ago that it would be number one, they
wouldn't have believed you. But it's just a
matter of promotion. You go around the
world and you see best practice in some
places, and you see worst practice in oth-
ers. You can have tradition, and there are
good things about that, but you've got
to mix it with technology, innovation and
promotion.
"It's theatre. You're selling theatre.
When people come to the Magic Millions,
we're putting on a show for them. They
bring the family, they all go to the sales
and to the races, and they say, 'Holy Mo-
ses! This is terrific; what a difference!'
"We're out there selling the dream. We
get people excited – and, of course, they
want to buy a horse. We create theatre,
and we do it better than anyone else in
the world."
To those accustomed to a more conser-
vative approach, what Gerry Harvey has
done with the Magic Millions is startling.
For him, though, it is merely an extension
of what he had always done. He was born
with anything but a silver spoon in his
mouth but, having quit college and tak-
en a job selling vacuum cleaners door-to-
door, he discovered early on that he had a
gift as a salesman. The rest soon became
history. In partnership with the late Ian
Norman, he founded Harvey Norman Auc-
tions, which developed into the Norman
Ross chain of retailers. After selling the
business in the early '80s for $23 million,
he revived the old Harvey Norman name
and created a retailing giant far bigger
than its predecessor – so much so that,
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