JayCar filled the gap when Dick Smith started to wind down there electronics division.
It's a Chasm not a gap and neither DSE or Jaycar ever filled it! Retail electronics in this country has predominantly been a formula of cheap quality and clearance stock at bankrobber price.
Dick Smith Electronics isn't about to shut down, it did so slowly over the last decade. It's no longer an electronics shop, just another (arguably) discount appliance retailer. Woolworth's saw it as a good buy but never had a clue what the market was or how to handle it. The bought some retail gold and turned it into dust.
DSE was great at the time because there was little else for the hobbyist, Tandy in this country was always a joke. $4 for a collection of three odd value low tolerance carbon resistors anyone? With a global marketplace now more accessible I cannot ever see much option other than a lot of mail order import for the hobbyist. While Jaycar and Altronics appear to be going well it's clear from their catalogues that the fart toys and wireless thermometers allow them to sell components rather than the electronics being a mainstay. You cannot buy a Hakko Iron from the two majors, their chip lines are sparse to empty, nothing within coo-ee of Digikey or Mouser and there never will be, it's Commercial reality!
As for the jingoistic ravings of Mr Smith, hypocrisy much. He sold his empire 30 years ago along with the use of his name/head, it paid for a lot of helicopters, he can hardly complain now about how it is operated. I doubt DSE while owned by him would stand up very well to the standards he expects other businesses to withhold. Dick Smith attacks Aldi because it is owned by One Man/Family and because it sell reasonable quality Asian tat, attributes you could readily to the former DSE under his helm. Smith's xenophobic rants about German ownership miss the fact that Aldi and the other small players are stocking a higher proportion of Australian content than the majors.
Smith is bitter that his Aussie groceries didn't sell and blames this on public apathy, but the fact that most tasted like shit and commanded a premium price could have had a lot to do with it. His conspiracy theories and misdirected rants cheapen his image and reputation as a very successful entrepeneur and leave him looking like a Dick Head. That is a shame.