HARDLY NORMAL

A shell company is a business that exists primarily on paper, with no significant assets or business operation.

Harvey Norman instructs salespeople from within their stores to set up shell companies that hold little to no assets considered necessary for operating a stand alone business.

Despite Harvey Norman claiming its stores are independently owned, the stores themselves and all the assets within are owned and controlled by Harvey Norman as one company.

Many of the “owners“ themselves have admitted to being nothing more than a salesperson. 

Harvey Norman ”owners“ have their attendance and performance monitored by Harvey Norman using staff cards and system logins. They have almost no control over marketing, operations or inventory.

Harvey Norman “owners“ have little to no control over which store they are placed in, how long they are allowed to stay in that store, if they are moved to another store or if they are fired completely.

The control of these “independent owners” over the store they “own” is lesser than the Assistant Manager of any other retail or hospitality business.  

The taxation benefits of claiming to be a collection of small businesses and not one large company are almost incalculable. A clear example is the taxpayer funded JobKeeper money Harvey Norman was able to collect during the covid pandemic, claiming the funds were to help their “independent store owners.”

However, that is just the beginning.
Harvey Norman redirects almost all of its legal responsibilities to the store “owners.” All claims of harassment, bullying, underpayment and misconduct made by former employees are shifted to “independent owners.” 

If employees persist with legal action, Harvey Norman often dismantles the ABN and shell company of the ”independent owner“ and sets them up with a new ABN and shell company in new town, often halfway across the country.