Type Retail Products Consumer electronics | Industry Retail Founded 1973 | |
Headquarters Melbourne, Australia, Australia Website | ||
Tandy Electronics was an electronics retailer in Australia by Tandy Corporation, later International Tandy (InterTAN) and in 2001 was acquired by Woolworths Limited.
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History
Tandy was founded in the United States in 1950 as Tandy Leather Company. In 1963, Tandy changed its business to electronics when it acquired control of RadioShack, a forty-year-old electronics business with nine stores and a mail-order arm. From 1963 to 1986, RadioShack grew to more than 6900 stores and dealers in the US, with a further 2100 stores and dealers in Canada, England, Europe and Australia.
In November 1973, the first RadioShack-style Tandy stores in Australia opened for business. They were administered from a rented office and warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Rydalmere. Tandy quickly established stores in major towns and suburbs across Australia and had a major presence by 1980. Many independent electrical businesses in smaller towns added Tandy products to their range.
It was incorporated in 1982 under the name Tandy Australia Limited. In 1983, as a direct result of the rapid expansion, Tandy built and moved into its present home, a $6 million Home Office and Distribution Centre located at Mt. Druitt in the west of Sydney.
Tandy in Australia were especially well known for their audio and radio products, most of which carried their Realistic home brand label. Their business expanded rapidly during the CB radio boom of the mid-1970s and the personal computer boom later. Their TRS-80 series of computers was particularly well-known.
In 1986, Tandy Corporation decided to create a new corporation to manage its international operations. Tandy spun-off retail operations in Canada, Australia, Great Britain and Europe under a new company, International Tandy, giving the companies in those countries the autonomy they required for better growth and profitability. At the time there were 350 stores in Australia.
Tandy's position in the market had some similarities with its local competitor, Dick Smith Electronics. Both companies produced a substantial annual catalogue, though Tandy's was more consumer-oriented with no data section. Its CB radio ranges were similar to DSE but it never carried much amateur radio gear, preferring to focus on scanners and shortwave radio.
In 2000, Tandy launched an ecommerce superstore www.tandy.com.au.
Acquisition by Woolworths
In April 2001, Woolworths Limited acquired Tandy Electronics with 222 stores for $112.6 million from InterTAN Australia Limited (a subsidiary of International Tandy). Despite also owning Dick Smith Electronics, the Tandy stores continued to trade as separate entities.