Commodore International was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Machines (CBM), was a significant participant in the development of the home-computer industry in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. The company developed and marketed the world's best-selling computer, the Commodore 64 (1982), and released its Amiga computer line in July 1985. With quarterly sales ending 1983 of $49 million, Commodore was one of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers.
The IBM Personal Computer is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida.
Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather-goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, the company expanded into the hobby market, making leather moccasins and coin purses, making huge sales among Scouts, leading to a fast growth in sales.
MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.
Dixons Retail plc was one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the company operated Currys, Currys Digital, PC World, Dixons Travel and its service brand Knowhow.
Escom AG was a German computer company, best known in Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States as the successful purchaser of Commodore International and the Amiga trademarks in 1995.
Evesham Technology was a computer manufacturing and retail company based in Evesham, Worcestershire, England. It began operations in 1983 and closed in 2008 following financial difficulties. It was a significant contributor to the United Kingdom's domestic computer and digital television market. Its assets grew to include a factory and warehouse complex, and a chain of 19 retail stores in towns and cities throughout the UK, with around 300 employees. The company was founded in 1983 by Richard Austin and Robert (Bob) Hitchcock as Evesham Micros, to be briefly known as Evesham.com and finally as Evesham Technology. Austin continued as chairman and controlling shareholder until the company and its much reduced, short-lived successor, Geemore Technology Ltd, went into liquidation.
Gigabyte Technology is a Taiwanese manufacturer and distributor of computer hardware.
Apricot Computers was a British electronic company that produced desktop personal computers in the mid-1980s.
Argos Limited, trading as Argos, is a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, acquired by Sainsbury's supermarket chain in 2016. It was established in November 1972 and is named after the Greek city of Argos. The company trades both through physical shops and online, with 29 million yearly shop customers, and nearly a billion online visitors per annum. It has also franchised overseas to countries such as China.
InterTAN was created by Tandy Corporation in 1986 to operate Radio Shack stores in Canada, Europe and Australia. After the UK locations, which were branded 'Tandy', were sold to Carphone Warehouse in 1999 and the Australian locations to Woolworths Limited in 2001, the company's primary asset was the RadioShack franchise for Canada. InterTAN's relationship with RadioShack was terminated in 2005, after InterTAN became a wholly owned subsidiary of Circuit City on May 19, 2004.
PC World was a British retail chain of mass market computer megastores. Established in November 1991, it became part of Dixons Retail in February 1993, and then part of Dixons Carphone, after the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse in August 2014. All of its physical shops in the United Kingdom traded under the combined "Currys PC World" brand, although this was retired in October 2021, after which point the company became known simply as “Currys”.
Currys is an electrical retailer and aftercare service provider operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, specialising in white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones.
Memorex Corp. began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a consumer electronics brand specializing in disk recordable media for CD and DVD drives, flash memory, computer accessories and other electronics.
TigerDirect is an El Segundo, California-based online retailer dealing in electronics, computers, and computer components that caters to business and corporate customers. Previously owned by Systemax, which is known for its acquisitions of the intellectual property of the defunct U.S. retail chains Circuit City and CompUSA, and relaunching them as online retailers. The two brands were subsequently shuttered in late-December 2012 and consolidated into the TigerDirect site. In 2015, TigerDirect phased out all of its remaining brick-and-mortar retail operations, and PCM Inc. acquired Systemax's online North American technology retail business. In 2019, TigerDirect closed its online business servicing Canada.
Wolsey is a heritage British clothing brand founded in 1755, making it one of the oldest existing textile companies in the world. The brand sells men's clothing and accessories, including a range of knitwear, socks, underwear and scarves. The company holds a Royal Warrant and is based in Leicester, England, where it was originally established. The company name, adopted in 1920 when R Walker & Sons merged with W Tyler and Sons, is a reference to Cardinal Wolsey. 'Wolsey' is a registered trademark.
Acorn Computers Ltd was a British computer company based in Nottingham, England in the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2009. It licensed, in early 2006, the dormant Acorn Computers trademark from French company Aristide & Co Antiquaire De Marques. This company sold IBM PC compatible computers and had no connection to ARM, a spin-off from the original Acorn Computers.
RCA is an American multinational trademark brand owned by Talisman Brands, Inc. which is used on products made by that company as well as Sony Music Entertainment, Voxx International and ON Corporation. 'RCA' is an abbreviation for the Radio Corporation of America, founded in 1919. The company became known as the RCA Corporation in 1969. RCA was purchased by General Electric in 1986 and its various divisions and assets were then liquidated.
Byte was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage.
Bargain Buys is a chain of discount stores operating across the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Poundstretcher. The chain was launched in 2013 by Chris Edwards Sr. and Chris Edwards Jr., to be a subsidiary of the single-price chain they founded, Poundworld. In 2015, TPG Capital purchased a majority stake in Poundworld and Bargain Buys. TPG Capital went into administration in 2018, with all Poundworld and Bargain Buys stores closed.
