Gerry Harvey prepares to send dud dairy business to slaughterhouse

Part of the fun of being a Harvey Norman shareholder is indulging its billionaire co-founder Gerry Harvey when he decides to go off piste and takes a side bet on odd things like mining camp accommodation - just as the mining boom was about to stumble - and dairy farms.

A few years back Harvey managed to offer his usual advice to any investors who are queasy about his forays into these unrelated businesses – "they should sell their shares".
And sell they certainly did on Wednesday, after the company announced weaker earnings from its Aussie franchises as well as a $20.6 million write off of its dairy joint venture, Coomboona, following another multimillion-dollar loss.

The stock staged its biggest drop in more than two decades, so maybe it's time to lay off giving advice to your fellow investors Gerry.

But the real fun is yet to come on Gerry’s souring dairy investment.

Judging by Harvey Norman's actions this week, he is clearly preparing to send the dud business to the slaughterhouse.
The Harvey Norman half year accounts make no bones about the fact that relations between the venture partners has deteriorated pretty badly.
“Subsequent to the balance date, a dispute has arisen between the HN (Harvey Norman) JV entity and the Eternal Sound JV Entity in relation to a number of matters, including the future direction of the Coomboona JV,” it said.
Didn’t he tell the AFR just a few months back that Harvey Norman had bought out its venture partner and was open to selling the dairy business?

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