Abt Electronics

Abt Electronics is an independent family-owned retailer in the United States of consumer electronics, major appliances, and furniture. Abt operates 880,000 square feet at a single location in Glenview, Illinois, on 70 acres (280,000 m2) of land, and online since 1997 https://www.abt.com.[1] Abt Electronics now distributes products from coast to coast in the US. The company has operated in the Chicago market since 1936.

Abt Electronics
TypePrivate
IndustryRetailing
Founded1936
FounderDavid Abt
Jewel Abt
HeadquartersGlenview, Cook County, Illinois, U.S.
ProductsConsumer Electronics
Appliances
Revenue$400 million (2021 est.)
Number of employees
1,650 (2022)
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Abt Electronics was founded in 1936[2] when Jewel Abt gave $800 to her husband David Abt to start a business.[3] The store was originally named Abt Radio as it only sold small electronics in its early days. The original location was a small storefront and service department in the Logan Square area of Chicago.[3] Abt Electronics has expanded many times over the years. Abt electronics currently employs more than 1,650 employees in a 450,000 square feet retail store and warehouse in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In May 2021, Abt announced plans for a 430,000 square-foot addition to their warehouse, effectively doubling the total area of their facility. Construction on the addition is expected to be completed in October 2021.[4]

Timeline
  • 1936 - Jewel and Dave Abt open Abt Radio with $800, located at 2835 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, selling small electronics[5]
  • 1953 - Bob Abt (former CEO; died July 23, 2015) begins working at Abt Radio part-time and over summers.
  • 1955 - Abt moves to Logan Square Location at 2858 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Merchandise is kept off-site at the Hollander warehouse. One van made all the deliveries.
  • 1971 - The Abt family opens a store in Niles, Illinois.
  • 1977 - The Logan Square location closes.
  • 1986 - Abt expands the Niles location, doubling in size from 12,000 to 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2).
  • 1990 - The Niles store closes on December 9.
  • 1990 - Abt's fourth location, in Morton Grove, Illinois, opens for business December 10.
  • 1990 - Recycling program begins.
  • 1997 - Abt.com was launches. Abt becomes an authorized online retailer for brands like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Bose, and Onkyo.
  • 2002 - Abt closes the Morton Grove store. On May 26 Abt's fifth location, in Glenview, Illinois, opens for business.
  • 2005 - May 25, the city of Chicago dedicates the corner of Wolfram and Milwaukee Ave. to Jewel and David Abt. The new corner is called Jewel and David Abt Way.
  • 2008 - Jewel and David Abt are inducted into the 2008 Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.
  • 2008 - The Abt Design Center opens in June.
  • 2008 - The 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) recycling center opens in October.
  • 2008 - Abt is chosen as the Chicago Tribune's Top Workplace in Chicago.
  • 2009 - Abt's Mobile Installation department is voted one of the top 100 best retailers and installers from Mobile Electronics Inc.
  • 2010 - Abt is chosen as the 2010 Dealer of the Year by home automation company Control4[6]
  • 2010 - Abt is voted in the top 10 of Chicago Tribune's "Top Chicago Workplaces" for the best place to work in the Chicago area.[7]
  • 2010-2020 - Voted the "Best Place to Buy Large Appliances" by Consumer Reports for eleven consecutive years[8]
  • 2011 - Voted the #1 place to work in Chicago Tribune's "Top Chicago Workplaces"[9]
  • 2012 - Voted the #1 place to work in Chicago Tribune's "Top Chicago Workplaces"[10]
  • 2013 - Voted the #20 place to work for nationwide by WorkplaceDynamics[11]
  • 2016 - Voted the #1 place to work in Chicago Tribune's "Top Chicago Workplaces"[12]
  • 2016 - Receives the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics[13]
  • 2016 - Abt completes installation of a 1500-panel rooftop solar array, capable of producing 850 megawatts of power per year[14]
  • 2020 - Receives the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics[15]
  • 2021 - Abt's new 30,000 square foot recycling center opens[16]
  • 2021 - Abt is voted one of Consumer Reports' "Best Place to Buy Small Appliances"[17]
  • 2021 - Construction starts on a new 429,524-square-foot building addition that will double Abt's warehouse space[18]

Environmental practices

In 2006, Abt built a recycling center which collects the company's used cardboard, plastic and plastic-foam packaging and prepares it to be sold for recycling.[19][20] Abt opened a new, 30,000 square-foot recycling center in 2021. The company's recycling program prevents an estimated 2.2 million pounds of cardboard, 350,000 pounds of styrofoam, 1.4 million pounds of electronics, and 13 million pounds of appliances from ending up in landfills.[21] In October 2016, Abt completed work on a rooftop solar panel array. The system comprises more than 1,500 solar panels and has an annual production capacity of 645,000 kWh electricity. The energy produced by the solar array powers regular building operations and is stored in a 500 kW Tesla PowerPack battery cluster.[22]

References
  1. Abt - Company Description, Hoovers.com; accessed July 26, 2015.
  2. Springen, Karen; McGinn, Daniel (February 21, 2005). "Beta-Testing Paradise". Newsweek. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  3. Wolf, Alan (December 22, 2003). "That Was The Year That Was: A Retail Retrospective". TWICE. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  4. Buckshon, Mark (May 10, 2021). "McShane Construction Company to add 430,000-sq. ft. expansion to Abt Electronics' Glenview warehouse and showroom building". Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. "Abt Company History". Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  6. "Home". control4.com.
  7. "Chicago's Top Workplaces 2010: The Winners". Chicago Tribune. 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  8. "Best Places to Buy Large Appliances". Consumer Reports. 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  9. "Chicago's Top Workplaces 2011: The Winners". Chicago Tribune. 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  10. "Chicago's Top Workplaces 2012: The Winners". Chicago Tribune. 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  11. "Top 150 National Top Workplaces 2013". Topworkplaces.com. 2013. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  12. Tribune, Chicago. "Top Workplaces 2016: Search Chicago-area companies". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  13. "BBB Torch Award Recipients for 2017". Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  14. "ABT Electronics 516 kW & ESS". Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  15. "BBB Torch Award Recipients for 2020". Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  16. "Abt Electronics Unveils 30,000-Square-Foot Onsite Recycling Center". Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  17. "Best Places to Buy Small Appliances". Consumer Reports. 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  18. "Abt Electronics' expansion will double the size of its Glenview warehouse". Chicago Tribune. 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  19. Schwarz, Phil (February 20, 2007). "Bill aims to keep electronic garbage out of landfills". WLS-TV (ABC 7). Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  20. Brat, Ilan (March 24, 2008). "The Extra Step". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  21. Kamczyc, Alex (May 11, 2021). "Abt Electronics unveils recycling center". Recycling Today. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  22. "ABT Electronics 516 kW & ESS". Continental Energy Solutions. December 30, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
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