Dick Smith – Australian Entrepreneur, Explorer and Philanthropist

Dick Smith – Australian entrepreneur, explorer and philanthropist

Dick Smith, born in Sydney in 1944, is a well-known Australian entrepreneur with many talents. Throughout his career, he has been a pioneer of the concepts of ‘Australian Made’ and ‘Australian Owned’. Today, his message of ‘Buy Australian Made and Owned’ can be found on television and radio, in newspapers and in the local supermarket. With the worry about the speed of globalisation, other Australian companies are eager to copy his success.

Dick Smith is also an explorer and an accomplished aviator. In 1983, he made the first solo helicopter flight to the North Pole. In 1993 he made the first non-stop balloon crossing of the Australian continent, and in 2000 he became the first man to fly a hot-air balloon against the wind for 2500 kilometres from New Zealand to Australia.

Between 1990 and 2000, Dick Smith held several positions as chairman of boards. He served 2 terms as chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority board, from 1990 to 1992, and from 1997 to 1999. From 1996 to 2000, he was Chairman of the National Centenary of Federation Council. In 1998, he was appointed as ambassador for the council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. However, it is for his entrepreneurial talents that Dick Smith is best known. After he left tertiary studies, he worked for an electronics firm. In 1968, he started a business venture that later became Dick Smith Electronics.

Dick Smith Electronics

In 1968, Dick Smith began his first business – car radio installation – in tin, rented premises under a car park in suburban Sydney. His superior customer service and flair for publicity saw him move to larger premises only a year later. In 1973, he decided to leave the car radio business and focus on the growing electronics market. He flew to the United States and the United Kingdom to see how the big electronic retailers do business. Dick Smith became the first electronics retailer in Australia not only to sell components in self-service display bins but also to carpet his store.

Dick Smith’s patriotic pride was a key factor in his business philosophy, but it became a public issue in 1975 when American firm Tandy Electronics opened a store a few doors from one of his. He and his staff demonstrated outside the Tandy store, and their story of being ‘squeezed to death by American big business’ received much attention in the press. A key part of Dick Smith Electronics’ promotion was its 100% ‘Aussie’ ownership and the fact that its profits stayed in Australia.

By 1976, the company was hugely successful, with three more stores in Sydney, and the decision was made to set up two new stores in Melbourne and Brisbane. The business model made managing a store easier: all stores would look the same, stock the same products, be run under the same strict guidelines and focus on customer service. Purchasing was centralised; stock was housed in the Sydney warehouse and then shipped to the stores, complete with the price tag.

The sale to Woolworths and the new publishing venture

By 1980 the company had grown to over 20 stores. Dick Smith sold a 60% share of his firm to Woolworths because the firm’s required working capital was so large he could not supply it alone. In 1982 Woolworths bought the company outright,