WHAT ELECTRONICS, PUBLISHING AND FOOD HAVE IN COMMON IN AUSTRALIA So what do electronics, publishing and food in Australia have in common? The answer is Dick Smith. Personally I don’t really warm to Dick Smith, but I cannot help but respect the way he has built: Dick Smith electronics, and sold it to Woolworths for […]

WHAT ELECTRONICS, PUBLISHING AND FOOD HAVE IN COMMON IN AUSTRALIA So what do electronics, publishing and food in Australia have in common? The answer is Dick Smith. Personally I don’t really warm to Dick Smith, but I cannot help but respect the way he has built: Dick Smith electronics, and sold it to Woolworths for $22 million. Australian Geographic – an Australian publishing/retail business. Dick Smith Foods, which he sold to the Campbell soup Company. I certainly respect his capacity to develop three strong brands, some of which the purchasers have not been able to extract the same returns or value from. Three aspects of successful branding Dick Smith embraced very effectively were: Taking a stand Defying expectations Engaging directly Clearly Smith’s approach to branding has involved much more than these three factors, but these three are of particular note and I would argue are very accessible to small and…