; 35 years ago 1981 . 1 founder gary johnston headquarters rydalmere nsw australia number of locations 90 stores 2016 2 area served australia new zealand united kingdom united states canada key people gary johnston md toni martin ceo products electronics gadgets number of employees about 1 000 2016 subsidiaries electus distribution gadget central website www.jaycar.com.au jaycar is an australia based retailer dealing in electronic components and related products for electronics enthusiasts . it was founded in 1981 when gary johnston a former dick smith electronics employee purchased john carr & co. pty ltd. 3 jaycar has over 90 stores and more than 200 authorised stockists and agents 4 throughout australia and new zealand that carry products from jaycar s electus distribution wholesale division . contents 1 controversy 2 see also 3 references 4 external links controversy edit 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 . 5 the rspca queensland described the toy as grossly irresponsible . 6 as of 2013 the choke a chicken has been reintroduced to jaycar shelves where it is yet to receive the same kind of negative attention as previously . 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 . 10 this led to calls to boycott jaycar stores 11 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 . 12 boxer and model lauren eagle came to johnston s defense 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 . 13 see also edit jaycar sunswift iii element 14 farnell rs components references edit jaycar talks history and 30th birthday . current.com.au . retrieved 17 august 2011 . about jaycar . jaycar electronics . retrieved 2016 01 10 . jaycar is 30 years old . siliconchip.com.au . retrieved 17 august 2011 . store locator . jaycar electronics . retrieved 2016 01 10 . haines lester 2005 10 20 . animal lovers slam choke a chicken toy . the register . retrieved 2008 09 25 . australian associated press 2005 10 19 . rspca outraged over choke the chicken toy . the age . retrieved 2011 08 17 . choke a chicken . retrieved 2015 03 26 . aap . expect the same in pubs says dogs sponsor . www.sbs.com.au . retrieved 8 october 2012 . barret chris . mad monday comments not directed at reporter . retrieved 14 january 2013 . aap . expect the same in pubs says dogs sponsor . www.sbs.com.au . retrieved 8 october 2012 . richards david 3 october 2012 . women urged to ban jaycar stores . retrieved 8 october 2012 . crabb annabel 7 october 2012 . the non apology a spotter s guide . brisbane times . retrieved 8 october 2012 . 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 . external links edit official website electus distribution jaycar new zealand jaycar usa canada jaycar uk retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title jaycar & oldid 726281613 categories consumer electronics retailers of australiacompanies based in sydney1981 establishments in australiaretail companies established in 1981hidden categories use dmy dates from august 2011use australian english from august 2011all wikipedia articles written in australian englishpages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages add links this page was last modified on 21 june 2016 at 06 00 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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