# Consumer Electronics Brands That Have Disappeared?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 7, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991 "2012-09-07T14:41:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/21 "2012-09-08T02:59:24Z")
I bought an RCA-branded turntable from Radio Shack about five years ago. It’s clearly just a badged product, since the instructions and warranties all come in the Radio Shack name.
Does anyone remember the department store brand electronics? I remember Montgomery Ward sold Admiral (I still have an Admiral VCR!) but that’s the only one I can remember.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/22 "2012-09-08T03:07:51Z")
Goldstar. The company is still around, sort of, as LG, but the Goldstar brand was abandoned in the 90s, partly because it was known for being low-end, cheap equipment.
Admiral made TVs and radios in the 50s and 60s. The remnants of the corporation remain, but the brand is gone.
Olivetti computers. Still around in Italy, but not in the US.
Ditto Corporation. ☹
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/23 "2012-09-08T03:25:28Z")
> [@installLSC](#):
>
> Does anyone remember the department store brand electronics? I remember Montgomery Ward sold Admiral (I still have an Admiral VCR!) but that’s the only one I can remember.
Sears had Silvertone.
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### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/24 "2012-09-08T03:32:47Z")
Wikipedia:
> [@](#):
>
> [**Admiral**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_%28electrical_appliances%29) is an American appliance brand currently manufactured by Whirlpool Corporation. The brand is sold at The Home Depot. . . .
>
> . . . In 1991, Maytag contracted with Montgomery Ward & Co. for the exclusive use of the Admiral brand on its consumer electronic goods.[3] Montgomery Ward later went bankrupt and closed all stores. After Maytag’s sale to Whirlpool, the brand became exclusive to The Home Depot. During the 1990s, the Admiral brand name was being used on Zenith products.
>
> The Television business continues with AOC International. AOC (originally Admiral Overseas Corporation) is an international brand of LCD and HDTV display devices.
Dig deep enough and you’ll discover that everything in the world is owned by Dominion Bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/25 "2012-09-08T03:49:02Z")
> [@Kenm](#):
>
> Dig deep enough and you’ll discover that everything in the world is owned by Dominion Bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
And Dominion Bridge is owned by Sony.
It’s circular, all the way down. 😉
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### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/26 "2012-09-08T04:17:54Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> And Dominion Bridge is owned by Sony.
>
> It’s circular, all the way down. 😉
I’m gonna write a complaint letter to the editor! That’ll learn 'em.
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### Author:  [@Coustralee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coustralee)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/27 "2012-09-08T13:32:31Z")
i once heard a guy at kmart say magnavox was made by philips… no idea really.
some names seem to have been bought and slapped on something else, usually lower end stuff,
eg telefunken, maybe sansui, AWA - used to be australian, now chinese stuff
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/28 "2012-09-08T13:46:51Z")
Atwater-Kent?
(actually have one of their radios in working condition, thanks to my father-in-law, who restored the electronics and cabinet a few years ago)
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/29 "2012-09-08T13:55:16Z")
> [@Duckster](#):
>
> Just because you may see the name don’t assume it’s the same company. Companies are bought and sold, often just to acquire a brand name because the brand name is what has perceived consumer value.
Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there’s Magnetbox, and Sorny!
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/30 "2012-09-08T14:32:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Goldstar. The company is still around, sort of, as LG, but the Goldstar brand was abandoned in the 90s, partly because it was known for being low-end, cheap equipment.
I still have a Goldstar _VCR_ that works perfectly. They may have been as bargain basement as they come, but Goldstar’s stuff just plain worked. I’m glad the LG namechange is working out for them.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/31 "2012-09-08T15:39:26Z")
> [@Coustralee](#):
>
> i once heard a guy at kmart say magnavox was made by philips.. no idea really.
See my earlier post.
Who “makes” electronics and what the labels say are two different things now. Many famous brands no longer operate any factories of their own.
Foxconn (a Taiwanese company: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., with a lot of factories in the PRC.) makes iPhones and such for Apple. So Apple doesn’t “make” them. But since Foxconn makes them under contract for Apple and Apple assumes responsibility for sales, marketing, warranty, etc., those are Apple products.
Ditto, Magnavox labeled products are put out by Philips.
Nike was the first major success story in the “factory-less” consumer product field. They hit the road and show suppliers what they want made, the manufacturers bid for a contract, the winner makes it. Lather, rinse, repeat. When a recession hits, Nike doesn’t have to lay off a bunch of factory workers. They just cut the orders down. Laid off workers, idle factories, left over supplies, etc. are Somebody Else’s Problem. US and now even Japanese electronics companies have followed that route. Vertical integration doesn’t work in a world economy.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/32 "2012-09-08T15:42:16Z")
> [@ftg](#):
>
> See my earlier post.
>
> Who “makes” electronics and what the labels say are two different things now. Many famous brands no longer operate any factories of their own.
I remember hearing as early as the late '80s that “every VCR in the world is made in one of three factories in Japan.”
I’m sure it’s not Japan any more, but I think the general rule of thumb still applies to most modern electronics.
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### Author:  [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/33 "2012-09-08T18:06:04Z")
Is JVC still around? My family used their VCRs quite a bit in the 80s and early 90s.
Just yesterday I used by old Zenith CRT television I bought back in '96. It’s the only thing I have left that can play my collection of VHS tapes. I should really get around to digitizing them before the quality degrades too much…
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/34 "2012-09-08T18:15:50Z")
I used to have a few Audiovox and Kraco products which were fine for what they were. I also still use a couple of Wen brand tools. Haven’t seen that name in years.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/35 "2012-09-08T21:15:40Z")
> [@Vicullum](#):
>
> Is JVC still around? My family used their VCRs quite a bit in the 80s and early 90s.
Do you also wonder if Google or Wikipedia are still around? They would be really helpful for such trivial searches.
(Fun fact: The “V” in “JVC” stands for “Victor” and they market products with that label in Japan. JVC has the trademark on “His master’s voice.” there. They had been part of the RCA-Victor universe until a little thing called WWII came along.)
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### Author:  [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/36 "2012-09-08T21:39:52Z")
> [@ralph124c](#):
>
> Curtis-Mathes was a firm that rented TV sets-they made outrageous profits renting to people who could not qualify for a loan. They never made their own sets-the sets were made by Philips, Sharp, and others.
Ummmm… what? :dubious: While CM may have had a “buy-on-payments” plan or some-such, I can’t think of any other way your statements are correct. Links [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mathes_Corporation), [here](http://curtismathes.webs.com/), [here](http://www.retrothing.com/2010/05/remembering-curtis-mathes-tvs.html), [here](http://www.tvhistory.tv/1960-2000-TVManufacturers.htm).
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/37 "2012-09-08T23:03:25Z")
There’s “Heathkit,” who made quite a few different do-it-yourself kits for TV, radios, oscilloscopes, computers, etc. They stopped making them in the early 90s, and tried to revive the brand a couple of years ago, with no success.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/38 "2012-09-08T23:16:14Z")
I just bought [this](http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVReceivers&SubCatId=0&ProductId=SR7005) Marantz receiver about a year ago. I really liked my Onkyo, but it was time to upgrade so I could use it with HDMI inputs and outputs and I decided to give them a try.
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### Author:  [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/39 "2012-09-08T23:51:46Z")
I am still using the Sansui G5700 amp/receiver I bought in 1978.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/40 "2012-09-09T01:02:07Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#):
>
> They’re not what they used to be. Now Zenith is just another brand owned by LG (Korean). Magnavox is a brand owned by Funai (Japanese). Pioneer still seems to be the same old Pioneer.
> [@Vicullum](#):
>
> Just yesterday I used by old Zenith CRT television I bought back in '96. It’s the only thing I have left that can play my collection of VHS tapes. I should really get around to digitizing them before the quality degrades too much…
I have one TV, a **Quasar** I bought in about 1994. At the time, I believe they were just a brand name used by **Panasonic**. (Same TV, but slap a different name on it and sell it at a different price.) I can’t remember seeing anything from Quasar or Panasonic for years. I’d like to upgrade to a bigger, flatter, higher-definition TV one of these days, but I hate to get rid of something that still works.
LG is the opposite of this thread, though. I can remember when I’d never heard of them. That was probably 8 years ago. Suddenly, they seemed to be everywhere.
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