End of an Era, for me. Received my first Allied Radio catalog (mail order) in 1968. Their original Chicago offices and Knight-Kit facilities are East of my QTH. After Tandy/Radio Shack purchase, offices & warehouses moved to Fort Worth, TX in 1970s. == February 6, 2023 Allied Electronics and Automation now officially known as RS https://www.automationmag.com/allied-officially-known-as-rs/ In 1999, Electrocomponents Group (London, UK) acquired Allied Radio/Allied Electronics brand name and commercial parts business from Tandy/Radio Shack USA (Fort Worth, TX). Electrocomponents already owned a sister company, RS Components, based in London, England, that represents various electronics mfg. and brands in UK and EU. === Allied Electronics & Automation officially transitioned its name to “RS,” effective February 6. This name change is part of the company’s ongoing brand evolution. Allied Electronics & Automation is a trading brand of RS Group, a global, omni-channel provider of industrial product and service solutions. The company supports customers in designing, building and maintaining industrial equipment and operations. On May 3, 2022, the Electrocomponents Group changed its trade name listing to RS Group. This was the company’s first step in its brand transition into RS for all companies within the group. Since May, several brands within the group have taken new names — IESA and Synovos became RS Integrated Supply and Needlers and Liscombe became RS Safety Solutions. The group has planned an in-person employee launch event on February 14 at its Fort Worth (USA) headquarters to mark this significant milestone.
Years ago a friend was at the local radio shack. He was talking to a few if us on 2meter simple from his handheld while in the store as he looked around. The volume was loud enough folks could hear him in the store. I forget who asked him but one the guys on the radio asked him if he was at “trash shack”. Needless to say the manager was not happy about that and told him to leave.
years ago started my radio adventures with a knight kit Star Roamer (which i still have) from Allied Electronics.....
Wish I still had mine. It was the second thing I had built as a youth. The first being the "All American Five."
As branding exercises go, this one strikes me as particularly dumb. I don't think Allied carried much baggage. RS, however, reminds people of its source, Radio Shack, and while that had interesting origins in a ham/hobbyist store in Boston in the 1930s, by its later years it wasn't thought of as a place to get high quality parts.
RS Components, over this side of the pond, is a pretty good company. They carry a decent range of stock at reasonable prices - and they offer an "over the counter" service. I'm lucky enough to have one of their distribution centres close to home and, if I run out of 10k resistors in the afternoon, I can pop along and buy a pack at a moment's notice! Martin (G8FXC)
Allied Radio / Allied Electronics (1928 - 1970) https://chicagology.com/silentmovies/alliedradio/ Yes, the Tandy Corporation (Texas leather company) purchase of Allied Electronics (April 15, 1970) for $30 million and eventual relocation to Fort Worth, Texas in 1970s was train-wreck (marketplace they did not understand — and technology was changing). First mistake was LTV’s acquisition (LTV Ling Altec, Inc) of Allied in 1967, then selling because parent organization (LTV) financial issues (under-funded pension, eventual default). — A Federal lawsuit was filed against, and a judgement was made on May 14, 1971 Relief for Allied affiliate stores across USA. https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/1000761/download That fumble permitted Digi-Key (Minnesota) and Mouser (Texas) to become the pre-dominant electronics parts distributors in North America — 50+ years later.
RS has been a very big name in the UK, Europe and Australia etc. for many decades. The market it caters to is mainly professional so it won't be confused with Radio Shack.
