Bush (brand)

Bush DAC 90A radio

Bush Radio reproduction of 1959 TR82 transistor portable. A design icon of the early transistor radios

Bush brand reproduction of the Philco model 90 "cathedral radio" of 1931, a design icon of early radio, and the most recognised cathedral design sets

The company was founded in 1932 as Bush Radio from the remains of the Graham Amplion company, which had made horn loudspeakers as a subsidiary of the Gaumont British Picture Corporation. The brand name comes from Gaumont's Shepherd's Bush studios.[4] The company expanded rapidly moving to a new factory at Power Road, Chiswick in 1936.

Bush became part of the Rank empire in 1945 and a brand new factory was opened at Ernesettle, Plymouth in 1949.[5] In 1950 the popular DAC90A and DAC10 radios were launched, along with the distinctive TV22 television.

The Bush TR82 transistor radio, designed by Ogle Design, and launched in 1959, is regarded as an icon of early radio design. Although the first radio to use the Ogle cabinet design was actually the MB60, a battery/mains valve set from 1957 to 1959.

The original Bush Radio company merged with Murphy Radio on 4 June 1962,[6] and a new company was formed called Rank Bush Murphy Ltd.

Rank formed a joint venture with Toshiba in 1978 called Rank Toshiba, and manufactured Toshiba designed televisions in Ernesettle UK. In 1980 Rank terminated its agreement with Toshiba and the joint company was wound up. Toshiba took over the UK factory and continued to manufacture television sets alone.[5]

Bush iD logo

The Bush brand name disappeared from the British market during the 1980s. However, since the purchase of the brand by Alba Group in 1986 (now known as Harvard International), it once again became common,[7] being used primarily on electronic goods produced in China and televisions made in Turkey.

Logo used from the 1990s until 2014

A range known as Bush iD was used to brand items such as digital radios and set-top boxes under the Bush name. Since purchase by Home Retail Group, the Bush iD branding is no longer used.

In November 2008, the Bush brand name, along with Alba, was purchased by Home Retail Group, the parent company of Homebase and Argos, for £15.25 million. As a result, the former Alba Group has now been renamed Harvard International. Harvard International still owns the Bush brand in Oceania. In 2013 a 7-inch tablet called MyTablet was released under the Bush brand; it cost £99.99.