Jaycar, formerly Jaycar Electronics, is an Australia-based
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
er dealing in
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
components and related products for electronics enthusiasts. The company owns around 110 stores across Australia and New Zealand, and also sells its products online in the UK and US. It was founded in 1981 by Gary Johnston, who remained
managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
until his death in 2021.
The company also has a wholesale arm, Electus Distribution.
History
Jaycar was founded when Gary Johnston, a former
Dick Smith Electronics
Dick Smith Holdings Limited (formerly Dick Smith, Dick Smith Electronics or DSE) was an Australian chain of retail stores that sold consumer electronics goods, hobbyist electronic components, and electronic project kits. The chain expanded succ ...
employee, purchased John Carr & Co. Pty Ltd. He became managing director of the company.
In 2005, Jaycar received negative attention from its imported
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
ese "Choke-A-Chicken" toy that squawked and flapped its wings when strangled around its neck, described by the
RSPCA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...
Queensland as "grossly irresponsible".
In October 2012, remarks made by Johnston on Sydney radio station
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE.
2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM.
In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...
, seen as providing justification for sexist behaviour by unidentified staff at the
Canterbury-Bankstown NRL club (Bulldogs), of which Jaycar was a major sponsor at the time, caused controversy.
There were calls to boycott Jaycar stores.
In October 2016, Freetronics owner
Jonathan Oxer
Jonathan Oxer (born 26 July 1970, London, England) is a computer programmer, Debian developer, author, entrepreneur, and Free Software activist. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and their two children.
Early life and education
...
accused Jaycar of copying his business'
Open Source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
Arduino
Arduino () is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. Its hardware products are licensed unde ...
Experimenters kit in two videos posted to his YouTube channel.
In September 2018 Johnston ended Jaycar's sponsorship of the Bulldogs, following questionable behaviour from players during
Mad Monday
'Mad Monday' is a term used in Australia to refer to the traditional end-of-season celebrations for professional (and sometimes amateur) players of various codes of football. Football matches are typically played on weekends; therefore, as the se ...
celebrations.
Johnston died on 10 March 2021, after being diagnosed with
mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...
two weeks earlier.
Description
, Jaycar has over 110 stores across Australian and New Zealand, and more than 170 authorised stockists and agents that carry Jaycar products.[
Electus Distribution is Jaycar's wholesale arm, which operates as a separate company and provides products to independent and other retailers as well as and ]original equipment manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
s in Australia and New Zealand.
Community involvement
Jaycar became a major sponsor of NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
club Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2009, but questionable behaviour from players led Johnston to end the partnership in September 2018.Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...
rugby league team, based in western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, since 2019. Johnston had been a "lifelong supporter".[
The company has supported or hosted ]maker culture
The maker culture is a contemporary subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture that intersects with hardware-oriented parts of hacker culture and revels in the creation of new devices as well as tinkering with existing on ...
events, and supports several charities
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a cha ...
, including:
*Starlight Children's Foundation
Starlight Children's Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982. Starlight's programs include providing hospital wear, games, and deliveries to hospitalized children. The programs are provided directly to children through Starlight's ne ...
[
*]Charlie Teo
Charles Teo AM ( zh, 张正贤; born 24 December 1957)''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb. is an Australian neurosurgeon.
Early life and education
Teo was born to Chinese-Singaporean parents who immigrated to Australia. He attended The Sc ...
FoundationOperation Restore Hope
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...
* FSHD Global Research Foundation
*Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australi ...
Foundation[
*]Exodus Foundation
William David Crews Order of Australia, AM (born 1944) is an Australian Christianity, Christian minister (Christianity), minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church. He is the minister of the Ashfield, New South Wales, Ashfield pa ...
*Save our Sons
See also
* Jaycar Sunswift III
* Element-14 / Farnell
References
External links
*
*
*{{official, https://www.electusdistribution.com.au/, Electus Distribution
Australian companies established in 1981
Consumer electronics retailers of Australia
Companies based in Sydney
1981 establishments in Australia
Retail companies established in 1981