[2] Norman met his business partner Gerry Harvey when both were working as travelling door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen.
[3] In 1961, the duo partnered to open their first store in Sydney, which specialised in home appliances and electronics.
[2][3] The business partners then co-founded Harvey Norman, an Australian independently owned retail chain, that bears their name, in 1982.
[2] The first Harvey Norman store opened in a shopping centre in Auburn, in 1982, the same year as the sale.
[3][2] Norman who had previously resided at Darling Point, died from throat cancer at his home at Terrigal on 29 May 2014, at the age of 75.