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355:, sales of radios were much higher during the winter months than during the summer. This prompted Verschoor to explore possibilities for expanding the company's product line in order to reduce the slack periods caused by the seasonal variation in its radio sales. Looking for a product that could be produced relatively cheaply and that would also sell well during the summer months, he decided upon an inexpensive
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391:, vowing that the new company would "employ every technical resource to bring the price of efficient television reception to the point where every American home can enjoy this new art as quickly as possible." However, Jackson's company suffered from the same problems that IRC had, and just a year after its establishment it was already out of business.
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words of Alan
Voorhees, they were "$ 20 sets with extra ballast tubes thrown in". They were also reminiscent of 10-tube radios that Verschoor had built between 1925 and 1930 under the "Arborphone" name, which had only five functioning tubes alongside five superfluous ones intended simply to impress prospective customers.
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attractive models, resulting in their total profit margins on the whole
Kadette line falling to as low as 5% in some cases. As their profit margins fell, many dealers dropped Kadettes from their catalogs altogether; while IRC made efforts to reverse this trend, in many cases irreparable damage had already been done.
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of 15% at most, far less than what they could earn selling premium models made by competitors. After the company began requiring its dealers to stock its slower selling units in order to also have access to its 10-tube
Kadettes, some dealers resorted to giving unauthorized discounts to move the less
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Following after the
Kadette were a variety of other models, many of which were innovative in their own right: the Kadette Jr., the world's first pocket radio; the Kadette Jewel, the original Kadette's successor that was available in five different color combinations; the Kadette Classic, built with
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In 1937, as its sales had climbed to $ 2,700,000, IRC introduced a 10-tube
Kadette radio for $ 19.95, a price comparable with many four- and five-tube sets when its 10-tube competitors cost $ 100 or more. With three ballast tubes, these 10-tube radios were met with largely negative reviews; in the
132:. It was established in 1931 by Charles Albert Verschoor with financial backing from Ann Arbor mayor William E. Brown, Jr., and a group of local business leaders. IRC manufactured numerous different radios, many bearing the Kadette name, including the first mass-produced
183:
as well. The company was initially financed with $ 10,000 raised by Ann Arbor mayor
William E. Brown, Jr., and a group of local business leaders who desired to create a new local company with substantial potential for growth and job creation during the
386:
In 1939, International
Industries sold its radio-manufacturing business to the company's former General Sales Manager, W. Keene Jackson. After renaming it the Kadette Radio Corporation, Jackson expressed his desire to expand its product line by adding
243:, was fairly cheap to produce and helped IRC to turn a substantial profit on its radio sales. Manufactured by the Chicago Molded Products Company, the Kadette's plastic cabinet was the first to be used on a radio, although its
148:. In 1939, IRC sold its radio-manufacturing business to its former General Sales Manager, W. Keene Jackson, although his new Kadette Radio Corporation only survived for a year before it went defunct. After
215:
radio signals. It measured 14 in (36 cm) by 16 in (41 cm) by 9 in (23 cm), at a time when most table radios measured 20 in (51 cm) in length without their separate
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While IRC's radio business was initially successful, it was generally seasonal in nature; due to better reception in winter as well as general patterns of behavior before the widespread adoption of
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140:. Due to the seasonal nature of radio sales, the company attempted to diversify its offerings with a product that would sell well during the summer, eventually settling on a
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The popularity of the
Kadette led to "almost immediate profitability" for IRC, and by 1933 it was the only company in Ann Arbor that was still able to pay
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and was available in four different wooden case styles. IRC also introduced a number of related accessories, including the
Tunemaster, a portable radio
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The year of the
Kadette's debut is a matter of some disagreement: it has been stated, respectively, as 1931 by Mahon, 1932 by Mayer, and 1933 by Hunt.
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173:, the creation of Charles Albert Verschoor, who had begun making radios in the 1920s. Described as a "colorful old-time promoter" in a January 1945
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In 1938, Verschoor departed from IRC after being pressured to leave. By the early 1940s the company was being run by a "modern management team".
263:, resulting in it being cheaper, smaller, and lighter than its competitors; it also allowed the Kadette to be plugged into typical household
239:, 6-pound (2.7 kg) radio small enough to be easily portable that featured an innovative plastic cabinet. This cabinet material, called
271:-powered mobile applications, such as in railroad cars and automobiles; in the words of Robert E. Mayer, this kit "effectively started the
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the company employed 1,200 people. After the war, International Industries and its International Research division became
367:, which launched to nearly instant success in 1936. That same year, when IRC had 150 employees, it sold its Kadette AC/DC
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IRC debuted its first radio, the International Duo, on August 7, 1931; it was named for its ability to receive both local
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communities, although lost orders and inability to pay dividends were common occurrences for Ann Arbor-based companies.
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While its radio business had faltered, International Industries had found success in the camera and
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magazine article and as a "go-getting inventor" by Mary Hunt, Verschoor had previous experience in
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fields with its Argus line; by 1942, Argus, Inc.'s sales had climbed to $ 4,800,000, and during
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styling gave it a fairly traditional appearance. The radio also boasted an innovative new
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three different types of plastic; and the Kadette Clockette, which resembled a small
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of Argus, Inc., and shortly thereafter the International name ceased to exist.
521:"Argus Cameras; The American Firm That Made Miniature Photography Affordable"
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Furthermore, when radio dealers sold IRC's 10-tube Kadettes, they achieved
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of Argus, Inc., after which point the International name ceased to exist.
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Shortly thereafter, IRC introduced the Kadette, the first mass-produced
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Mahon, Morgan E. (1990). "A Flick of the Switch 1930–1950".
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The International Radio Corporation was founded in 1931 in
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16:American radio receiver manufacturing company
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621:"An Erratic Genius Put Ann Arbor On The Map"
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519:Mayer, Robert E. (March 1, 2006).
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200:Kadette Model H (1932), made of
192:Early products and profitability
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708:International Radio Corporation
128:manufacturing company based in
118:International Radio Corporation
20:International Radio Corporation
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619:Hunt, Mary (March 23, 1975).
227:A 1933 Kadette radio receiver
676:University of Michigan Press
652:Antiques Electronics Supply
529:TEN: The Enthusiast Network
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572:"International Radio Corp"
456:The Argus A/A2 Camera Page
452:"The Story Of The Argus A"
668:Marwil, Jonathan (1991).
404:wholly owned subsidiaries
154:wholly owned subsidiaries
181:automobile manufacturing
56:Charles Albert Verschoor
100:$ 2,700,000 (1937)
671:A History of Ann Arbor
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144:that would become the
710:at Wikimedia Commons
347:between 1939 and 1966
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482:Pure Michigan Travel
450:Kuzyk, Hrad (2004).
171:Ann Arbor, Michigan
130:Ann Arbor, Michigan
106:Number of employees
75:Ann Arbor, Michigan
46:Ann Arbor, Michigan
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626:The Ann Arbor News
477:"The Argus Museum"
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71:Headquarters
379:Final years
313:clock radio
253:alternating
233:AC/DC radio
138:clock radio
134:AC/DC radio
65:Argus, Inc.
717:Categories
685:0472064630
525:Shutterbug
430:References
359:-inspired
280:dividends
275:market".
273:car radio
213:shortwave
61:Successor
654:: 100–1.
632:22 March
581:22 March
534:22 March
493:22 March
461:22 March
341:Argus C3
292:Michigan
255:(AC) or
241:Bakelite
209:longwave
202:Bakelite
25:Industry
369:patents
288:Detroit
282:to its
269:battery
218:speaker
176:Fortune
160:History
88:Kadette
53:Founder
38: (
33:Founded
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361:camera
245:Gothic
142:camera
85:Brands
410:Notes
365:Argus
357:Leica
345:Argus
146:Argus
680:ISBN
634:2015
583:2015
536:2015
495:2015
463:2015
237:tube
116:The
40:1931
36:1931
373:RCA
371:to
339:An
122:IRC
44:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
