Silo (store)
| File:Silo Electronics Logo.svg | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 |
| Defunct | Template:End date and age |
| Fate | Acquired by Fretter; subsequently dissolved |
| Products | Consumer electronics |
Silo operated as a consumer electronics retail chain across the United States from 1947 until 1995. In the western U.S., the brand was recognized under different names: "Downings" in Colorado and "Appliance-TV City" in Arizona and California for several years.
Origins
Sidney Cooper established Silo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1946 after returning from military service in World War II. The name "Silo" was derived by combining the initial two letters of Sidney and his wife Lorraine's names. Before launching its first retail outlet, the company functioned as a door-to-door installment seller. Recognizing the emerging popularity of television, Cooper capitalized on this trend by opening the first store around 1951 in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood, specializing in appliances and TVs. Operating under the title "Silo Discount Centers," the company was among the pioneers of discount retailing. Despite Pennsylvania's stringent Blue laws, Silo regularly opened on Sundays; Cooper justified this by emphasizing service to working families and faced arrest on at least one occasion. Notably, Cooper orchestrated press coverage during one of these arrests, understanding the promotional benefits of media attention. Over the following two decades, Silo expanded rapidly throughout the tri-state area. The company went public in 1962, securing capital to support growth within a region stretching from Trenton, New Jersey, to Wilmington, Delaware, and Reading, Pennsylvania. Early marketing efforts highlighted that the "S" in Silo represented savings, service, selection, and satisfaction. Initial store sizes ranged from 4,000 to 8,000 square feet, considered substantial at that time. Eventually, store footprints grew to between 12,000 and 25,000 square feet, complemented by two large warehouse-style outlets near Buffalo, New York, and New Orleans, Louisiana measuring nearly 60,000 square feet each. Most locations were standalone buildings; some were attached to shopping centers or malls.
Growth and Expansion
In 1970, Silo ventured beyond its Philadelphia base by acquiring several Downing's stores from Sam Bloom in Denver, Colorado. Shortly thereafter, it purchased three Appliance-TV City locations from founder Jay Winslow in Arizona. These acquisitions experienced swift growth as Silo implemented its strategy of competitive pricing, extensive product variety, and assertive advertising campaigns. The brand’s 1970s television jingle—"Silo is having a sale"—became so ingrained in local culture that many Philadelphians still recall it decades later. A notable promotion occurred in 1986 when an advertisement offered a stereo system priced at "299 bananas." Some customers from Seattle and El Paso interpreted this literally and brought actual bananas to redeem the offer. Honoring the promotion, Silo exchanged stereos for bananas—32 units in Seattle and three in El Paso—resulting in a loss of $10,465 on these transactions.
In 1972, Silo introduced Audio World, a wholly owned subsidiary focused on selling stereo equipment and audio components. Initially launched as separate stores within the greater Philadelphia area, by 1974 Audio World departments were integrated into all new and existing Silo outlets after proving successful. This expansion led Silo to discontinue small appliance sales due to diminishing profit margins and concentrate on larger appliances alongside audio and television products; during this period stores were branded as Silo/Audio World.
Following Sidney Cooper’s death at age 57 in 1976, leadership passed to his son-in-law Barry Feinberg, an attorney by profession. At that time, Silo operated 40 stores generating $60 million in revenue. Feinberg intensified advertising efforts but diverged from Cooper’s acquisition-based geographic growth strategy. Instead, he believed that Silo could successfully enter new markets independently without acquiring established local brands—a tactic that yielded positive results for several years.
In February 1980, Pittsburgh-based specialty steel manufacturer Cyclops Steel acquired Silo as part of its diversification efforts outside steel production; Cyclops had previously purchased Busy Beaver home stores in Pittsburgh. Under Cyclops ownership and Feinberg’s leadership, Silo pursued an aggressive expansion plan featuring multiple simultaneous store openings supported by extensive advertising campaigns under the unified Silo brand. This approach facilitated rapid nationwide growth over subsequent years.
In 1989, Silo acquired 19 stores from the Federated Group located in the Los Angeles area. Prior to launching these outlets, a deliberately cryptic advertising campaign titled "The Silos are coming" was rolled out to generate buzz and curiosity—some even expressed apprehension regarding the impending openings. Crafted by Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Director Jay Montgomery, this campaign featured street interviews speculating about "19 Silo sites proposed for the Southland." It generated over 10,000 calls during its first week; callers received coupons along with t-shirts emblazoned with "I feel better with a Silo nearby." The campaign's success led to twice-upward revisions of sales projections during the soft launch phase. Feinberg personally contacted approximately 180 individuals who were genuinely upset by the marketing tactic; each received an apology accompanied by a $500 gift certificate.
Cyclops Steel eventually sold Silo to Dixons Group PLC, a British company headquartered in Great Britain, in 1987. Cyclops’ investment proved highly profitable—returning more than tenfold within seven years. At its zenith, Silo operated 232 locations nationwide with annual revenues reaching $1.2 billion. However, Dixons struggled to transpose its European retail model onto American markets where competitors favored much larger superstores. Dixons preferred smaller urban stores typical of its UK operations—often around 2,000 square feet—and failed to adapt accordingly. This strategic misalignment contributed to disagreements between Feinberg and Dixons’ management policies leading to Feinberg’s departure.|date=November 2020}}
Fretter Acquisition and Final Decline
In 1993, Dixons opted to withdraw from its investment by selling a majority interest in Silo for $45 million (approximately $Template:Format price adjusted for inflation) to Fretter, Inc., a Detroit-based electronics retailer. Fretter operated stores under various names including Fretter's, YES! (an acronym for Your Electronics Store), Dash Concepts, and Fred Schmid. At the time of the acquisition, Silo operated 183 locations but was struggling with declining sales due to intense competition from rivals such as Circuit City and Best Buy. Fretter faced comparable market pressures, and its leadership believed that merging the two companies would establish a stronger presence in the consumer electronics retail sector capable of competing against emerging market leaders.
By the time Fretter took control, Silo was already in a weakened state. The challenge for Fretter was to integrate a chain suffering from shrinking market share alongside outdated inventory. To address this, Fretter converted several Silo outlets into clearance-focused stores aimed at liquidating surplus stock.
Fretter also pursued a strategy of positioning its outlets as superstores, mirroring marketing approaches used by Circuit City and Best Buy. However, the relatively small footprint of both Silo and Fretter locations—ranging between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet compared to Circuit City's typical 35,000+ square feet—rendered this approach impractical. An industry analyst remarked that "Fretter lacked distinctiveness. Retailers need to establish a clear identity. Their excessive focus on pricing meant they never developed a unique brand personality. Our discussions with them always emphasized that you must represent something meaningful to consumers; relying solely on price leads to business failure."
The combination of eroding market share, remaining debt from the acquisition, and an outdated store concept ultimately led to Fretter's downfall. The company began withdrawing from markets rapidly and discreetly, sometimes closing stores abruptly during business hours without prior notice to customers or staff. For instance, all seven Silo locations in the Pittsburgh area were suddenly shut down when employees were instructed to pack remaining merchandise and close immediately. Those employees who complied quietly were promised substantial severance packages. Scott White, a former store manager, disclosed these events to the media, prompting a surge of customers returning to Pittsburgh stores demanding either items placed on layaway or refunds of deposits. In response, Silo reopened these stores for three days to resolve outstanding customer claims.
By late 1995, Fretter had shuttered all remaining Silo outlets and filed for bankruptcy protection. The final closures of all stores occurred by May 1996.