Jaycar after Dick Smith retail spaces.

[aargee]

I guess it makes sense but it's starting to look like Jaycar wants to follow the same *sort of* path.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/01/17/jaycar-dick-smith_n_9005390.html

Having said that, I like the line "The great bulk of our customers are men, who have a deep-seated dislike of shopping centres."   
Put a couple of comfy chairs in the kit section and start a coffee shop department to go with it... 

[sleemanj]

That would be suicidal.  Ridiculous.  High lease costs are one of the reasons contributing to the downfall of DSE.

Jaycar is not a good fit for shopping malls and high street frontages.

[dannyf]

I can see the "miserable men" argument, for a retailer of interesting electronics. But not parts.

[GK]

That would be suicidal.  Ridiculous.  High lease costs are one of the reasons contributing to the downfall of DSE.

Jaycar is not a good fit for shopping malls and high street frontages.

"We're already in negotiations with a number of landlords. We're interested in the retail strips and good, free-standing sites, but not the shopping centres," he told the AFR."

[sleemanj]

"We're already in negotiations with a number of landlords. We're interested in the retail strips and good, free-standing sites, but not the shopping centres," he told the AFR."

I didn't actually notice there was an article, just saw the ad.

Even so, at least around here DSE stores in cities tend to be in malls or very high rent locations.  The smaller towns do often have a DSE in it's "high-street" (main road through town) shops, but I doubt that'd be too interesting for Jaycar.

I think this really smells more of a "we're still here" marketing exercise to me.

[rdl]

DSE sounds a lot like RadioShack. They were doing fine when they were mostly local neighborhood shops and never found in anything fancier than a strip mall. Their downfall began when they decided to move into the bigger, expensive malls and cater to the cell phone market.

[TerraHertz]

"The great bulk of our customers are men, who have a deep-seated dislike of shopping centres."

Hey! I resemble that remark!
I loathe large shopping centers. They are all deliberately designed to get you lost and force you to trudge past endless rows of shoe and ladies clothing stores. My ideal electronics shopping experience is to drive to an electronics store, park right in front of the store, walk in, buy what I want, and go home again. Maybe with a bit of display racks browsing in-store. Or, order online and then wait for the post. Even a few weeks wait is better than entering a large mall.

Last week I visited the Menai Dick Smith store. As expected, nothing there of interest, not even if they had a 50% markdown sale. Nearly one third of the floor space was dedicated to cell phone covers. The staff guy I spoke with thinks there's some chance of finding a buyer for the company. Otherwise they are all out of a job in a month. Depressing - for them.

For me, I'll be glad to see the last of the Dick Smith zombie staggering around aimlessly. I still remember it being a useful place to buy parts. So long ago.

[vk6zgo]

There are still a few "stand alone" Dick Smiths around Perth,but the "Mall" ones are in the majority.

In a clever move,Altronics started a shop right next to the Cannington "stand alone" DSE,so people could go to the traditional  spot to get their parts.

The latest news is that the "Master's" Hardware chain is "going down the gurgler",too!

[Brumby]

Masters has been going down the gurgler for months.  They've only just announced the inevitable.  Speculation wasn't the word - expectation was.


As for DSE - I can still remember going to the original shop at Gore Hill.  It was a cave of awe for a young hobbyist.

[JoeN]

I loathe large shopping centers. They are all deliberately designed to get you lost and force you to trudge past endless rows of shoe and ladies clothing stores.

I like them, but mostly I just use them as an indoor place to walk around a bit.

[TerraHertz]

I loathe large shopping centers. They are all deliberately designed to get you lost and force you to trudge past endless rows of shoe and ladies clothing stores.

I like them, but mostly I just use them as an indoor place to walk around a bit.

Why would you want to walk around indoors, in a crowd of strangers, as opposed to bush/wilderness by yourself or with a few good friends? http://everist.org/NobLog/20130704_day_at_miara.htm
Do you live in a place with very hostile weather?

[JoeN]

I loathe large shopping centers. They are all deliberately designed to get you lost and force you to trudge past endless rows of shoe and ladies clothing stores.

I like them, but mostly I just use them as an indoor place to walk around a bit.

Why would you want to walk around indoors, in a crowd of strangers, as opposed to bush/wilderness by yourself or with a few good friends? http://everist.org/NobLog/20130704_day_at_miara.htm
Do you live in a place with very hostile weather?

Depends on your definition of hostile, but it does get cold during the winter.  It's been zero, Fahrenheit, lately.

[Brumby]

Here, zero Celcius is rare, even mid winter and while that may not be 'hostile', I don't find it particularly 'friendly'.

0ºF ?


Pass.

[sony mavica]

there is a Jaycar near where i live hardly anybody goes there im surprised the shop has not closed down

[apelly]

The two jaycars I'm aware of in Auckland are in totally shit locations. You can see them from the road, but good luck getting there to park. OK, the Newmarket one isn't that bad really, and not too far from town. The one on the shore is a complete menace to get into. Right on a high traffic corner which is great for brand awareness, but the traffic makes it a pain to get in and out of. I avoid going there.

It seems clear to me that these places were selected solely on their rent:profile ratio with no consideration given to their practicality in any way. What's the point of a big sign if no-one goes there anyway?

[mrpackethead]

The two jaycars I'm aware of in Auckland are in totally shit locations. You can see them from the road, but good luck getting there to park. OK, the Newmarket one isn't that bad really, and not too far from town. The one on the shore is a complete menace to get into. Right on a high traffic corner which is great for brand awareness, but the traffic makes it a pain to get in and out of. I avoid going there.

It seems clear to me that these places were selected solely on their rent:profile ratio with no consideration given to their practicality in any way. What's the point of a big sign if no-one goes there anyway?

The one in wellington is pretty tricky to get to, but at least they have some off street parking. the one in Lower Hutt is not too bad to get to, but neither are 'anywhere' and you need ot make a special trip to see them.  And i try to avoid them if i can, because they are overpriced, full of drones, and staff who smell bad.

[nctnico]

I loathe large shopping centers. They are all deliberately designed to get you lost and force you to trudge past endless rows of shoe and ladies clothing stores.

I like them, but mostly I just use them as an indoor place to walk around a bit.

I guess there is not much online shopping going on then. I order almost everything online because shops never seem to have what I want to buy.

[David Spicer]

This is a kinda pointless fanzine comment but....

I think Jaycar are pretty good. The bloke who runs it was Dick's partner and his seed capital came from the first buyout. (Woolies?) He knew that competing with Harvey Norman, Good Guys, JB etc was pointless, and he knew that the hobby market was a good niche thing. I gather he is super wealthy (porsche collector etc) and an IPO can be expected soon. Good luck to him.

I can only speak for my local shop in Dee Why, but I have had nothing but good experiences there. Never any parking worries, helpful knowledgeable staff (the dummies are soon weeded out) sells a good range of stuff from kiddy kits to home security etc. Saturday/Sunday morning is not a good time to go but usually there are a few happy campers (like me) in the shop. No serious delays.

They say that Dick started because he was amazed that electronics shops could be so rude, arrogant and useless. He figured that a decent shop couldn't help but survive. Those of my generation (boomer) may remember a shop in Broadway we had to go to for parts in the seventies. Radio Spares or something like that. Great range of components. But you had to take a packed lunch and a sleeping bag to get anything. Of course back then the comics like Electronics Australia used to publish nifty little DIY projects. Not just made in Chine Raspberries, Arduinos etc.

Ahh! the good ol' days, but I say five strs to Jaycar for keeping up the spirit.

Sorry, a fairly pointless post, but there is so much to complain about for us all it's nice to say something good now and again.

[tautech]

The two jaycars I'm aware of in Auckland are in totally shit locations. You can see them from the road, but good luck getting there to park. OK, the Newmarket one isn't that bad really, and not too far from town. The one on the shore is a complete menace to get into. Right on a high traffic corner which is great for brand awareness, but the traffic makes it a pain to get in and out of. I avoid going there.

It seems clear to me that these places were selected solely on their rent:profile ratio with no consideration given to their practicality in any way. What's the point of a big sign if no-one goes there anyway?

I've used 4 branches in AK, just depending on which one I'm passing. At one time the only choice was the Newmarket branch.
The New Lynn branch has good access and generally enough parking and the Manukau branch seemed a "bit out of the way" in an light industrial area and was next to their wholesale distribution company Electus that has now relocated to Mt Wellington.
http://www.electusdistribution.co.nz/index.asp