Brown goods – entertainment electronics from BSH: Difference between revisions

The radio began its triumphant march as an entertainment medium in Germany with the first German entertainment channel. [[Siemens]] & Halske presented their first radio receiver at Germany's first major radio exhibition in Berlin in 1924 – a three-stage tube set and horn loudspeaker called the Siemens-D-Zug.<ref><nowiki>https://www.siemens.com/history/en/history/</nowiki> (last downloaded on 16.01.2017).</ref> The name was based on a symbol of progress in Germany, the express train. The “D-Züge” or "Durchgangs-Züge" as they were called in German were high-speed trains that allowed train journeys in Germany to be shortened significantly. In the years that followed, Siemens launched numerous radio receivers and chamber music consoles as they were known on the market – the latter a combination of radio and electric record player.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, F-Siemens-014, Siemens Electrogeräte (SE): Leistungen des Hauses Siemens (elektrische Hausgeräte, Rundfunkgeräte), page 2.</ref>

When BSH<ref>BSH was founded in 1967 as Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH - BSHG for short. In 1998, the name was changed to BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, with the short form BSH. Since the sale of the Siemens shares in BSH to Robert Bosch GmbH the company’s name is now BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, but still BSH for short.</ref> was founded in 1967, only Siemens entertainment electronics featured in the company’s portfolio. Brown goods – the term came from an era when radio and television sets were still built with veneered, brown sanded varnish wooden cabinets<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, A05-0010, inform 1987/3, page 1</ref> – were an important mainstay for BSH in the early days. The first color television was already launched in 1967 with the support of Siemens – a joint development by Telefunken, Blaupunkt ([[Robert Bosch GmbH|Bosch]]), Mende and the Siemens development lab.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, F-Siemens-014, Siemens Electrogeräte (SE): Leistungen des Hauses Siemens (elektrische Hausgeräte, Rundfunkgeräte), page 16.</ref> Siemens entertainment electronics were very successful on the market in the 1970s. The range included the "Bildmeister FC 624" television set and the "microcompact" HiFi component.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, F-BSH-001, BSH Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (Hg.): 40 Jahre BSH – Eine Chronik, Munich 2007, page 45.</ref> Despite high growth rates<ref>Primarily in the years prior to 1979 and after 1984. BSH Corporate Archives, Assessment of BSH business reports between 1978 and 1985.</ref>, the sector only went into the black, however, in 1987.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, A05-0014, inform 1991/1, page 9.</ref>