Fretter's
Encyclopedia
Fretter was an electronics
and major appliance retailer based out of Detroit, Michigan
, with locations nationally, founded during the 1950s, by Oliver Fretter. In 1992, Fretter acquired their biggest competition of the time Silo Electronics, a company that had previously not turned a profit since the 1980s. This was an attempt by Fretter to compete with its new major competition, electronic superstores Circuit City and Best Buy
, which were much larger stores than Fretter. This move would lead the company into serious debt
and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, forcing the chain to close many locations by 1993. All Silo Electronics stores were closed by 1995, with all Fretter locations closing by May 1996.
The company's founder and spokesman, Ollie Fretter, became known in the Detroit area in the 1970s and 1980s, via humorous TV commercials in which he promised “I’ll give you five pounds of coffee if I can’t beat your best deal -- the competition knows me, you should too!” (When occasionally he had to make good on the whimsical offer, Fretter gave away five-pound cans of Maxwell House; later he dispensed the cans wrapped in paper labels that read "Fretter House Coffee.") Fretter's first store was located on Telegraph Road just north of Interstate 96 in the city of Redford, MI, and the main warehouse, warehouse store and company headquarters, was on Schoolcraft Road (I-96 service drive) in Livonia.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
and major appliance retailer based out of Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, with locations nationally, founded during the 1950s, by Oliver Fretter. In 1992, Fretter acquired their biggest competition of the time Silo Electronics, a company that had previously not turned a profit since the 1980s. This was an attempt by Fretter to compete with its new major competition, electronic superstores Circuit City and Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, which were much larger stores than Fretter. This move would lead the company into serious debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, forcing the chain to close many locations by 1993. All Silo Electronics stores were closed by 1995, with all Fretter locations closing by May 1996.
The company's founder and spokesman, Ollie Fretter, became known in the Detroit area in the 1970s and 1980s, via humorous TV commercials in which he promised “I’ll give you five pounds of coffee if I can’t beat your best deal -- the competition knows me, you should too!” (When occasionally he had to make good on the whimsical offer, Fretter gave away five-pound cans of Maxwell House; later he dispensed the cans wrapped in paper labels that read "Fretter House Coffee.") Fretter's first store was located on Telegraph Road just north of Interstate 96 in the city of Redford, MI, and the main warehouse, warehouse store and company headquarters, was on Schoolcraft Road (I-96 service drive) in Livonia.