Lloyd's Electronics
American importer of East Asian audio gear and calculators.
Lloyd's Electronics, Inc., was an American consumer electronics company that imported audio equipment and calculators from East Asia. It began as the Lloyd Trade Company in Los Angeles in 1959, founded by Abraham Zagha and Alvin Tanenbaum. The company initially focused on importing transistor radios, tape recorders, and solid-state amplifiers from Japan and Taiwan, later adding phonographs, speakers, and headphones. Within a few years, it became one of the largest consumer electronics importers in the United States. By 1966, its headquarters had moved to New York City, while it maintained warehouses in Los Angeles and Lodi, New Jersey, and soon added another in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, and later one in Teterboro along with a satellite office in East Paterson.
In 1972, Lloyd's moved its headquarters to Compton, California, and went public on the American Stock Exchange. That year, it entered the office equipment market with desktop and pocket calculators, some of the first to use liquid crystal displays sourced from North American Rockwell, which also supplied the integrated circuits. Final assembly of the calculators took place in Japan and Taiwan. In 1973, Lloyd's opened a sales and service office in Chicago and a regional office in New York City, where Tanenbaum worked. It briefly operated a manufacturing plant in Toronto that year before returning all production to East Asia.
Internal restructuring in late 1973 led to Tanenbaum being ousted as chairman. He fought this in court, and a New York judge blocked his removal in early November, but the board obtained a restraining order against him the following week. That order was dissolved in December, and the courts required Lloyd's to keep Tanenbaum for two more months. In early 1974, Tanenbaum left to acquire the York Radio Company (later Yorx), a rival in South Hackensack, New Jersey. Zagha, previously president, became chairman.
In fall 1974, Lloyd's moved its headquarters to the Raritan Center in Edison, New Jersey. The company struggled financially from 1979 to 1982, posting four straight years of losses. It returned to profitability in 1983 after dropping Chemical Bank as its primary lender in favor of Meinhard-Commercial and implementing cost-cutting measures. Later that year, Bacardi announced plans to acquire Lloyd's for about $12 million, offering $6 per share.
Quick Facts
- Former Name
- Lloyd Trade Company (1959–1972)
- Founded
- 1959-05-11 in Los Angeles, California, United States
- Industry
- Consumer electronics
- Products
- Audio equipment · Calculators
- Founder
- Abraham Zagha · Alvin Tanenbaum
- Defunct
- 1988 · 05
- Fate
- Acquired by Dynascan Corporation
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Lloyd's Electronics began as the Lloyd Trade Company in Los Angeles in 1959, importing transistor radios, tape recorders, and solid-state amplifiers from Japan and Taiwan. Within a few years it became one of the largest importers of consumer electronics in the United States. The company moved its headquarters between the West and East Coasts several times, eventually settling in Edison, New Jersey in the 1970s. By 1966 it had warehouses in Los Angeles, Lodi, New Jersey, and later Saddle Brook and Teterboro, as well as a satellite office in East Paterson.
In 1972, after relocating to Compton, California, Lloyd's filed its initial public offering on the American Stock Exchange and entered the office equipment market with calculators featuring some of the earliest liquid crystal displays, sourced from North American Rockwell. Final assembly of calculators was done in Japan and Taiwan. Co-founder Alvin Tanenbaum was ousted as chairman in late 1973, leading to legal disputes; he left in early 1974 to acquire rival York Radio Company (later Yorx). Lloyd's moved to Edison, New Jersey in fall 1974.
After four years of losses between 1979 and 1982, Lloyd's returned to profitability in 1983. Bacardi acquired the company in January 1984 for about $12 million, but sold it in September 1986 to Texas Hitech, Inc. of Oklahoma City for roughly $20 million. The merged THT Lloyd's struggled, and in May 1988 Dynascan Corporation acquired the Lloyd's trademark and assets for just under $3 million. Dynascan positioned Lloyd's as a budget audio brand alongside its Marantz line. The Lloyd's trademark was allowed to lapse in 2004.
Reader's Guide
Lloyd's Electronics was a significant force in the American consumer electronics market from the 1960s through the 1980s, primarily as an importer of affordable audio equipment and calculators from East Asia. Its early adoption of liquid crystal displays in calculators marked a technological milestone. The company's ownership history reflects the volatile nature of the industry: it passed from its founders to Bacardi, a distiller seeking diversification, then to a television manufacturer, and finally to Dynascan Corporation. Under Dynascan, Lloyd's was positioned as a budget brand alongside the higher-end Marantz, but both underperformed. The Lloyd's name ultimately faded from the market after Dynascan (later Cobra Electronics) let the trademark lapse in 2004. The company's trajectory illustrates the challenges of maintaining a mass-market electronics brand amid shifting ownership, financial pressures, and intense competition.
Did You Know?
- Lloyd's was founded on May 11, 1959, as the Lloyd Trade Company in Los Angeles.
- The company introduced some of the earliest liquid crystal displays on calculators in 1972.
- Bacardi, best known for rum, acquired Lloyd's in 1984 for about $12 million.
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