Original Alba company (c.1917–1982) made in Japan (based on a
Sanyo) The name
Alba originated as a trademark used on radio and television produced by A.J. Balcombe Ltd. The company was formed in 1917 or 1918 by Alfred Balcombe. Alba began by manufacturing radio sets from 1922, from a factory at Tabernacle Street in
London. It was a significant contributor to the development of the British radio & TV industry. Alba went into
receivership in June 1982.
Alba Group of Companies (1982–2008) Following the demise of the original company, the Alba name was bought in 1982 by Harvard International Ltd (formerly Harris Overseas Ltd), In August 1987, Harvard International renamed itself to Alba plc Harris was succeeded as CEO by his son Daniel Harris in 1992. Alba plc also produced electronic products under licence for other companies or individuals, including
Ministry of Sound (audio products),
Antony Worrall Thompson,
Cable and Wireless,
Carl Lewis,
JCB,
Ministry of Sound,
Nicky Clarke and
NTL. TVs sold under the Alba and Bush brands were manufactured by
Vestel in Turkey, as of 1999. As of 2006, the Alba group was selling one million TVs, two million MP3 players and a million microwaves in the UK annually, and had product managers and designers from around the world. The company sold its share of the
Grundig brand for £25.5 million in December 2007, In September 2016, the
supermarket chain
Sainsbury's completed its acquisition of Home Retail Group, bringing Argos, along with the Alba and Bush brands, under its ownership. The Alba brand was dropped by Sainsbury's in 2022 and replaced by the Bush brand. ==References==