Lloyd's Electronics, Inc., was an American consumer electronics company best known for its consumer audio equipment and calculators imported from East Asia. Founded as the Lloyd Trade Company in Los Angeles in 1959, Lloyd's moved back and forth from the West Coast to the East Coast for over a decade before settling in Edison, New Jersey in the 1970s. During this period, it was one of the largest consumer electronics brands in the United States. It changed hands from Bacardi to an Oklahoma City–based television manufacturer before ultimately being acquired by Dynascan Corporation of Chicago in 1988.
History
Foundation and success (1959–1973)
Lloyd's Electronics was founded as the Lloyd Trade Company in Los Angeles, California, on May 11, 1959, by Abraham Zagha and Alvin Tanenbaum (c. 1928 – June 26, 1991). Initially specializing in the import of then cutting-edge audio equipment such as transistor radios, tape recorders, and solid-state amplifiers from East Asia, the firm eventually expanded its product line to include more traditional commodity products such as phonographs, speakers, and headphones. Early in its existence, the company largely imported from Japan and Taiwan. Within a few years of its foundation, Lloyd's became one of the largest importers of consumer electronics in the United States. By 1966, the company had relocated its corporate headquarters to New York City while owning warehouses in Los Angeles and Lodi, New Jersey. In the summer of 1966, Lloyd's raised another large warehouse in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, in anticipation of heavy consumer demand for winter 1966. By the end of the decade, it raised yet another warehouse in nearby Teterboro as well as a satellite office in East Paterson.
In 1972, the company relocated its headquarters again to Compton, California, and filed its initial public offering on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). That year it entered the office equipment market with the introduction of a series of desktop calculators and pocket calculators, which featured some of the earliest liquid crystal displays (LCDs) on a calculator. The LCDs were sourced from North American Rockwell, who also manufactured the integrated circuits. Final assembly of Lloyd's calculators meanwhile was performed in Japan and Taiwan. Lloyd's expanded further in 1973, establishing a sales and service office in Chicago, Illinois, early in the year. It also opened a new East Coast regional office in New York City, out of which Tanenbaum worked, in May that year. Lloyd's briefly operated a manufacturing plant in Toronto this year, before shifting all production back to East Asia within a matter of months.
Ouster of co-founder and acquisition by Bacardi (1973–1986) Internal restructuring within Lloyd's in late 1973 led to Tanenbaum being ousted as chairman. In retaliation, Tanenbaum convinced a New York judge to block his removal in early November 1973, before the other board members obtained a restraining order against Tanenbaum the following week. The restraining order was dissolved in December 1973, with New York courts ordering Lloyd's to retain Tanenbaum for the next two months. In early 1974, Tanenbaum left Lloyd's to acquire the York Radio Company (later Yorx), a rival consumer electronics company based in South Hackensack, New Jersey. Zagha, heretofore the president of Lloyd's, assumed the role of chairman in the wake of Tanenbaum's exit. In fall 1974, Lloyd's moved its corporate headquarters from Compton to the Raritan Center in Edison, New Jersey. Toward the end of the 1970s, Lloyd's encountered financial difficulty, posting four years of losses between 1979 and 1982. It finally regained profitability in 1983, following the dropping of its primary lender Chemical Bank in favor of Meinhard-Commercial and a wave of cost-cutting measures. In late 1983, Bacardi announced its intent to acquire Lloyd's for approximately US$12 million. Under the proposed terms of the merger, Bacardi offered to purchase all outstanding shares of Lloyd's at $6 per share, a premium over its AMEX share price. The acquisition was structured as a strategic expansion for Bacardi, chiefly known for its distilled beverages, into the United States consumer electronics market. This followed Bacardi's earlier purchase of Willmark Electronics of Puerto Rico, which had an existing procurement relationship with Lloyd's. For Lloyd's, the merger alleviated the company's cash flow problems; in the words of the company's secretary and treasurer, Walter Cruickshank, "Bacardi is an extremely wealthy company. They've got cash and that could help us". In addition, despite having recently returned to profitability, the company remained heavily leveraged. Zagha agreed to grant Bacardi an option to purchase his 22-percent stake in Lloyd's, while Bacardi president Manuel Luis del Valle signaled a commitment to retain management and provide the capital necessary to stabilize Lloyd's core businesses. The acquisition was completed in January 1984.
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