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Dick Smith

An Australian entrepreneur, businessman and aviator

He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic, and was selected as the 1986 Australian of the Year.

In 1968, Dick Smith founded a small electronics retailer Dick Smith Electronics. In 1982, he sold the business to Woolworths for $20 million, and the business still retained his name in the business title and a caricature of his image in the company's branding.

Dick Smith Electronics entered the United States with stores in Northern California and Los Angeles, but were closed in the late 1980s.

Smith founded Dick Smith Foods in 1999, marketed as a crusade against foreign ownership of Australian food producers, particularly Arnott's Biscuits, which in 1997 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company. Dick Smith Foods only sells foods produced in Australia by Australian-owned companies.

Dick Smith Foods' products are often named to parody the items they compete with – for example, in competition with Redheads matches, Smith sells near-identically packaged matches called "Dickheads" with the text on the rear stating "We would have to be complete dickheads to let most of our famous Australian brands be taken over by foreign companies. Brands such as Vegemite, Aeroplane Jelly, Arnott’s, Speedo and Redhead Matches are in overseas hands. This means the profit and wealth created goes overseas and robs our children and grandchildren of a future". A chocolate biscuit called "Temptin'" competed directly with the established favourite Arnott's Tim Tam. The company is now run by Sanitarium Health Food Company, which is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Sanitarium uses Smith's name under licence, as does Woolworths with Dick Smith Electronics.

In 1983 Smith published the book "The Earth Beneath Me" which described his solo helicopter flight around the world. Two documentaries were also filmed during the flight, and a third one soon after. In 1986, Smith founded the magazine Australian Geographic, a National Geographic-style magazine focusing on Australia. Smith didn't want to greatly expand Australian Geographic, but his friend and CEO Ike Bain convinced him to change his mind and soon it was a thriving business.

(Profile information sourced from Wikipedia and other publicly available internet sources.)

Dick Smith on the web

Wikipedia: Dick Smith
Company: Dick Smith Foods
Company: Dick Smith Electronics

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