[NJARC] LAFAYETTE Radio L1

[peter markavage]

That was part of it but it was all the 23 channel rigs. We had roughly a
three month window to get rid of all the stock(millions of dollars worth)
plus they had bought a bunch more that were in the process of being made.
Also, the 4 channel craze never really materialized. Too many decoding
schemes plus TV shows were gathering more audience and people were more
on the go. Also, in the major metro areas, the "Crazy Eddie" syndrome of
selling was starting to take hold. That started to take a big chunk of
revenue away from the stores. The two Xmas seasons (which always were big
money makers), prior to the declaration of the first 60 store closings,
were far below expectations. Since financials were getting shaky, two
major banks called in two loans (approx. $22M). Not enough cash to cover
repayment, they had no choice but to liquidate 60 stores and file under
court protection. All creditors where put on hold, while court and banks
worked out a plan. 6 to 12 months later 63 more stores were closed,
leaving only 5 five. Those 5 were bought by Wards (parent of Circuit
City) to ultimately test for a Northeast market presence. Roughly around
1984 the 5 stores were closed, and several years later Circuit City
stores started to pop up in the Northeast.

Pete, wa2cwa

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 16:28:40 -0500 William Jones <bjjones at optonline.net>
writes:
> Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net
> Details at: http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
> _______________________________________________
> I actually meta grand son of the family once.  He worked for me at 
> an
> investment bank about 16 years ago.  He told me Lafayette went out 
> of
> business because of the CB radio craze that was ripping across the 
> country
> back then.  Lafayette made a huge investment in 19 channel radios 
> figuring
> that the CB boon could be capitalized on for continuing their 
> revenue
> stream. Well, never trust the government for good timing.  The Feds
> announced expanding CB coverage to 40 channels and, all of a sudden, 
> those
> 19 channel radios were worthless.  The grandchild didn't seem to be 
> hurting
> for Trust fund money so I think the family was not destitute.  But 
> the
> company never recovered.
> 
> Bill, WV2A
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: njarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:njarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of peter markavage
> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 1:24 PM
> To: njarc at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [NJARC] LAFAYETTE Radio L1
> 
> 
> Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net
> Details at: http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
> _______________________________________________
> Wholesale Radio >> Radio Wire Television Co. >> Lafayette Radio 
> Wire
> Television >> Lafayette Radio Corp >> Lafayette Radio Electronics 
> Corp.
> I think I got them all. Early on, the name "Lafayette" was used as 
> the
> "house" brand or tag brand for unnamed manufacturers similar to 
> names
> like Criterion, Guardian, etc. and Radio Shack's Realistic brand.
> 
> !00 6th Ave was the starting place; mail order, sales center, and
> warehouse later developed in Jamaica, NY which in 1962 moved to 
> Syosset,
> NY. Had approx 128 stores at it's end and countless affiliate
> stores(bought in the ability to sell Lafayette branded items).
> 
> Pete, wa2cwa
> 
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 10:59:43 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Nick Senker
> <ns539 at earthlink.net> writes:
> > Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net
> > Details at: http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
> > _______________________________________________
> > I would like to find out more about this radio in particular and
> > Lafayette Radio and Television Co in general.  Mod L1 to L4 is
> > listed in Rider 5-9.  Lafayette Radio and Television Co is listed 
> on
> > 6th Ave in New York City.  This is a early 1930's radio with an
> > impressive chassis for it's time, with push pull output, a signal
> > strength meter, a noise supression circuit, and two speakers.  Is
> > this a different company or a precursor of Lafayette Radio
> > Electronics of Syosset, Long Island?  Riders only has a one page
> > schematic (5-9) or (3-1, Wholesale Radio Service)  Does anyone 
> have
> > more complete service information?  Nick Senker, NJARC