Collaro

Collaro was the name of a major early British manufacturer of gramophones, record players, and tape decks, throughout the early years of sound reproduction. The company was founded in Barking, Essex, 1920, as Collaro Ltd, and was a private company in 1924. In 1961 it was described as the largest manufacturers of record changers in the United Kingdom, and also manufactured fan heaters. In 1960 it was reported in US publication 'Billboard' that the President of the American Magnavox corporation, Frank Freimann had announced the 'acquisition' of Collaro, along with managing director of Collaro, Isaac Wolfson. However, he is also reported as noting that "the linking of the two firms carries not only product but distribution ramifications," which suggests some sort of cooperative alliance with acquisition of selling rights rather than a total 'buy-out'. Isaac Wolfson, a major British industrialist, was at the time also the head of Great Universal Stores, a large chain of retail outlets throughout Britain, Continental Europe, and the British Empire, suggesting perhaps that an earlier link-up took place between Wolfson and the originators of Collaro. The record decks comprised the mechanical unit incorporating a turntable and pickup, without electronics, and were built into many manufactured and home-constructed record players of the time. Magnavox were acquired by Philips in 1974.