Date of intro: ~1974, Origin: United Kingdom (List),
Classification: / Company Info,
Info: In November 1974, the British electronics company PYE Ltd. launched its first and only lineup of handheld calculators.
Famous for television and radio manufacturing, PYE invested £100,000 in a massive national advertising campaign to break into the booming digital calculator market.
However, intense price competition from microchip manufacturers forced PYE to withdraw almost immediately.
PYE entered the market just as the ‘calculator price wars’ reached their peak.
Companies like COMMODORE and TEXAS INSTRUMENTS vertically integrated their manufacturing to slash retail prices.
Because PYE outsourced its production to Asian factories, it could not compete with the rapidly falling market prices and quietly abandoned the venture.