Lafayette Radio Electronics Car Coaster

$10.99

GhostCorp Apparel - resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Add a small reminder of Lafayette Radio to everyday drives. The company’s journey from Wholesale Radio Service to a nationally recognized electronics name reflects decades of changing catalogs, store names, and new interests in radio, stereo, and do-it-yourself projects. Its mail-order business helped hobbyists discover components and equipment beyond major retail centers. This car coaster celebrates that resourceful history in a practical way, suited to collectors, radio fans, and anyone who appreciates the legacy of America’s electronics shops.

Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation was an American electronics retailer and manufacturer active from approximately 1931 to 1981, headquartered in Syosset, Long Island, New York. Its roots reach back to Wholesale Radio Service, established in New York City by Abraham Pletman in the early 1920s. The company began using the Lafayette trademark for radios in July 1931; after a 1935 Federal Trade Commission action, Wholesale Radio Service became Radio Wire Television, Inc. Catalog names evolved through Radio Wire Television, Lafayette Radio Corporation, Lafayette-Concord in 1948, and Lafayette alone by 1952. Lafayette built a substantial mail-order business serving radio operators and electronics hobbyists, alongside branded stores and associate retailers. Stores opened in Jamaica and Manhattan in the mid-1950s, and kits were made at the Jamaica facility. From its Syosset headquarters and Hauppauge warehouse, the company sold components, communications gear, hi-fi equipment, kits, tools, and more. In 1981, Lafayette entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy; Circuit City bought several New York-area stores and operated some as Lafayette-Circuit City. The stores eventually closed. The Syosset repair center remained open for a year after the final store closing. The Lafayette brand was relaunched at CES in 2003, with products offered through special dealers and limited retail stores.