Department store radios

[stevehertz]

Inspired by the current post about the unknown radio - most probably a Barkers Department store one - what other department stores sold radios ostensibly under their own name/brand but manufactured for them by a CEM? It would be interesting to create a list or small knowledge base.

[newlite4]

What about the Jonell radios sold from the 1940s to the 1950s for the John Lewis stores, these too were made by Plessey and were built on a similar brief to the Barker 88 sets.
Neil

[G6Tanuki]

"Defiant" - sold by stores of the Co-Op - is the first one that comes to mind.

"Westminster" was the in-house brand for Currys in the immediate post-war period; Plessey made a lot of the insides, with cabinets bought-in from the High Wycombe furniture-trade.

[Gabe001]

JG Graves, a jewellers shop in Sheffield I believe - essentially a rebranded Raymond electric F17. Most beautiful radio dial ever made imo

[McMurdo]

JG Graves was the Argos of its day, quite literally, as they were taken over by Universal, who also took over Argos..who ironically ended up with Bush as its in-house radio/tv brand.

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by Gabe001

JG Graves, a jewellers shop in Sheffield I believe - essentially a rebranded Raymond electric F17. Most beautiful radio dial ever made imo

Any relation to the early Graves Vulcan radio?

[thermionic]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

Any relation to the early Graves Vulcan radio?

Yes Steve, same company as far as I’m aware. They were a very successful mail order company which sold a wide range of goods. I believe some of the radio sets may have been sold as kits, but I might be mistaken.

Here is a picture of my late ‘30’s JG Graves ‘Aeriel AC Superhet’.


SimonT.

[slidertogrid]

I don't know if they would be classed as a department store as such but Boots sold a lot of Transistor radios as "Boots audio". cheap imports mostly as I remember.

[Gridiron]

Here is a photo of what I believe could be the earliest J.G.Graves valve radio (incomplete, note J.G.G. on panel). I have definitely seen an advert by Graves for this set in a mid-20's radio magazine I have somewhere, unable to locate it at present.
Mike.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by slidertogrid

Boots sold a lot of Transistor radios as "Boots audio". cheap imports mostly as I remember.

Probably so later on, but early examples came from Perdio

https://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49145

and Philips...

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=61261

Among definite department stores, Gamages offered quite a number of radios under their own name in the '20s and after. Seems RM Electric of Gateshead were manufacturing for them around 1950:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=141167

Paul

[Gabe001]

I'm not sure if Derwent would qualify; they had a retail outlet. Another Raymond f17, with a custom dial.

[stevehertz]

Department stores, retail outlets, shops, they're all of interest.

[McMurdo]

Spinney was a Littlewoods / Kays / Index brand for lots of things including radios. This one was made by perdio.

[Richard_FM]

Most of the American catalogue companies & larger department stores offered radios under their own branding.

[raditechman]

Gamage radios from Gamage's department store in London. (closed 1970's)

Barkers as already mentioned, must say I have not encountered a Selfridge or Harrod radio perhaps not the right clientele

John

[Cobaltblue]

Not strictly a department store but with their own brands was Currys.

Early sets were branded Currys then later Westminster.

May have been others.

Cheers

Mike T

[dave walsh]

Yes I've got one of the huge PWR2 Westminster Bakelite Radios [1947]. There's a few threads on it, like Old Geezers in 2014 where I said I'd seen one sold at £60 [another offered at £300] but that seemed ridiculous. I'd not paid very much, maybe probably less than £10. I don't think I knew the Curry's background then but it's confirmed on Radio Museum. As Steve said they are all of interest. A chain store was not the same as a Department one but the definition goes to it being a home brand product I suppose. Ferranti is a bit of an anomaly perhaps. They did heavy engineering of course but the Radios they once seemed to dabble with were their own brand.

Dave W

[Paul_RK]

The first radio I knew was a Westminster CTA5350, my grandmother's set, which I still have lurking somewhere: it became unreliable in about '68 and lost its place on her sideboard to a Fidelity Rad 11.

Originally Posted by dave walsh

Ferranti is a bit of an anomaly perhaps. They did heavy engineering of course but the Radios they once seemed to dabble with were their own brand.

Dave W

Is there a department store connection for Ferranti? I suspect their radio involvement began with transformers, but the radio and TV division became a serious part of the business for a few decades until Ekco took it over: I think I've read (The Setmakers?) that at least in the last few years it was stubbornly unprofitable.

[crackle]

I was very surprised to find this Boots Audio TR600 radio is a clone of the ITT Colt
Mike

[crackle]

Was Matsui a brand of Dixons, and I think Currys had their own brand of transistor radios, cant remember what they were called. I think they may have been clones of the Dixons models. It made price matching difficult as they were different models.
Mike