Ian Norman (businessman)

Ian John Norman (5 February, 1939 – 29 May 2014)[1] was an Australian businessman and retail executive. In 1982, Norman and Gerry Harvey co-founded Harvey Norman, an Australian retail chain which bears their names.[2][3] Ian Norman remained a non-executive director of the company until his death in May 2014.[2]

This article is about the Australian businessman. For the English professor, see Ian Norman.

Early life and business

Norman and Harvey first met when both were working as travelling door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen.[2] In 1961, the duo partnered to open their first store in Sydney, which specialised in home appliances and electronics.[2][3] Their store, which was called Norman Ross, expanded to forty-two stores by 1979, with annual sales of AUS$240 million that year.[2] Harvey and Norman sold the Norman Ross chain to Alan Bond in 1982.[2][3]

The business partners then founded Harvey Norman, named for its founders, in 1982.[2][3] The new chain offered consumer electronics, furniture, and other household goods.[3] The first store known as "Harvey Norman" opened at a shopping centre in Auburn, New South Wales, in 1982, the same year as the sale.[2]

Later life and death

By 2014, Ian Norman, who remained an executive, held 175 million shares of Harvey Norman, a 16.5% stake worth an estimated $560 million.[2][3] Norman who had previously resided at Darling Point, New South Wales, died from throat cancer at his home at Terrigal, New South Wales on 29 May 2014, at the age of 75.[3][4] In later years he remained out of the public eye, was an intensely private man, but a generous philanthropist.

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References
  1. "Ian Norman".
  2. Greenblat, Eli (29 May 2014). "Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. Carter, Bridget (31 May 2014). "Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman dies at 75". The Australian. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  4. Avenell, Patrick (30 May 2014). "Vale Ian Norman, co-founder of Norman Ross and Harvey Norman". Appliance Retailer. Retrieved 27 June 2014.


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