Binatone
 | |
| Industry | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded |
United Kingdom (1958) |
| Founder |
Partap Lalvani Gulu Lalvani |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
Landline Mobile phone Senior phone Two-way radios Baby monitor Tablets GPS |
| Website |
www |
Binatone is a British telecommunications company. Binatone was started in the United Kingdom in 1958 to import and distribute consumer electronics by two brothers, Gulu Lalvani and Partap Lalvani.
In 1989 the company was divided, Partap and Gulu dividing the business geographically. Both then controlled their own Binatone groups operating in different parts of the world.
Partap Lalvani's Binatone became Euro Suisse International in 1993. Today the product range consists of small electronics such as personal care products, cooking appliances and DECT telephones.
Dino Lalvani's Binatone Communications Group is headquartered Hong Kong and has offices in London, Lummen, Indianapolis, New Delhi, Bangalore and Shenzhen. Main product categories are communication (landline, mobile), baby monitors, home monitors, pet training systems and multimedia (tablets, e-readers, GPS sat Nav).[1] These products are sold under the brands Binatone, iDECT and Voxtel and the licensed brands Motorola and AEG.
In 2008 the two Binatones celebrated their 50th anniversary. The two companies are now independent of each other.
History
Binatone was founded in 1958 by two brothers Partap Lalvani and Gulu Lalvani in London. The company was named after Bina, their younger sister. The company was set up to import audio products from Japan, the second part of the brand was chosen accordingly to Binatone.
In 1959 Binatone started importing transistor radios into the UK. Over the years the brothers grew the audio based product selection from radios to a wide range of audio products including world receivers, clock radios, cassette players and audio towers.
1974 marked the year that Binatone entered the TV games market. in 1978 Binatone released the TV Master. Binatone for a time also sold TVs in various markets. In 1980 the company introduced its HipFi portable cassette player and which in 1981 outsold the Sony Walkman in the UK.
After the deregulation of the telecommunications market in the United Kingdom the brothers decided to step into the opening market for landline phones. In 1983 Binatone was the first in Europe with fixed line consumer products that could be bought at electronics retailers.[2] This marked the beginning of a gradual change from Binatone's focus on Audio & Vision to Telecom products.
After opening a first buying office in 1970, Binatone opened its Hong Kong headquarters in 1989 to prepare for an increasing production market in China and a growing demand for consumer products all over Asia.
Binatone Communications Group
Gulu Lalvani focused his company on the telecommunications market. He renamed his Binatone to Binatone Communications Group.
Gulu Lalvani was one of the founding members of the DECT forum[3] and in 1996 was the first to introduce DECT telephones in Europe.
In 1992 Binatone established a joint venture as Loewe Binatone GmbH with Loewe, a German TV manufacturer.
In 2007 Binatone introduced its satellite navigation range in Europe and Asia Pacific.[4]
In 2008, Dino Lalvani, son of Gulu Lalvani, purchased the company from his father and took over as Chairman.[5]
Others
Binatone was the official shirt sponsor of Queens Park Rangers Football Club from 2003 to 2006.[6]
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.binatoneglobal.com
- ↑ http://dectconference.com/sponsor_partner/binatone/
- ↑ http://www.linkedin.com/company/dect-forum
- ↑ http://binatonetelecom.com/products/gps-satnav
- ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/binatone-dino-lalvani-chairman-press-release-952766.htm
- ↑ http://binatonetelecom.com/corporateRMedia/companyHistory/2002