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smaller than a standard
Circuit City, and did not carry major appliances, which Circuit City carried at the time. The stores were eventually closed as Circuit City left the New York Market (only to return later). The Syosset repair center was kept open a year after the last store closing to handle warranty coverage. Lafayette-Circuit City used the phrase "no haggling" in its ad campaign, which featured celebrities such as Don King, in trying to demonstrate that the lowest price was always posted, unlike many competitors where you would have to bargain with the sales person for a lower price. This approach, however, did not work, and Lafayette-Circuit City fell due to competition from other New York area electronic retailers such as
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269:("CB") spectrum to 40 channels in 1977. Lafayette's buyers had firm commitments to accept delivery of thousands of older design units capable of only 23 channels, and were not able to liquidate the inventory without taking a serious loss. Eventually, all of the old CB radios were sold for under $ 40.
253:
Managers were rewarded for maximizing gross profit margins and inventory "turns", which led to frequent out-of-stock situations, often remedied by frequent cross-town inter-store transfers. Each store had a repair shop on site with a part-time technician. Some locations had multiple full-time service
244:
Until the 1960s, many independent retailers in some markets became
Lafayette Radio "Associate Stores", which were displaced when the company expanded. These stores were supported from headquarters at 111 Jericho Turnpike in Syosset, NY and a warehouse in Hauppauge, NY. A limited selection of product
164:
action in 1935, Wholesale Radio
Service became "Radio Wire Television, Inc.". A 1939 company catalog bore the names Radio Wire Television Co. Inc. and "Lafayette Radio Corporation". In 1948, the company issued a catalog under the name âLafayette-Concordâ and called itself the âworldâs largest radio
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sets. A significant share of 1960s and 1970s vintage
Lafayette hi-fi gear was manufactured by a Japanese subcontractor named "Planet Research". "Criterion" brand speakers were built by several offshore and some domestic assemblers. Science kits were popular, and Lafayette offered the "Novatron", a
285:
of
Richmond, Virginia. Of the 150 stores that Lafayette had once owned, eight stores remained when Circuit City took over. In order to keep the Lafayette name, which was popular in New York, Circuit City changed the store names to "Lafayette-Circuit City". However, these store locations were much
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With fewer than 100 stores, far fewer than the aggressively expanding Radio Shack's thousands of local outlets, Lafayette Radio remained more of a dedicated enthusiasts' store than a mass marketer. The company was also hurt by the advent of electronics retailers relying on aggressive marketing
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closed by the end of the year. Approximately two thirds of company-owned stores were closed immediately. According to one employee, they were "given 48 hours to tear the entire store down, get everything boxed that had a valid and current stock number, and get it on a truck to take it back to
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listeners. Many were dedicated types with special functions, such as VHF receivers for police and fire channels built into a CB radio. The company's best selling products were often shortwave receivers, parts, and portable radios. In the 1960s, many
Lafayette brand radios were rebranded
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and others. The catalogs and advertising helped promote the concept of high-fidelity sound to customers, some of whom lived many miles away from major electronics stores, during a time when only the largest urban areas had dedicated "stereo" stores. Lafayette also offered TV vacuum
454:. Microphones, amplifiers, and various electronic effects such as reverbs were available, many of which sported the Lafayette brand name, most notably the Echo Verb and Echo Verb II. Among the most famous guitar effects that Lafayette sold were the Roto-Vibe and
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recorders, along with an array of gimmicks, supplies, and accessories. During the mid-1970s, the company's stores were one of few places one could actually experience four channel ("quadraphonic") sound. However the lack of a single industry standard (Columbia
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was stocked, with full access to a catalog with a wide variety of parts, tubes, cameras, musical instruments, kits, gadgets and branded gear that could be ordered and delivered through the local store. The company made major investments in what were called
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business; the electronic components it sold were useful to amateur radio operators and electronic hobbyists in areas where such components were unavailable in local retail outlets. Lafayette's main competitors were
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to demonstrate hi-fi equipment, using custom switch panels and acoustic treatments in an attempt to duplicate a home listening environment and offer fair comparison with an assortment of branded hi-fi gear.
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technicians. Others had service departments that operated independently of the store but under the same ownership. Stores ranged in size from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet (460 m).
229:. The company offered a free 400-page catalog filled with descriptions of vast quantities of electronic gear, including microphones, speakers, tape recorders, and other components.
160:"Wholesale Radio Service" was established in the early 1920s by Abraham Pletman in New York City. Radios sold by the company were trademarked âLafayetteâ in July 1931. Following a
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techniques and competitive pricing in the late 1970s. Many experienced managers departed. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1981 and most
Lafayette stores in the state of
305:
As of 2003, the
Lafayette brand name was re-launched at the CES show that year. The company's products are offered only through special dealers and limited retail stores.
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Lafayette also sold a variety of electronic musical equipment made by different manufacturers. There were solid-body and hollow-body electric guitars, probably made by
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While the catalog heavily promoted the company's own branded products, Lafayette also carried models from many other hi-fi manufacturers of the era, including
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Syosset (Lafayetteâs Long Island warehouse). Anything that wasnât on the official inventory sheets was to be discarded".
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Uppercase letters and a picture of
Marquis de Lafayette were commonly used as Lafayette's logo through the 1960s and '70s
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Lafayette's products ranged from individual resistors, capacitors, and components to stereos and two-way radios for
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Lafayette advertised heavily in major U.S. consumer electronics magazines of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly
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261:, which was purchased by Tandy Leather Co. in 1963. Lafayette ran into major financial difficulty when the
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Lafayette was quick to jump on industry trends, first by embracing open reel tape recorders, and later,
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By the late 1970s, Lafayette expanded to major markets across the country, struggling to compete with
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In 1981, Lafayette Radio entered
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Several Lafayette stores were purchased by
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579:(1962), model F-686, 12", made in Japan
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In 1981, Lafayette Radio entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold its New York area stores to
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supply organizationâ. In 1952, a catalog was issued using only the Lafayette name.
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in the mid-1950s. The electronics kits were produced in the Jamaica facility.
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828:. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1973. pp. 2917â – via
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Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1971: July-December
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845:"The new sound of SQ: Two easy ways to add it to your hi-fi"
419:, for customers who wanted to service their own televisions.
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Defunct consumer electronics retailers in the United States
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Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York (state)
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Lafayette Radio Electronics (LRE) soon became a thriving
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American radio and electronics manufacturer and retailer
443:) dampened sales, and the experiment ended in 1976.
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112:from approximately 1931 to 1981, headquartered in
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193:. Early Lafayette Radio stores were located in
189:" (independent) radio dealers throughout the
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986:Companies based in Nassau County, New York
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597:Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation
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458:, used by many musicians, most notably
95:Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation
20:Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation
796:"Lafayette Radio Catalog, Spring 1968"
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132:and related communications equipment,
953:Lafayette Amateur Radio Equipment at
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768:from the original on 6 February 2005
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916:"LAFAYETTE Guitar Amplifier Values"
890:"Lafayette Radio Electronics (LRE)"
737:New York Times, September 10, 1984
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843:Gallager, Sheldon M. (May 1973).
709:"History Of Lafayette Radio Corp"
263:Federal Communications Commission
648:"Sixty years of Lafayette Radio"
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944:Vintage Lafayette Catalog pages
733:"LAFAYETTE RADIO SETS NEW PATH"
682:from the original on 8 May 2021
646:Post, Richard (December 2012).
124:. The company sold radio sets,
487:Lafayette LT-725A solid state
152:for use by headquarters staff
1:
922:. Blue Book Publications, Inc
853:. Vol. 139, no. 5.
654:. Vol. 31, no. 12.
502:Lafayette HA-700 vacuum tube
148:Lafayette Radio Electronics,
126:Amateur radio (Ham) equipment
981:Electronic kit manufacturers
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920:Blue Book of Guitar Values
331:"Miniature Atom Smasher" (
764:. Lafayette Electronics.
563:Bicentennial sales slip
130:citizens band (CB) radios
24:
803:Americanradiohistory.com
762:LafayetteElectronics.com
504:shortwave radio receiver
426:cartridge recorders and
162:Federal Trade Commission
971:Amateur radio companies
533:Lafayette Model FS-206
333:van de Graaff generator
550:Electronic Project Kit
517:Lafayette solid state
157:
896:. effectsdatabase.com
265:(FCC) expanded a new
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134:electronic components
894:The Effects Database
857:. pp. 148â150.
599:at Wikimedia Commons
575:Lafayette VECTĂRLOG
996:Radio manufacturers
267:citizens band radio
215:Popular Electronics
21:
794:Gleason, David F.
731:Barmash, Isadore.
603:Allied Electronics
548:Lafayette 20-In-1
468:Stevie Ray Vaughan
170:mail-order catalog
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850:Popular Mechanics
595:Media related to
402:, Electro-Voice,
288:Newmark and Lewis
219:Popular Mechanics
114:Syosset, New York
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86:Syosset, New York
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955:RigReference.com
948:Early Television
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898:. Retrieved
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875:Google Books
873:– via
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830:Google Books
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806:. Retrieved
802:
770:. Retrieved
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740:. Retrieved
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712:
690:– via
684:. Retrieved
651:
489:stereo tuner
464:Robin Trower
460:Jimi Hendrix
445:
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417:tube testing
376:BSR McDonald
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328:Trio-Kenwood
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283:Circuit City
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234:Circuit City
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179:Allied Radio
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106:manufacturer
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81:Headquarters
37:Company type
613:Radio Shack
296:Crazy Eddie
259:Radio Shack
247:sound rooms
187:mom and pop
175:Radio Shack
118:Long Island
103:electronics
965:Categories
758:"About Us"
619:References
577:slide rule
519:fuzz sound
435:vs. JVC's
398:, Empire,
368:Wharfedale
300:PC Richard
156:operators.
120:suburb of
75:Bankruptcy
926:2 January
900:2 January
871:671272936
863:0032-4558
808:1 January
772:2 January
742:2 January
676:925172081
660:0889-5341
408:Panasonic
400:Pickering
323:shortwave
199:Manhattan
766:Archived
680:Archived
668:91649214
608:Heathkit
585:See also
456:Uni-Vibe
309:Products
275:New York
183:Heathkit
150:QSL card
110:retailer
47:Industry
686:14 July
474:Gallery
452:Harmony
424:8-track
380:Garrard
374:, BIC,
348:Pioneer
340:Marantz
292:The Wiz
185:, and "
140:History
63:Defunct
55:Founded
869:
861:
674:
666:
658:
466:, and
448:Teisco
360:Dynaco
352:Sansui
344:Fisher
321:, and
298:, and
50:Retail
41:Public
799:(PDF)
396:Shure
372:Bozak
319:CBers
207:Audio
99:radio
928:2018
902:2018
867:OCLC
859:ISSN
810:2018
774:2018
744:2018
688:2022
672:OCLC
664:LCCN
656:ISSN
437:CD-4
412:Sony
392:Akai
388:TEAC
384:Dual
223:and
197:and
116:, a
108:and
101:and
71:Fate
66:1981
58:1931
946:at
450:or
404:JVC
364:KLH
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