home,” says Jarrod Caroll, Jaycar’s chief marketing officer.  “We want to give them all the choice and convenience of being able to buy online or in-store, get the same expert advice in-store and via our Maker Hub website and create an integrated experience for our customers.” Community spirit Dubbed “the store of the future”, Jaycar’s reimagined retail concept first kicked off in February this year, when the York Street store in Sydney was completely gutted out and rebuilt with a new colour scheme, fixtures, click-and-collect, digital screens and mobile pods.  Meanwhile, the brand-new flagship store was unveiled at Central Park shopping centre in Sydney last month, complete with the Maker Hub, where customers can come together for educational workshops and learn from one another.  The launch included a three-day opening event called TechFest, which attracted 3000 customers and featured workshops, interactive displays and free hot chips. A similar event will take place in August to celebrate National Science Week. “The new store really fuses the latest technology with our core electronics offer. It brings in collaborative spaces and a giant maker space for customers to chill and work on projects, heaps of content and products to get customers inspired, learning about and even building projects, as well as workshops and workbench equipment for them to use and hire,” says Caroll, adding that there is definitely potential to roll out across all major capitals in Australia and New Zealand if it proves successful.  Plans are currently under way to renovate the brand’s existing store in Croydon, Sydney, which will also include a brand-new Maker Hub. It is slated to open in September. “People can access things like videos, projects, competitions and ideas. The whole aim of the platform is to create a community, you live remotely and are online or if you can get into a hub store,” says Carroll. “We’re trying to create that place for people to come together – those people who are into electronics DIY or learning how to use their tech.”  Customers who aren’t able to check out the Maker Hubs can now access the new Maker Hub microsite, attached to Jaycar’s main website. Offering customers a smoother omnichannel experience has also been top of mind for Jaycar, and the new store concept also includes a mobile point-of-sale checkout on workbench counters, while loyalty members can use points to use for services such as click-and-collect and parcel lockers for early morning or later evening collections. Meanwhile, it has been 15 years since Jaycar has had a rebrand and in January this year, the retailer kicked one off, which will roll out over the next two years. Part of the rebrand includes a new modern logo and softer colour scheme to bring the brand up to date and introduce it to new customers. Technology for all As technology has come to play a significant role in everyone’s lives now, for people both young and old, Jaycar is keen to embrace a wider customer base.  “When we do workshops, they’re targeted at beginners, but we get a diverse mix of age groups and genders. It’s not just kids or boys – it’s boys and girls, teens and retirees who want to learn something new, like learning how to program a snake game,” says Carroll. “We have a lot more females working for us now, whereas 20 years ago, they were a small percentage.  “It’s also in the customers – there is a lot more gender balance, especially among the engineering students who come over from the University of Technology, Sydney, across the road [from Central Park]. It’s great. That’s something we’re working on as part of the Maker Hub offer – we’re trying to offer kits that interest different age groups and genders.” Something for the millennials Another new initiative for Jaycar is the future launch of a digital AI-based catalogue, says Carroll. The brand has always had a big, printed catalogue, but the new version will give customers the option to search by voice and images. “We’re trying to evolve. We’re more than 35 years old and the catalogue is one of the ways we’re trying to stay current, especially with kids and millennials. They don’t tend to pick up books anymore. They all want it on the screen, to swipe and click through things,” he says.