Harvey Norman has been selling notebooks, desktops and other technology products since the 1990s. To Chief Executive Katie Page, the endless beige or black boxes seemed to be designed by men for men.
Page, one of the few female corporate leaders in Australia, appreciated the engineering but not the sameness of design. She told one supplier: “This is fantastic, but you’re not showing me something for my female customer.”
That supplier — HP Inc. — listened. The result was Spectre, which InStyle magazine called “the most beautiful laptop we’ve ever seen.” Besides being the thinnest notebook on the market, it features a durable aluminum-and-carbon fiber case, sleek lines and rose-gold accents.
The Garage recently spoke with Page about her strong relationship with HP and the importance of give and take in partnerships.
How did you realize that technology had a design problem?
A physical store is so important — people still want to touch and feel things before they buy.
I was walking through our stores and other retail stores…and just seeing black things. There were lines of them, with different price points, but for a consumer, until you got into the nuts and bolts, they all looked the same. I called it the Stepford Wife-look because it was just aisle after aisle of same-looking things. And there was no passion in the design.
What’s the difference between what men and women want from technology?
Men generally see their computers as a work thing. Women want them to look good, too. So we weren't delivering for all the customers. We were delivering only for some.
Now, by presenting something different, technology has become a bigger part of customers’ lives. People want to carry it — have you noticed that? I'm just so pumped about it.
What does Harvey Norman expect from its relationships with suppliers?
We expect a partnership. If it's just “Whatever you've got, what's the price?” there's no relationship. There's no collaboration.
I wasn't having that many conversations with technology companies about design. You know everyone has amazing engineers. When you look at all the things that are happening, it's extraordinary. But if you haven't got design, then you're producing all this fabulous product that looks the same.
How were your conversations with HP different?
The thing that stands out about HP is, No. 1, their commitment to the strategy set by [CEO Dion Weisler]. When Dion started to talk about design, it was music to my ears.
We said there’s value — particularly to the female consumer — in offering something different from the next brand, the next product. Not only did HP want to engage in that, Dion expected it.
