever could..."
  • Munja, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4This could be a bad move for nintendo as there has yet to be any advertisments for it except in game retail stores like EB.

    Any parent that goes to Harvey Norman to get their next kids video console wont even know the Wii exists.

    Does anyone know what the terms were and anyone seen a statement from Harvey Norman?
    It could be that your beloved Nintendo have unreasonable terms, and stores are only biting their lip as it's a "hot" product.
    • NightBlade40, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'd say more people go to Big-W, JB Hi-Fi, Toys 'R Us, Myer, Kmart, Tandy Superstore, etc than go to Harvey Norman for getting game consoles. I'm also fairly certain Nintendo itself will start a TV campaign here soon enough so parents will ring up Harvey Norman, find out they don't sell the Wii and move on to somewhere better. Besides, I'd hope most parents would at least shop around and check out prices in competing stores before buying something like that.

      As for why Nintendo aren't doing business with Harvey Norman, I doubt Nintendo was being unreasonable otherwise Harvey Norman wouldn't be the only chain that Nintendo are having problems with.
  • ScottG13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Most likely, HN is making margin % demands that Nintendo can't deliver. Retailers will probably make 5 or less % on a Wii console. HN is probably used to higher margins with stuff like furniture. Probably 40-60% or more.

    Most retailers just suck it up and try to sell cables and such which they have better margin % on. HN is being a bunch of turds because they want better margin protection. So no Wiis for them.
    • akashra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Pretty much yeah. Harvey Norman operate at somewhere around 40% from what I understand, as it all gets distributed to head office etc and then to the franchises, with a bit being added on at different areas. From what I've been told the wholesale price is, I think HN would have to sell them at a loss at the RRP.
  • Mugsleymug, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7This is great news, Harvey Norman are scumbags. The one in my town is STILL taking PS3 orders saying it will arrive next month. I said to a clerk thati t's been delayed until March and he just said I didn't know what I was talking about.

    Morons.
  • vampireblood, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sooooo many Stupid Americans

    Harvey Norman is Australians Largest Computer Store/Electronic store!

    There you've learned something about Australia!
    • frase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Also, Koalas aren't bears. And we live in houses.

      Now that that's covered, anyone up for a game of knifey-spooney?
    • tdhurst, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1I hope we bomb your country.
    • EvolvedAnt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How does not knowing about some obscure retail chain on the other side of the entire planet, make Americans stupid?

      As well, what is up with your upper case letters on random words?
  • rufus001, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5Americans are sooooooo dumb!
  • badmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Suck it HarveyNorman. I though HN was on the take from Sony, because they started advertising the PS3 and BluRay months ago, even though release dates for both keep slipping, turns out HN was just being greedy. HN hasn't sold Nintendo gear for years. And they haven't been advertising any HD-DVD stuff, even though you can actually get HD-DVD.

    Won't affect us consumers, Target has been advertising the Wii in their junk mail, (just a shame that when I go to pre-order and get the $600 book of vouchers, nobody knows anything and we can't put our name down.)
  • brotherfranciz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Harvey Norman sucks, I've never bought anything there before - prices are very unreasonable... It seems to me that their target group are "non-techie" parents who have no idea what they are getting into.

    I placed my pre-order at EB... it's going to be a great Christmas this year...
    • chrish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yep, HN suck and are just there to screw over everyone they can.

      I encountered a 60ish couple in the late 90s who'd been sold a $3000 computer by HN. It had all the bells and whistles and woulda made any geek drool. Except, the folks who bought it had **NEVER** used a computer before. In fact, she said to me "It took me ages to work out how to start a new line when typing in Word." (i.e. press Enter). That's how novice they were and highlights how friggin heartless HN were.

      12 months ago I over heard a customer ask a HN saleman if they had the new video enabled iPods. He hadn't even heard of them! But before customer could leave, another salesman came bounding down the store and pounced on the customer telling her iPods were crap and she should get a Toshiba Gigabeat. Fortunately this customer was on the ball and knew her stuff, so asked about accessories, which left the salesman floundering. Customer left soon after.

      I also suspect from conversations I've had, that HN staff are telling people who don't know any better, that "ipod" is a generic term for all portable mp3 players.

      Since I do most of my purchases online, HN are a good place to check out products. But don't spend your money there if you don't have to.

      Good on Nintendo for screwing HN. Another reason to buy a Wii. :)
  • sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Huh? Australia? WTF is Australia? (sorry, emulating an American, reverting back)
    I reckon in this case it just goes to show which "the man" is stronger. The Aussie one got sodomised.
  • badmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1When we rung a mate of ours at HN, we asked if they were taking pre-orders for the Wii, he said, "why do you want one of those, get a PS3." Even if we did want one of those, it's not coming out here until March anyway. When we asked what was so good about the PS3, he said "BluRay". Well informed answer... and he works there.

    If the PS3 or BluRay succeeds, I think it will be due to retailers narrow-mindedness and consumers ignorance.
  • b0b0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Harvey Norman senses Nintendo's power, but Nintendo is denying them its essence.
  • lotonah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Go Harvey, Go Harvey!!!

    /don't even live in Australia but that radio spot is forever stuck in my brain
  • bobbles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've worked at a Harvey Norman store for almost 2 years now. When I started I asked why we didn't stock any Nintendo stuff and I was told that their minimum purchase was way to high.. (So if we had to order something from them, the order would have to reach a certain value before they ship it out) I remember it being something like $1500(AU) which doesn't sound too bad until a few months after the launch and someone just wants to order a single game.

    No idea if lowering this minimum order was one of the 'terms' Nintendo wasn't happy with, but that's all I've heard from management anyway ;)
  • soapycub, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Harvey Norman is only good for one thing -- 24 month interest free.
  • JPDyno, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I thought it was strange when i went into harvey norman to look at projectors, my girlfriend took a wander through to look at some nintendo stuff and was told "no, we dont stock nintendo products". obviously this has been going on for a while, i thought it was harvey norman just being stuck up (since gamecube sales have been so dismal), but now i see nintendo wont do business with them, well, suck balls HN.

    soapycub > damn right, thats why i went there looking for a projector in the first place LOL, funnily enough, My local harvey norman had recently decided to no longer stock home theatre projectors as there wasnt a big enough market.
    i drove straight to JBHifi and laybuyed $3500 worth of projector gear, and to EB games to preorder a Wii and Zelda
  • bizstyler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0well that's good news.. means they won't be making big wii profits off parents this xmas.
  • nmaster64, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Harvey Norman: "You can't sell dat Wii s*** by yourself, give us bags of money and we'll sell it for you!"
    Nintendo: "WTF? STFU n00b! We got l33t h4x, GTFO!"

    ^ There's a summary I'm sure the internetz can understand better... :P
  • djmuir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For those who previously mentioned pre-ordering at Toys R' Us in oz, it's been discovered the "Free Game" is "Open Season" (a kids movie based tie in), so you may want to shift your pre-order elsewhere unless you want to be stuck with a game you (probably) don't want.
  • rbwrath, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Also, Koalas aren't bears. And we live in houses.

    Now that that's covered, anyone up for a game of knifey-spooney?"

    You didn't answer the million dollar question...

    Do you really ride Kangaroos to work?
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