Do we like them?

Do we like Harvey Norman?

Australian retailer of appliances, electronics and furniture, run mostly through franchisees; based in Sydney.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Not keen. The profits are solid, but a record $35m penalty and repeated misleading-advertising cases make us cautious about backing them.

Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman, two former door-to-door vacuum salesmen, opened the first Harvey Norman store in 1982. Today it's an ASX-listed group. Australian stores are run by independent franchisees. The company itself runs the overseas stores and owns a large property portfolio.

The big news is the money. On 28 July 2026 the Federal Court ordered Harvey Norman to pay $35m, and Latitude $20m, over '60 months interest free' ads. ASIC brought the case, and the combined $55m is the biggest it has won for misleading conduct. The judge said Harvey Norman should pay more to push it to improve its compliance.

It's not a one-off. In 2011 the Federal Court fined it $1.25m over misleading 3D TV ads, and the judge said it paid only lip-service to compliance. The ACCC also took ten franchisees to court for misleading customers about their repair and refund rights. Those cases ended in $286,000 of penalties.

On pay, Gerry Harvey refused at first to repay JobKeeper, then handed back about $6m for head office staff. About $14.4m paid to franchisees was not returned, The New Daily reported. A 2024 class action also accuses it of selling worthless extended warranties. Those claims are unproven.

The business is big, profitable and still expanding overseas. FY26 net profit after tax was about $528m. But the court record on honest advertising is poor. We'd want to see real compliance change before we put our money in, so the score is low.