Phonola

Phonola is an Italian brand of consumer electronics owned by Graetz Italy Srl of Milan. Founded in 1931, it is one of the oldest brands in the sector, particularly in radio-television sets. The Phonola brand was filed on October 10, 1931 in the trademark register by the ALCIS Industriale Commerciale Lombardia of Milan, to market radio receivers and radiophonographs built by the company SA FIMI of Saronno, in the province of Varese. FIMI subsequently became the owner of the Phonola brand, and to which it also joined the Darling brand, and established itself on the market with the Oro, Alcis, Transoceanico and Ferrosite models. In the sixties, FIMI expanded the Phonola brand production to household appliances, in particular refrigerators and washing machines. In 1969, the Lombard company, and with it the Phonola brand, was taken over by the Dutch giant Philips, which started the diversification of activities, and also specialized in the production of professional monitors for medical applications. The passage into the Philips orbit marked the decline of Phonola, relegated to the rank of secondary and regional brand, as well as in the nineties of personal computer monitors. In 2001, Formenti-Sèleco acquired the Phonola brand, intended for budget televisions in the low-end market segment. The Lombard company had subsequently gone into crisis, and in 2006, Phonola passed to Super // Fluo which had taken over its production activities which also included the Sèleco, Brionvega and Imperial brands.