Goodmans Industries
 | |
| Owner | B&M Group |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | c. 1925 |
| Previous owners | Alba / Harvard International (until 2022) |
| Website | www |
Goodmans is a British consumer electronics brand and former company, currently under the ownership of the B&M Group. A wide range of products have been marketed under the name, traditionally focused in audio, stand-alone speakers and radios.
Company and brand history
[edit]
Goodmans Industries was founded in either 1923,[1] 1925,[2] or 1926,[3] in Wembley, Middlesex.[2] The company started as a manufacturer of loudspeakers for public address systems. The company was sold in 1959 to Relay Exchanges Ltd and through a series of sales and mergers ended up under ownership of Radio Rentaset Ltd, Thorn-EMI plc, and TGI Group.[3]
As of the post-war period through to the 1960s, Goodmans Industries was based in Lancelot Road, Wembley,[3] where production and engineering took place. Following a merger resulting in a Goodmans Loudspeakers Ltd., the company moved away to Downley Road, Havant, Hampshire, in 1970.[3]
Goodmans had merged with Tannoy to create TGI plc (Group of Companies) in 1986. Goodmans Loudspeakers Ltd was based at Ridgeway in Havant.[4] The TGI group also owned the Tannoy, Mordaunt-Short, Epos and Creek Audio brands.[5] The Goodmans company had effectively split. Goodmans Industries, which by then was marketing foreign-made products like in-car entertainment and television sets, was purchased by the Alba Group in 1994.[3] In 2008 the Alba Group was renamed to Harvard International[6] when their Alba and Bush brands when purchased by the Home Retail Group. Legally, Harvard International went by as Alba Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.[7]
Goodmans was the shirt sponsor of the English football team Portsmouth F.C. from 1989[8] to 1995.
The Goodmans brand was sold by Harvard International to the B&M Group in 2022, which had been a long time licensee selling Goodmans products in its B&M retail stores.[9]
Product range
[edit]In the 1960s, Goodmans Industries extended their products to amplifiers with the introduction of the Maxamp30, the first British made solid state amplifier. Also at the time, Goodmans marketed a loudspeaker named Maxim, which was described as "unusually small" in a BBC research department's document.[10]
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Goodmans continued to develop loudspeakers, amplifiers, tuners and receivers. At one point it was a major supplier for loudspeakers to the hi-fi market and to the motor car industry.[11]
Goodmans launched their first DAB digital radio products at the end of 2002, including the GPS280 portable stereo CD player.[12] By the new century, Goodmans products had shifted in large part away from audio to set-top boxes during the rise of digital TV.[13] They launched their first HD ready TV on 27 July 2007.
To breathe new life into the brand, Goodmans began to return to its audio roots in 2013.[13] It collaborated with a design consultancy, Rodd Design, and led to the release of the 50s-style Goodmans Heritage radio and various other products.[14][15] The next year Goodmans rebranded with a fresh new logo featuring a squirrel.[16] It also launched the Canvas, Go and Pebble portable radios,[16] then in 2015 the Aspect soundbar[14] and the 60s-style Oxford digital radio.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Goodmans Industries". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ a b "Goodmans Brand Book_PC". SlideShare. 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ a b c d e https://www.bvws.org.uk/publications/bulletins/pdf/BVWS_Bulletin_30_4.pdf
- ^ https://www.townenders.com/images/programmes/1989-1990/PDF/1990-02-24%20Portsmouth%20Vs%20Swindon%20Town.pdf
- ^ published, Andrew Murphy (2021-03-26). "How Rogers Hi-Fi is bringing back some iconic BBC speakers". whathifi. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ "Goodmans". Harvard International. 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20171025211036/https://www.goodmans.co.uk/terms-of-use
- ^ Newcastle Journal. 3 June 1989.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Harvard International Limtied". harvardltd.com. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1965-09.pdf
- ^ Sunday Express. 25 October 1987.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "ukdigitalradio: Goodmans new DAB digital radio range". web.archive.org. 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ a b "New lease of life for British audio brand - The Business Exchange - Swindon and Wiltshire". tbeswindonandwilts.co.uk. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ a b DEVELOP3D (2015-06-17). "New spark". DEVELOP3D. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ https://www.theregister.com/2013/12/16/review_dab_bluetooth_combo_radios_group_test/
- ^ a b "Goodmans uses product design to reposition". Design Week. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ Minn, Hayley (2015-03-26). "12 of the best-looking DAB radios in the UK #StyleWeek". ShinyShiny. Retrieved 2025-01-28.