Ultimate Electronics

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Ultimate Electronics began in 1968 when Bill and Barbara Pearse opened a Team Electronics franchise in Arvada, Colorado, as Pearse Electronics. The franchise became SoundTrack in 1974, selling audio and video gear with a distinctly Colorado Front Range footprint. In August 1993, Pearse Electronics adopted the Ultimate Electronics name and soon took its larger-format stores beyond Colorado.

The chain sold televisions, stereo systems, home theater equipment, mobile electronics, computers, games, and appliances, pairing ambitious showrooms with demo rooms and installation services. Its 1997 acquisition of Audio King added stores in Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota; remaining Audio King locations were converted to the Ultimate name by 2003. The company ultimately operated 65 stores in 14 states during its expansion era.

After a 2005 Chapter 11 filing, investor Mark Wattles took control of the continuing business, which operated under Ultimate Acquisition Partners and CC Retail using the Ultimate Electronics name. A second Chapter 11 filing followed on January 26, 2011. The cases were converted to Chapter 7 on May 3, and liquidation brought the run to an end that April.

Our Ultimate Electronics collection celebrates the big-screen, demo-room optimism of a retailer that made buying a receiver feel like entering mission control. It is a salute to the neon-lit promise of better sound, sharper pictures, and one more cable than anybody expected.