[Justin Aerial]

Grundig went bust and stopped making TVs etc, I think Mastercare bought out the name (did they also buy the Ferguson brand ?) and started using it for their TVs.

But when did Grundig go bust, and when did Mastercare start using the name ? I reckon it was about 2000.

[Sibeber]

This from Wikipedia on Grundig ...

In 2004, Britain's Alba plc and Koc's Beko jointly took over Grundig Home InterMedia System, Grundig's consumer electronics division. In 2007, Alba sold its half of the business to Beko for US$50.3 million,[3] although it would retain the licence to use the Grundig brand in the UK until 2010 and in Australasia until 2012.[4]

I have a 26" Grundig LCD tv and its ok ...by that I mean just ok ,very clunky remote and slow channel changeover and average pictiure but hey it's a cheap set for the bedroom , I think it's either a rebadged Beko or Vestel .

[Nigel Goodwin]

I can't remember the exact year they went bust, but in a desperate attempt to survive, it went like this:

Grundig sold their UK satellite business to Thomson.

Grundig sold the rights to use the name in the UK to DSG, while still using it themselves as well. Presumably this was for a limited period?, only either one or two years.

Grundig worldwide went bust, no buyer was found - Beko were one suggestion, but it didn't happen.

After no Grundig for a number of months, Beko/Alba bought the rights to the name. Presumably they thought letting Grundig collapse first was a better option than saving it - and a lot cheaper!.

Big shame really, we were a major Grundig dealer, and sold serious quantities of Grundig.

[Justin Aerial]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

I can't remember the exact year they went bust, but in a desperate attempt to survive, it went like this:

Grundig sold their UK satellite business to Thomson.

Grundig sold the rights to use the name in the UK to DSG, while still using it themselves as well. Presumably this was for a limited period?, only either one or two years.

Grundig worldwide went bust, no buyer was found - Beko were one suggestion, but it didn't happen.

After no Grundig for a number of months, Beko/Alba bought the rights to the name. Presumably they thought letting Grundig collapse first was a better option than saving it - and a lot cheaper!.

Big shame really, we were a major Grundig dealer, and sold serious quantities of Grundig.

So to clarify, Mastercare/DSG bought the rights to the name in the UK, and Bush/Alba the rights for elsewhere ?

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Justin Aerial

So to clarify, Mastercare/DSG bought the rights to the name in the UK, and Bush/Alba the rights for elsewhere ?

No, DSG had the rights before Alba, and well before Grundig went bust. There may have been an overlap with Alba, I'm not sure when the DSG deal expired.

As far as I'm aware, Alba/Beko bought the name in it's entirety.

[Justin Aerial]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

No, DSG had the rights before Alba, and well before Grundig went bust. There may have been an overlap with Alba, I'm not sure when the DSG deal expired.

As far as I'm aware, Alba/Beko bought the name in it's entirety.

Perhaps I`m getting confused with Ferguson.
My brain isn`t functioning correctly anymore, ironically, a bit like Grundig.

[soulboy77]

Originally Posted by Justin Aerial

Perhaps I`m getting confused with Ferguson.
My brain isn`t functioning correctly anymore, ironically, a bit like Grundig.

Thomson also own the Ferguson brand name now. They must of bought the rights from Thorn (previously Thorn EMI) sometime in the 90s.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by soulboy77

Thomson also own the Ferguson brand name now. They must of bought the rights from Thorn (previously Thorn EMI) sometime in the 90s.

Yes, Thomson bought out Ferguson, and almost immediately sacked the thousands of UK workers - sack a dozen miners and there's a national outcry, but it was done with barely a whisper.

They haven't used the name for a while now though, and I believe have sold the rights (presumably for a limited period?) to someone like Argos?.

[soulboy77]

Just did a quick Google and Comet are selling Ferguson branded TVs.

Edit: I'm sure Argos were selling the brand last year as well.

[Justin Aerial]

Originally Posted by soulboy77

Just did a quick Google and Comet are selling Ferguson branded TVs.

Bleedin` hell, this is getting COMPLICATED !

[Sibeber]

Originally Posted by Justin Aerial

Bleedin` hell, this is getting COMPLICATED !

Whatever...remember a once high quality producer with years of heritage is now just a name to stick a badge on Chinese/Turkish made very average products .

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Justin Aerial

Bleedin` hell, this is getting COMPLICATED !

There's so many changes and deals amongst the badge names, you completely lose count

[Syntax Error]

Off the beaten track: I found an old video recorder in my parents cellar.

It was a gigantic ITT model.

It was state of the art in 1984, now it's just a big slab!

Whatever happened to the ITT brand?

[Sibeber]

ITT are still going but don't seem to make domestic equipment anymore ..their is an extensive history of the corporation on Wikipedia .Here's a few more names I can remember from my teens/twenties/thirties that no longer seem to be around
Baird TV's , Akai Hi Fi , Sansui Hi Fi , Teleton , Fisher Hi Fi (I think this was owned by Sanyo ) Redifusion TV'S , any more for the pot lol

[Syntax Error]

Originally Posted by Sibeber

ITT are still going but don't seem to make domestic equipment anymore ..their is an extensive history of the corporation on Wikipedia .Here's a few more names I can remember from my teens/twenties/thirties that no longer seem to be around
Baird TV's , Akai Hi Fi , Sansui Hi Fi , Teleton , Fisher Hi Fi (I think this was owned by Sanyo ) Redifusion TV'S , any more for the pot lol

Thankyou for the info.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Sibeber

ITT are still going but don't seem to make domestic equipment anymore ..their is an extensive history of the corporation on Wikipedia .

ITT (previously KB - Kolster Brands), haven't been around in domestic electronics for years, although there have been various badging excursions with Nokia, Luxor etc.

Here's a few more names I can remember from my teens/twenties/thirties that no longer seem to be around
Baird TV's , Akai Hi Fi , Sansui Hi Fi , Teleton , Fisher Hi Fi (I think this was owned by Sanyo ) Redifusion TV'S , any more for the pot lol

Baird were part of Thorn EMI years back, they used the brand name on their own rentals (DER etc.).

Fisher were indeed part of Sanyo.

Redifusion were a UK rental company, and had sets made for them with their own name on - some by some very obscure and strange UK manufacturers.

[soulboy77]

Nokia acquired the rights to the ITT brand in respect of consumer electronics when they bought Schaub-Lorenz. This is distinct from the ITT brand used by the ITT Corporation who operate in other areas.

[Sibeber]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

ITT (previously KB - Kolster Brands), haven't been around in domestic electronics for years, although there have been various badging excursions with Nokia, Luxor etc.



Baird were part of Thorn EMI years back, they used the brand name on their own rentals (DER etc.).

Fisher were indeed part of Sanyo.

Redifusion were a UK rental company, and had sets made for them with their own name on - some by some very obscure and strange UK manufacturers.

I remember In West Auckland Co Durham Redifusion having a huge carpentry factory just to make the wooden cabinets !...whoever thought of injection moulded tv caibents must be a very rich man .

[rickymallory]

I have a Grundig VCR bought for me in about '94... I don't use it now but it still works and only ever chewed up one tape.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by soulboy77

Just did a quick Google and Comet are selling Ferguson branded TVs.

Edit: I'm sure Argos were selling the brand last year as well.

Not Argos in the last few years.

Once Thomson stopped using it, the brand was licenced to DSG (Dixons, Currys, PC World). More recently, Comet Group have been using it and sell it through their online brand Laskys too. At one stage, you could buy Ferguson-branded leads in Currys but TVs in Comet.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Sibeber

ITT are still going but don't seem to make domestic equipment anymore ..their is an extensive history of the corporation on Wikipedia .Here's a few more names I can remember from my teens/twenties/thirties that no longer seem to be around
Baird TV's , Akai Hi Fi , Sansui Hi Fi , Teleton , Fisher Hi Fi (I think this was owned by Sanyo ) Redifusion TV'S , any more for the pot lol

Akai's website is still live: www.akai.com

It had a colourful existence and demise

Akai at its peak employed 100,000 workers and had annual sales of HK$40 billion ($5.2 billion) with brands including Singer Sewing Machine Co. of the US Its Shanghai-born, Canadian-educated owner James Ting was jailed for six years for false accounting in 2005 and freed the following year because of errors in the prosecution's case.
http://www.intellasia.net/news/artic..._printer.shtml


Wikipedia states now:
"It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Chinese Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used to rebadge electronics manufactured by other companies. "Akai" means red, hence the logo color, earlier also accompanied by a red dot."

Also, Akai Professional continues as a separate company:
www.akaipro.com/en/index.php

[The Sack]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Yes, Thomson bought out Ferguson, and almost immediately sacked the thousands of UK workers - sack a dozen miners and there's a national outcry, but it was done with barely a whisper.

I am sure the tens of thousands of miners that lost their jobs are comforted to know some people in the UK think it was only a dozen people that had their lives ruined

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by The Sack

I am sure the tens of thousands of miners that lost their jobs are comforted to know some people in the UK think it was only a dozen people that had their lives ruined

Tens of thousands over tens of years - not overnight! - somewhat different

I live in a mining village in a mining area, and went through the ludicrous miners strike.

[AlanO]

Originally Posted by soulboy77

Thomson also own the Ferguson brand name now. They must of bought the rights from Thorn (previously Thorn EMI) sometime in the 90s.

I'm pretty sure Thomson took over Ferguson before then - about 1986/7 time.

By 1989 all new Ferguson TVs and VCRs were of Thomson origin - they were horrid things to set up, really complicated compared to the contemporary alternatives. Previous Ferguson badged VCRs had also been of JVC origin, which were vastly better than the Thomson ones.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by AlanO

I'm pretty sure Thomson took over Ferguson before then - about 1986/7 time.

By 1989 all new Ferguson TVs and VCRs were of Thomson origin - they were horrid things to set up, really complicated compared to the contemporary alternatives. Previous Ferguson badged VCRs had also been of JVC origin, which were vastly better than the Thomson ones.

Probably so, it was a LONG time ago - luckily we saw the writing on the wall well in advance, and closed our Ferguson account long before the takeover. The Thomson sets were absolute garbage.