Only readers of a certain vintage will recognise the headline which comes from a series of advertisements published in UK electronics magazines over 30 years ago.
It's interesting to ponder in the midst of so much consolidation in the component distribution sector that the potential consolidators were driven to fragmenting their own companies. Fact is in those days the major US semiconductor manufacturers refused to share a distributors shelf with a competitor. So we had major UK distributors creating spin-off companies to hold on to blue chip franchises.
Yes Electronics, a subsidiary of ITT Distribution took on the then coveted RCA Solid State line, Mogul which was part of the Jermyn Group took on Fairchild Semiconductor and Apex from the Macro Marketing stable brandished the National Semiconductor line. And very successful they were until a new competitors arrived from Japan and the whole process started again.
The Japanese chip makers weren't so picky to ask for their own distributor, they were happy to share with their compatriots. Impulse Electronics headed by Nick Adams was probably the most successful of the Japanese-only ventures growing business at a rapid rate for Hitachi and Toshiba. One or two distributors tried a similar tack when the Koreans arrived, but common sense was beginning to kick in by then and some of the smaller upstarts were rolled back into their parent companies.
Sorry that I'm late to this item but Ian W is right; Apex had RCA and was run by Ellis. It would be that launch you attended in London.
I had National in Atlantic in Leicester and we launched at the Rothley Court.
A final comment on Rod, many people knew the public face but there was another side to him that few saw.
Posted by: Ian D | January 28, 2009 at 03:04 PM
hey - i worked for rod michel at macro in the mid 1980s and he was the most tyrannical boss i have ever known. I see Harriet Green has done exceptionally well since those days - true talent will out. Well done Harriet.
Posted by: j froud | December 16, 2008 at 01:58 AM
. . . and the line was . . .
"What do you say for RCA? . . . . . . . YES!"
Cheers Mick
Posted by: Nick | December 07, 2008 at 08:21 PM
Mick
Yes was part of Mogul before Jermyn bought us
Peter cooke came from RCA to run it reporting to Andrew
Cheers
Nick
Posted by: Nick | December 07, 2008 at 08:15 PM
Hi Ian,
Thanks for the clarification. I actually went to the launch of Atlantic. Rod Michel ducked out halfway through and handed over to Ellis Spender, I think. Mogul launched Fairchild on January 2, not a great day to attract Her Majesty's press. The press conference was at Tom Jermyn's, one of those elegant Nash houses by Regent's Park. I was on my own for an hour surrounded by John Hodgson, Andrew MacFarlane, Peter Smitham and Tom Jermyn. Bob Blair was there from Fairchild. There were one or two others I can't recall. One other hack, Peter Smith, showed up, and we all went off for lunch at Claridges. Those were the days!!!
Posted by: Mick Elliott | October 23, 2008 at 09:28 PM
Actually it was Atlantic who had the National Franchise in the Macro-Marketing group, Apex started off with the RCA franchise.
Macro itself had Fairchild & Anzac had Texas Instruments
Posted by: Ian Woledge | October 23, 2008 at 04:29 PM