Palo Alto, Calif. — Eton said it will continue to market Grundig-branded shortwave radios in the U.S. following an announcement that German-based Grundig will be taken over by U.K. electronics maker Alba and Turkish electronics maker Beko.
Eton licenses the Grundig name for shortwave that it designs and markets in the U.S. Nuremburg-based Grundig filed for bankruptcy in April 2003.
Spokesman Karman Ng declined to disclose details of the licensing agreement but said the company offers 10 Grundig-branded SKUs and will remain in the shortwave segment with the Grundig brand, at leastin the short term.
Nonetheless, citing growing shortwave sales, the company launched its first three Eton-branded shortwave radios, including an AM/FM/SW model with XM Satellite radio service, at CES. The XM model is a full-size portable that plugs into AC but also operates on D-cell batteries.
The first Eton-branded products, which debuted two years ago, were an atomic clock and weather-alert radio, followed by a headphone CD player with pull-out speakers.
Eton was founded in 1984 as a Lextronics, a distributor of Grundig-made and -branded electronics, including home audio and video products. In the late 1980s, it transitioned to marketing Grundig-made shortwave radios, then began licensing the name for radios of its own design.
