Woolworths To Sell Australian Kit Maker Dick Smith

[SgtRock]

Greetings EEVBees:

--Woolworths  is divesting itself of Dick Smith. See below link.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/dick_smith_cut_by_woolies/

"Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets."
Henry Ford 1863 - 1947

Best Regards
Clear Ether

[PeterG]

Dick Smith stopped being a store for electronic component supplier long ago. now days they are only interested in selling TVs and home theater stuff mostly.

JayCar filled the gap when Dick Smith started to wind down there electronics division.

Regards

[slateraptor]

Woolworths cuts off Dick

I swear...only the Brits can get away with dropping words like dick and fag so nonchalantly.

[Mint.]

Lets just hope the buyer returns dick smith to its former glory. Because with Woolworth's its become a piece of junk! They sell so much crap that isn't even worth buying.

[vk6hdx]

I agree that it would be nice to see Dick Smith return to its former glory, however I fear that this will be the nail in the coffin.

[vk6zgo]

Back when Woolies took over Dick Smith shops,the decided to remove the big pictures of the eponymous Dick.(I've been busting to use "eponymous"--it sounds rude,doesn't it).
In his place they had a cartoon character called "Little Dick".
This went over like a lead balloon!

VK6ZGO

[Hypernova]

I didn't realize Woolworths owned DS.

My first soldering iron was from DS and I still have it, the tip broke and I used the lathe at school to sharpen a rod of copper to replace it. Whenever the tip wore down I would take it to the kitchen and sharpen it with my mom's knife sharpener.

Quick quiz - If a lock smith deals with locks and a black smith deals with iron, what does a dick smith do?

[vk6hdx]

I still have a box of Dickheads matches around the house somewhere

[slateraptor]

I still have a box of Dickheads matches around the house somewhere

Vegemite isn't made in Australia?! Blasphemy!!

[PeterG]

I think Vegemite is made in Australia, however the company is owned by the Americans.

Regards

[RCMR]

I remember visiting Dick Smith headquarters in (I think it was Artarmon) back in the late 1970s.

It was heaven for geeks.  A warehouse filled with every bit of componentry and gadgetry you could want.

What a shame it's now just another Harvey Norman -- and not a good one either.

[PeterG]

I remember a couple of years ago i went to a Dick Smith store and asked for a BC548. I ended up finding them myself. Not one person in the store knew what i was asking for, not even the manager. i remember back in the day when dick Smith staff actually knew what they were selling. Not like the trained monkeys they have now in a lot of there stores.

Regards

[GeoffS]

I can remember shopping at Dick's original store in Gore Hill when Dick himself used to serve behind the counter.
At that time, I worked for the opposition  - Tandy Electronics 

[joedevola]

I remember a couple of years ago i went to a Dick Smith store and asked for a BC548

I went to the local DS trying to find a fuse recently.  They did not even have that!

[DrGeoff]

I doubt even Dick would touch it now. Completely wasted.

[Uncle Vernon]

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.

[siliconmix]

woolies still going in oz ?

[EEVblog]

I didn't realize Woolworths owned DS.

Tricky Dicks has to be the most long lived and misunderstood "good old days" story I know.
Dick sold out to Woolworth in 1980, and the rest in 1982 - that's right folks, over 30 years ago.
Yet people still talk about the "good old days" of Dick owning the company as if it was only 10 years ago 

Dave

[EEVblog]

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!

Ah, once again people fall into the trap of exaggerating the "good old days", I see this all too often on aussie electronics forums.
Fact is, the current Jaycar catalog has a TON more stuff than DSE ever carried in it's prime, and has always increased it's core electronics inventory year after year as far as I have noticed. Yes, the fart toys pay the bills (they admitted this publicly a few years back in the catalog forward), but anyone who complains about the level of electronics parts offered has a skewed memory I suspect.

Dave.

[PeterG]

In Frankson Victoria, all i had was DSE locally. They stocked most of the common components. They were a good store for kits and parts back then. Woolies have done there level best to destroy it since they took over. I admit, they were never as big as Jaycar is now days tho.

Regards

[harnon]

I think Vegemite is made in Australia, however the company is owned by the Americans.

Regards

Correct - its owned by Kraft which is American, but its made in Australia. 

Interesting factoid - Vegemite uses yeast from breweries to make Vegemite.

[Uncle Vernon]

Ah, once again people fall into the trap of exaggerating the "good old days", I see this all too often on aussie electronics forums.
Fact is, the current Jaycar catalog has a TON more stuff than DSE ever carried in it's prime, and has always increased it's core electronics inventory year after year as far as I have noticed. Yes, the fart toys pay the bills (they admitted this publicly a few years back in the catalog forward), but anyone who complains about the level of electronics parts offered has a skewed memory I suspect.

I wasn't suggesting a Good old days, far from it. They were better days for DSE, but it was slim pickings for most hobbyists past their first kit. DSE was the Jaycar of the day.  My fondest memory being the track worn through the vacant blocks to DSE head office from the many Tech businesses in the district. Many times we paid way over the odds for DSE bits & pieces to get stuff out the door, when purchasing had messed up. 

DSE inventory was just as cheesy as their gaudy advertising. It was schoolboy fodder some basic parts and ETI & EA kits on PCBs that looked like they were the product of school for the blind on a long weekend Friday.  It's never been easy sourcing stuff.

Jaycar is the modern day Dickie's. I'm sure if DSE had continued as a parts place it would have been what Jaycar is today.  Serves a purpose, open on Sundays, but not likely to ever be one of your serious suppliers.  You only have to look at Jaycars origins and DSE connections. John Carr & Co whom Jaycay bought out sold some decent stuff from a dingy shop front, they'd have never survived.

[AntiProtonBoy]

I have a cheap shit DS brand scope lying around, hahahah.

[Uncle Vernon]

I think Vegemite is made in Australia, however the company is owned by the Americans.

Owned by Americans, not eaten by them. They don't have the palate or the breeding for consuming such a delicacy.
In the land of "Supersize" they don't know not to. spread half an inch of Vegemite on a single slice of toast!
That's enough to remove tree stumps or blow the back of your head clear to mars. See greed isn't always good.

[EEVblog]

Owned by Americans, not eaten by them. They don't have the palate or the breeding for consuming such a delicacy.
In the land of "Supersize" they don't know not to. spread half an inch of Vegemite on a single slice of toast!
That's enough to remove tree stumps or blow the back of your head clear to mars. See greed isn't always good.

It's hilarious when the Yanks do that! and then wonder "how do you eat that shit?"
Using the right amount of Vegemite is an art...

Dave.