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Ferguson Electronics (formerly known as Ferguson Radio Corporation) are an electronics company specializing in small electronics items such as radios and set top boxes.
History
Ferguson is one of the older electronics companies, alongside Ultra, Dynatron, Pye and Bush radio in the United Kingdom. It was originally an American–Canadian pre-War company making radio sets for the U.K. market based upon contemporary American models. After World War II, it became Ferguson Radio Corporation, making radio receivers and, later, televisions. Later still, it became part of the British Radio Corporation. It was taken over by THORN Electrical Industries in the late 1950s, but the Ferguson name continued to be used by Thorn, and its successor Thorn EMI.
Throughout the company's early history, Ferguson products were very popular across its wide customer base. By the early 1960s its wide product range included a most comprehensive range of audio and TV equipment. Small, battery-operated portable transistor radios to solid oak 6 ft wide hydraulic lid radiograms sporting fully automatic stackable Garrard turntables, multi-channel radios and 2-foot-wide stereo speakers were commonplace in many UK households. Open reel tape recorders followed, so did the resilient 1970s Hifis including the iconic collectors item, the highly illuminated 'System 15', being a combined turntable, cassette recorder and radio with twin recording levels and integral storage unit.
Curiously, many surviving Ferguson Hifi's are compatible with modern 'Ipod' units through their external standard input sockets, allowing new technology to be fed into the high quality speakers supplied on premium specification units.
Sales held well, with 1980s new introductions including walkman-style cassette players, CD players and the progressively stylish 'V range' video recorders.
The 1990s saw much competition from foreign brands such as JVC, Tandy, Hitachi and Sanyo. Even High Street electrical outlets such as Dixons and Currys introduced own brands manufactured in the far East, such as Saisho. This took its toll on the once great Ferguson brand and during the late 1990s, it was sold off to the French electronics company Thomson. Thomson itself subsequently withdrew from the competitive European consumer electronics market. The Ferguson brand was licensed initially to DSI (Dixons and Currys). DSI ceased using it in 2006 and competitor Comet took up the licence.
The 2000s have seen the introduction of emerging technology such as Freeview set-top boxes, DVD players and recorders. DAB radios are also amongst the range and Ferguson once again appears at the forefront of useful electronic equipment for the home.
Today
The Ferguson brand is used by Comet on a range of DAB digital radios as well as Freeview set top boxes and a range of other electronics items.
External links
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