Lear & Smith
Lear & Smith is an Australian regional wholesale electrical supplies distributor, operating eight branches and a B2B WebStore across Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast NSW, serving electrical contractors, commercial builders, and solar installers as a banner of Rexel Australia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersBoat Harbour, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lear & Smith does
Lear & Smith is an Australian wholesale electrical supplies distributor operating eight branch locations across the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast regions of New South Wales, and serves as the regional banner of Rexel Australia within the global Rexel Group. Founded in 1985, the company distributes a comprehensive catalogue of cable, lighting, power distribution, industrial, HVAC, data and communications, hardware, safety, solar, and tools and instrumentation products to electrical trade customers, with a stated positioning as the largest electrical wholesaler in its region.
The core technology stack centres on the WebStore B2B e-commerce platform, which provides 24/7 account-based access to the catalogue with real-time branch stock availability, personalised pricing, multiple cart management, fast order entry, saved lists, electronic proof of delivery, online order approval workflows, and product configurators for Schneider Electric and Clipsal ranges. The platform is extended through native iOS and Android mobile applications and an AI-powered chatbot for product information and order support, and is integrated with ten Australian job management and accounting systems (AroFlo, Simpro, Xero, MYOB, Ascora, Fergus, Tradify, SmartTrade, ServiceM8, JobTracker) for automated price file and invoice delivery into contractor back-office workflows.
Lear & Smith generates revenue through one-time wholesale distribution of electrical supplies to trade account customers, with both cash and credit terms available, account-based personalised pricing, and a 'Price on Request' quoting feature. Distribution channels are the WebStore, mobile applications, and Click & Collect from branch locations with approximately 60-minute readiness. Primary customer segments are electrical contractors, commercial building projects, and solar installers, supported by pre-configured Easy Cart Builder bundles and an Everyday Essentials range of over 600 guaranteed-in-stock products.
Lear & Smith firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lear & Smith
- Legal name
- Lear & Smith Electrical Wholesalers
- Website
- https://learsmith.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lear & Smith is an Australian regional wholesale electrical supplies distributor, operating eight branches and a B2B WebStore across Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast NSW, serving electrical contractors, commercial builders, and solar installers as a banner of Rexel Australia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Lear & Smith is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boat Harbour
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices9 records
Markets served
Lear & Smith business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Wholesale Electrical Supplies Sales: Distribution of electrical supplies including cable, lighting, power distribution, industrial equipment, tools, and solar products to trade customers through branch locations and WebStore. Products sold include over 600 Everyday Essentials items and Sustainable Selection products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Trade Account Pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Everyday Essentials |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sustainable Selection |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Price on Request |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Lear & Smith product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lear & Smith is the largest electrical wholesaler in Australia's Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast regions, operating 8 branch locations and a 24/7 WebStore trade portal. The company distributes electrical supplies — including cable, cable management, lighting, power distribution, industrial controls, data and communications, HVAC, energy management and solar, safety, tools and instrumentation, and wiring accessories — to trade and contractor customers through in-branch trade counters, click-and-collect within 60 minutes, and online ordering integrated with job-management software.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- WebStore trade portal 24/7 online trade e-commerce portal for registered trade customers to browse, price and order electrical products, organize Click & Collect within 60 minutes, and connect orders with job-management platforms.
- Trade branch trade-counter service (8 branches) In-person trade-counter electrical supply service across 8 branches in the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast regions, including Click & Collect pickup of online orders typically within 60 minutes.
- Cable and cable management product range Stocked range of electrical cable and cable management products for trade and contractor installation jobs.
- Lighting product range (LED, specialty and incandescent lamps; light fittings) Stocked lighting range covering LED lamps, specialty lamps, incandescent lamps and light fittings for residential, commercial and industrial installations.
- Power distribution product range Stocked power distribution products for distributing electrical power in commercial and industrial installations.
- Switches, plugs and sockets / wiring accessories range Stocked range of electrical switches, plugs, sockets and wiring accessories for residential and commercial installations.
- Energy management and solar product range Stocked energy management and solar equipment for renewable-energy and solar PV installations by trade installers.
- HVAC product range Stocked HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) electrical products and components.
- Industrial product range Stocked industrial electrical products and components for industrial installations and maintenance.
- Data and communications product range Stocked data and communications cabling and connectivity products for structured-cabling and network installations.
- Tools and instrumentation range Stocked electrical tools and instrumentation for trade and contractor installation work.
- Safety, hardware and AV/security/detection product ranges Stocked safety, hardware and AV/security/detection electrical products for trade and contractor work.
- Easy Cart Builder Online cart-building tool that helps trade customers compile their product selections before checkout on the WebStore.
- Schneider product configurators Online product configurator tools that let trade customers configure engineered Schneider electrical products (e.g., switchboards and power distribution equipment) before ordering.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 600 Everyday Essentials products guaranteed in stock everyday across all branches
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lear & Smith
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Lear & Smith technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature13 records
Lear & Smith partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AroFlocoreEnhanced 'Supplier Connect' integration with AroFlo's Supplier Catalogue feature. Enables price and stock checking before ordering, electronic order processing, support for customer part numbers and UOMs, multiple order population methods, and order confirmation via screen messages and email.
- SimprocoreIntegration for automated price and invoice file delivery into Simpro job management software.
- XerocoreIntegration for automated price and invoice file delivery into Xero accounting software.
- MYOBcoreIntegration for automated price and invoice file delivery into MYOB accounting software.
- TradifycoreIntegration for monthly price files formatted for instant import into Tradify. Pre-formatted files for Rexel, Ideal, John R Turk and Lear & Smith brands.
- ServiceM8coreFull integration supporting automatic invoicing (invoices auto-applied to jobs via PO number matching) and automated price file scheduling into ServiceM8.
- Schneider ElectriccoreProduct configurators for Schneider ranges including Acti9 (electrical distribution), Harmony (pushbuttons/industrial), Motor Control, and Select & Config. Configurators guide users through product selection with interactive questions.
- ClipsalcoreProduct configurators for Clipsal Iconic (switches and power points with versatile styling) and ProSeries (commercial buildings range).
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lear & Smith competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- John R. Turk: Sister Rexel Australia brand running the same WebStore platform and targeting trade electrical customers with overlapping product categories and software integrations; closest functional peer.
- Middendorp Electric Wholesalers: Established Australian electrical wholesaler with multi-branch trade distribution and similar product categories (cable, lighting, industrial, solar). Comparable in scale, customer base and channel strategy.
- Rexel Australia: Direct parent group and the largest competing brand within the same Australian electrical wholesale network. Operates the same Rexel platform and competes with Lear & Smith in adjacent NSW regions under shared procurement and software.
- Ideal Electrical: Another Rexel Australia sister brand offering trade electrical supplies with shared software integrations and product range, competing for similar contractor customers in overlapping geographies.
- Haymans: Australian electrical, data and solar wholesaler serving trade customers with overlapping product categories (cable, lighting, solar, EV charging) and comparable branch-and-trade-account model.
- AGM Electrical Supplies: NSW-based regional electrical wholesaler with branch coverage and trade customer focus in similar markets; competes for the same contractor wallet share in the Hunter and surrounding regions.
- Lawrence & Hanson: Largest nationally branded Australian electrical wholesaler (owned by Sonepar), running a similar branch-and-trade-account model across Australia. Direct competitor for electrical contractor wallet share outside of Rexel-controlled regions.
Emerging players
- Sparky Direct: Online-first Australian electrical retailer/wholesaler targeting trade customers with transparent pricing and direct-to-customer delivery; competes primarily on digital convenience and price transparency for the same end-products.
Broad incumbents
- NHP Electrical Engineering Products: Major industrial-focused Australian electrical components distributor (part of Mitsubishi Electric) competing for commercial and industrial customers in switchgear, motor control and automation — overlapping industrial product categories with Lear & Smith's industrial range.
Regional players
- Schnapz: Australian electrical and data distributor operating across trade and commercial segments with overlapping product categories; comparable trade-channel focus but with differentiated geographic and customer mix.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lear & Smith social profiles
Digital presenceLear & Smith financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lear & Smith leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Lear & Smith funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lear & Smith M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lear & Smith
What does Lear & Smith do?
Lear & Smith is the largest electrical wholesaler in Australia's Newcastle, Hunter Valley and North Coast regions, operating 8 branch locations and a 24/7 WebStore trade portal. The company distributes electrical supplies — including cable, cable management, lighting, power distribution, industrial controls, data and communications, HVAC, energy management and solar, safety, tools and instrumentation, and wiring accessories — to trade and contractor customers through in-branch trade counters, click-and-collect within 60 minutes, and online ordering integrated with job-management software.
Is Lear & Smith a public or private company?
Lear & Smith is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Lear & Smith founded?
Lear & Smith was founded in 1985. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lear & Smith based?
Lear & Smith is headquartered in Boat Harbour, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Lear & Smith make money?
One revenue line is on record: wholesale Electrical Supplies Sales.
Who are Lear & Smith's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are John R. Turk, Middendorp Electric Wholesalers, Rexel Australia, Ideal Electrical, Haymans, AGM Electrical Supplies and Lawrence & Hanson. Sparky Direct is listed as an emerging player. NHP Electrical Engineering Products is listed as a broad incumbent. Schnapz is listed as a regional player.
Does Lear & Smith have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lear & Smith.