Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually referred to as black goods due to many products being housed in black or dark casings. This term is used to distinguish them from "white goods" which are meant for housekeeping tasks, such as washing machines and refrigerators, although nowadays, these would be considered black goods, some of these being connected to the Internet. In British English, they are often called brown goods by producers and sellers. In the 2010s, this distinction is absent in large big box consumer electronics stores, which sell entertainment, communication and home office devices, light fixtures and appliances, including the bathroom type.
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.
ThinkGeek was an American retailer that catered to computer enthusiasts and "geek culture". Described as a "Sharper Image for sysadmins", their merchandise has been likened to "toys for adults, novelties designed to appeal to both your inner child and your inner grad student." These include clothing, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer peripherals, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy. ThinkGeek was founded in 1999 and was based in Fairfax, Virginia. The brand is currently owned by Geeknet, a subsidiary of GameStop.
Bose Corporation is an American manufacturing company that predominantly sells audio equipment. The company was established by Amar Bose in 1964 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is best known for its home audio systems and speakers, noise cancelling headphones, professional audio products and automobile sound systems. Bose has a reputation for being particularly protective of its patents, trademarks, and brands.
12AX7 is a miniature dual-triode 6AV6 vacuum tube with high voltage gain. Developed around 1946 by RCA engineers in Camden, New Jersey, under developmental number A-4522, it was released for public sale under the 12AX7 identifier on September 15, 1947.
Dick Smith Electronics Holdings Limited was an Australian chain of retail stores that sold consumer electronics goods, hobbyist electronic components, and electronic project kits. The chain expanded successfully into New Zealand and unsuccessfully into several other countries. The company was founded in Sydney in 1968 by Dick Smith and owned by him and his wife until they sold 60% to Woolworths in 1980, and the remaining 40% two years later.
EB Games is an American computer and video games retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the King of Prussia mall near Philadelphia, the company has grown into an international corporation. EB Games's parent company, GameStop, has its headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. When Electronics Boutique was an independent company, its headquarters was in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, near West Chester.
The NPD Group, Inc. is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest market research company in the world, according to the independent AMA Gold Report Top 50 report. The NPD Group operates in 20 countries, across more than 20 industries.
Mattel Electronics Auto Race was released in 1976 by Mattel Electronics as the first handheld electronic game to use only solid-state electronics; it has no mechanical elements except the controls and on/off switch. Using hardware designed for calculators and powered by a nine-volt battery, the cars are represented by red LEDs on a playfield which covers only a small portion of the case. The audio consists of beeps. George J. Klose based the game on 1970s racing arcade video games and designed the hardware, with some hardware features added by Mark Lesser who also wrote the 512 bytes of program code.
Play N Trade is an American franchisor operating in the video game and consumer electronics space, with an emphasis on video gaming lifestyle. The company, whose headquarters are in San Clemente, California, United States currently operates stores throughout the United States, Canada, Panama and Egypt. Play N Trade has been referred to as "the fastest-growing video game retail franchise" in the United States, and is the “second-largest specialty video game retail in the United States”. As of January 10, 2013, Play N Trade operates 116 franchised locations globally.
Twice is a trade publication launched by publisher Richard Ekstract in 1987, currently owned by Future US along with website serves the information needs of retailers, distributors and manufacturing/suppliers in the consumer electronics and major appliance industries. TWICE is an acronym for This Week In Consumer Electronics.
FuncoLand was an American video game retailer based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, that specialized in selling new and used video game software. It is considered the first major video game retailer to allow consumers to sell and trade used video games. The chain's parent company Funco Inc. was established in the home of David R. Pomije in 1988, initially as a leaser of video games to video stores, and then as a mail-order business specializing in used video games. Upon the success of this venture, Pomije moved Funco to a Minneapolis warehouse, and began opening FuncoLand retail outlets nationwide.
WOW Sight and Sound was an Australian audio visual retailer. Founded in 2003 with a single store in Townsville, it grew to 15 stores in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory.
Kogan.com is an Australian portfolio of retail and services businesses including Kogan Retail, Kogan Marketplace, Kogan Mobile, Kogan Internet, Kogan Insurance, Kogan Travel, Kogan Money, Kogan Cars, Kogan Energy, Dick Smith, Matt Blatt and Mighty Ape. The company was founded in 2006 by Ruslan Kogan.
Audio Advice, Inc. is a specialty consumer electronics retailer in the United States, specializing in home and portable audio, home theater, and smart home technology. Audio Advice operates as both a retailer and custom systems installer/integrator with branches in Raleigh, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina.
NewBay Media, LLC was a magazine and website publisher founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City.
Mobile phone recycling describes the waste management of mobile phones, to retrieve materials used in their manufacture. Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus, which contributes to the increasing amount of electronic waste around the globe.
Jarir Marketing Company, also known as Jarir Bookstore, is a Saudi Arabian establishment founded by Abdulrahman Nasser Al-Agil. Currently, Jarir has a paid-up capital of SR 1.20 Billion. Jarir’s headquarters is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jarir operates through two divisions namely Retail, under the trademark of Jarir Bookstore, and a Wholesale division.
Pyle USA is an American company that specializes in audio equipment and consumer electronics, primarily sold at big-box stores and through online retailers. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and the company's current president is Abe Brach.
