Jaycar

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Jaycar Electronics
Type Private
Industry Retail
Founded 1981 (1981).[1]
Founder(s) Gary Johnston
Headquarters Rydalmere, NSW, Australia
Number of locations 74 stores (2011) [2]
Area served Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States
Canada
Key people Gary Johnston (MD)
Toni Martin (CEO)
Products Electronics, Gadgets
Employees 1,000+ (2011)
Subsidiaries Electus Distribution
Gadget Central
Website www.jaycar.com.au

Jaycar is an Australian based electronics retailer dealing in electronic components and related products for the electronics enthusiast. It was founded in 1981 when a former Dick Smith Electronics employee, Gary Johnston, purchased John Carr & Co. Pty Ltd.[3]

Jaycar has 74 stores and more than 150 authorised stockists and agents[2] throughout Australia and New Zealand that carry products from Jaycar's Electus Distribution wholesale division.

Catalogue

Jaycar Electronics publishes an annual catalogue, covering a range of products aimed at the electronics enthusiast and professional. Jaycar's catalogue is bundled with Silicon Chip magazine annually, and is also available for separate purchase. The catalogue originally contained a data section, but the information has since been relocated to the company's website, available for free download.[4] The 2012 edition catalogue contains 7,020 products with 516 pages.[5]

Controversy

In 2005, Jaycar received negative attention from its imported Taiwanese "Choke-A-Chicken" toy that squawked and slapped its wings when strangled around its neck.[6] The RSPCA Queensland described the toy as "grossly irresponsible".[7]

In October 2012, Gary Johnston, Managing Director of Jaycar was interviewed on Sydney radio station 2GB in seeking to explain the behaviour of Canterbury-Bankstown NRL club players who had allegedly made degrading and threatening remarks to Channel Nine reporter, Jayne Azzopardi, though firm evidence of who the comments were directed at remains unclear.[8][9] Johnston was quoted as saying "If a woman walks into some bars in Sydney, she will be ogled. She will be treated as an object and that's the way it is. She doesn't have to walk into those bars." [8] This led to calls to boycott Jaycar stores [10] It was felt that Gary Johnston's comments were seen as providing support and justification for sexist behaviour, and were considered a 'non-apology' by some media outlets.[11] Boxer and model Lauren Eagle came to Johnston's defence, stating that "You walk into a bar, men look at you, they stare at you, that’s just the way it is and that’s the truth. What they didn’t record was he did apologise…the comments were definitely not appropriate, but the reality is, looking and ogling, definitely (happens)."[12]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Jaycar Talks History and 30th Birthday". Current.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jaycar Electronics Stores". Jaycar Electronics. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
  3. ↑ "Jaycar Is 30 Years Old". siliconchip.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Jaycar Electronics - Semiconductor Data". jaycar.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Jaycar 2012 Printed Catalogue - Aust pricing". Retrieved April 2, 2012. 
  6. ↑ Haines, Lester (2005-10-20). "Animal lovers slam Choke-A-Chicken toy". The Register. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  7. ↑ Australian Associated Press (2005-10-19). "RSPCA outraged over "choke the chicken" toy". The Age. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 AAP. "Expect the same in pubs, says Dogs sponsor". www.SBS.com.au. Retrieved 8 October 2012. 
  9. ↑ Barret, Chris. "Mad Monday comments 'not directed at reporter'". Retrieved 14 January 2013. 
  10. ↑ Richards, David (3 October 2012). "Women urged to ban Jaycar stores". Retrieved 8 October 2012. 
  11. ↑ Crabb, Annabel (7 October 2012). "The non-apology: a spotter's guide". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 8 October 2012. 
  12. ↑ Crawley, Paul. "Boxer Lauryn Eagle agrees with sponsor's defence of Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' Mad Monday abuse". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 14 January 2013. 
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