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In 1992, Thorn converted some of the remaining
Rumbelows shops into DER, Multibroadcast or Radio Rentals branches. Some stores were also converted to the Fona brand, franchised from a Danish electrical retailer and marketed as "The electrical store from Denmark", with adverts starring
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By the 1990s, the business was making losses and Thorn closed the remaining 285 Rumbelows shops and 36 Fona stores in 1995. Rumbelows had been losing £12 million yearly, and had never made a profit in its 24 years of existence. Some stores were sold to
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chain, bolstering its market position. With its core business removed, Rumbelows sought a new identity as a more conventional non-rental retailer, adding home computers to the product mix.
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PC retail chain, but Escom itself folded in 1998. In the 1980s, Martin Dawes (born c. 1945) carried on the family name in the electrical and electronic retailing sector, with his
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Several of the former
Strothers and NEMS stores also sold records, musical instruments and hifi equipment. The Rumbelows store in Whitechapel,
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in the early 1960s. In 1969, Thorn extended the
Rumbelows name across other regional chains it had bought, including Fred Dawes,
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and added to the chain. Centralised control was established from the
Nantwich, Cheshire, headquarters.
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had previously been the NEMS music store in the 1960s, when it was run by
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and
Strothers. In 1975, J & F Stone was purchased from
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From 1990 to 1992, Rumbelows was the title sponsor of the
472:"An empty former branch of Rumbelows in January 2007"
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Consumer electronics retailers of the United
Kingdom
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
394:"Thorn to pull out of electrical retailing market"
589:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom
495:"Thorn EMI pulls plug on its 'beached whale'"
420:"Thorn EMI pulls plug on its 'beached whale'"
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
594:British companies disestablished in 1995
584:Retail companies disestablished in 1995
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208:The company was established in 1949 by
16:UK electrical and electronics retailer
291:in March 1999 for £130 million.
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579:Retail companies established in 1969
47:adding citations to reliable sources
180:was an electrical and electronics
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251:In 1989 the business was sold to
212:when he opened his first shop in
446:"UK: THORN EMI'S FISSILE FUTURE"
355:www.britishrecordshoparchive.org
287:business, which he then sold to
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548:. theguardian.com. 8 March 1999
493:Cope, Nigel (8 February 1995).
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546:"Martin Dawes sold for £130m"
474:. flickr.com. 14 January 2007
520:"Escom files for bankruptcy"
301:English Football League Cup
218:Thorn Electrical Industries
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382:. Vol. 221–226. 1976.
307:professional competition.
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214:Hatfield, Hertfordshire
329:www.ourhatfield.org.uk
226:Great Universal Stores
450:managementtoday.co.uk
305:association football
295:Football sponsorship
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43:improve this article
376:"Multiples Mergers"
188:that once rivalled
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426:. 8 February 1995
424:Independent.co.uk
400:. 31 January 1992
351:"Sydney Rumbelow"
325:"Sydney Rumbelow"
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41:Please help
36:verification
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398:www.upi.com
58:"Rumbelows"
568:Categories
504:16 January
456:3 November
430:16 January
404:3 November
311:References
99:April 2010
69:newspapers
360:25 August
335:25 August
257:Thorn EMI
233:Liverpool
178:Rumbelows
122:Rumbelows
552:8 August
530:21 April
478:21 April
182:retailer
144:Industry
289:Cellnet
241:Beatles
204:History
184:in the
168:Defunct
160:Founder
152:Founded
139:Private
83:scholar
281:German
247:Demise
194:Dixons
190:Currys
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303:, an
277:Escom
198:Comet
90:JSTOR
76:books
554:2017
532:2022
506:2013
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458:2022
432:2013
406:2022
362:2024
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279:, a
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