Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) shares are having a strong session on Wednesday.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 retail share is up 4% to a record high of $7.71.
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Why is this ASX 200 share charging higher?
Investors have been scrambling to buy the retail giant's shares today after responding positively to the release of a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting.
According to the release, Harvey Norman has delivered continued strong aggregated sales revenue in FY 2026 from its wholly-owned company-operated stores in New Zealand, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, United Kingdom, majority-owned controlled company-operated stores in Singapore and Malaysia, and independent Harvey Norman, Domayne, and Joyce Mayne branded franchised complexes in Australia
Aggregated sales for the period 1 July 2025 to 20 November, increased by 9.1% over the prior corresponding period. On a comparable store basis, its aggregated sales increased by 8.1% year on year.
In Australia, franchise sales were up 6.5% in total and 6.4% on a comparable store basis.
Foreign exchanged tailwinds have been supportive of the ASX 200 share's sales growth. Management notes that they were positively impacted by a 9% appreciation in the Euro, a 5.5% appreciation in the UK Pound, a 4.6% appreciation in the Singaporean dollar, and a 7.1% appreciation in the Malaysian Ringgit.
Also supporting its growth was an increase to its store network. Management advised that two new company-operated stores were opened during the period. They are located at Punggol Coast Mall in Singapore and The Beat at Kiara Bay in Malaysia. This brings our total number of overseas company-operated stores to 121.
But its international expansion won't stop there. Commenting on its opportunity in the United Kingdom, Harvey Norman's CEO, Katie Page, said:
Our continued expansion in the UK's West Midlands remains a key market to establish and scale. Home to five million people, it's a region with strong economic growth and our strategy is focused on capturing those benefits to drive long-term performance. Just over a year ago, we launched Phase One of this strategy with the opening of our flagship store at Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The store has outperformed expectations for footfall in the first year and continues to set the benchmark for customer experience and design.
Phase Two of the expansion is on schedule, and we can confirm our second West Midlands store at the Gracechurch Shopping Centre in Sutton Coldfield will open in 2026. This new location will strengthen brand awareness across the region and bring Harvey Norman closer to customers north of Birmingham, driving further growth and engagement.
Following today's gain, Harvey Norman shares are now up 60% since this time last year.
