Abt Electronics

From MedBib.com - Medicine & Nature

Abt Electronics
Type Private
Founded 1936
Headquarters Glenview, Illinois, USA
Industry Retailing
Products Consumer Electronics
Appliances
Employees 1200
Website http://www.abt.com

Abt Electronics is one of largest independent retailers in the United States of consumer electronics, major appliances and furniture.[1] Abt operates at a single location in Glenview, Illinois, on 37 acres (150,000 m2) of land, and (since 1997) through an online retail site.[2] The store is a family-owned business that has served the Chicago market since 1936.

Contents

History

Abt Electronics began in 1936[3] when Jewel Abt gave $800 to her husband David to start a business.[4] The firm was originally named Abt Radio because it only sold small electronics in its early days. The original location was a small storefront in the Logan Square area of Chicago.[4] Abt Electronics expanded over the years to employ 1100 employees on a 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) sales floor[5] in Glenview, a suburb of Chicago.

In October 2008, David and Jewel Abt will be inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.[6]

Environmental practices

In 2006 the company built a recycling center which collects the company's used cardboard, plastic and plastic-foam packaging and prepares it to be sold for recycling.[7][8] The recycling center processes 150 loads of Styrofoam and 200 loads of cardboard per week. Abt also recycles 20,000 wood pallets and plastic bags per week and is in the process of installing a small wind turbine on the roof to help reduce energy costs at their store.[8]

External links

References

  1. ^ Gemperlein, Joyce (9 May 2004). "Appliance Lust", The Washington Post. Retrieved on 25 July 2008. 
  2. ^ Abt - Company Description - Hoover's
  3. ^ Springen, Karen; McGinn, Daniel (21 February 2005). "Beta-Testing Paradise", Newsweek. Retrieved on 25 July 2008. 
  4. ^ a b Wolf, Alan (22 December 2003). "That Was The Year That Was: A Retail Retrospective", TWICE. Retrieved on 25 July 2008. 
  5. ^ "Abt Opens Sony Shop", TWICE (20 November 2006). Retrieved on 25 July 2008. 
  6. ^ Stevens, Cindy; Mark Chisholm (2008-04-02). "CEA Names Twelve Industry Leaders to the 2008 CE Hall of Fame". Consumer Electronics Association. http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11485. Retrieved on 2008-08-31. 
  7. ^ Schwarz, Phil (20 February 2007). "Bill aims to keep electronic garbage out of landfills", WLS-TV (ABC 7). Retrieved on 25 July 2008. 
  8. ^ a b Brat, Ilan (24 March 2008). "The Extra Step", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 25 July 2008.