Alba (electronics)
Alba logo 2015 to 2022 | |
| Product type | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Owner | J Sainsbury plc |
| Introduced | 1917 |
| Discontinued | 2022 |
| Previous owners | Home Retail Group (2008–2016) Harvard International Ltd/Alba plc (1982–2008) ALBA (Radio & Television) Ltd. (1960–1982) |
Alba was a British consumer electronics company and brand name that produced budget electronics.
Its origins date to 1917 when it became active in the radio and TV industry as A.J. Balcombe Ltd. Under new ownership in the 1980s, when it was scooped up by Harvard International, it was restructured under Alba plc which owned and marketed numerous other brands in addition to Alba, including Bush (which it acquired in 1988), becoming popular in the low-end market in the UK.
The Alba Group later also consisted of further acquired brands Goodmans, Grundig, and home appliance brands such as Breville and Dirt Devil. The Alba Group came to an end in 2008 when both the Alba and Bush brands were bought by the Home Retail Group, the parent company of the retailer Argos in 2008, who in turn was taken over by J Sainsbury plc in 2016. The Alba brand was quietly dropped by Sainsbury's in 2022 in favour of its more upmarket sister brand Bush.