The owner of Australian furniture and e-tails retailer Harvey Norman warned that recent logistics problems could lead to a surge in stock prices.
Executive Chairman Gerry Harvey, 82, said the recent surge in the price of sea containers could lead to a 30 percent increase in the price of electronics and furniture.
"The price of a sea container used to be $2,000, now it's $12,000. No matter what product you come to buy today, it is more expensive than yesterday, and it will be more expensive tomorrow. Prices have increased by 5%, 10%, 30%. ”
News Corp Australia reported that over the past 18 months, Harvey Norman has set up 50 new warehouses across Australia to help address inventory shortages. But Harvey thinks the era of cheap electronics is over.
Fortunately, he also points out that there is still some time before the price of electronics soars, and customers still have time to snap up bargains.
Harvey Norman reported that in the six months to December, its sales fell by 6.2 per cent to about $4.9 billion. The lockdown triggered by the Omicron outbreak was seen as the reason for the decline in sales.
However, Harvey said the company is off to a good start in 2022 and hopes that this is a sign of a good business development in the future.
He said, "We started very well in January and the month, it was stronger than we thought. There is no reason to believe at this stage that this will change, and if it continues, our second half will be very good. ”
