$720 Million in Sales. Then Korvettes Closed for Good on Christmas Eve

If you shopped at Korvettes, you probably remember the record department, the cheap stereos and the crowds at Christmas. What you probably never heard is how a store that sold $720 million a year ended up locking its last 17 doors on Christmas Eve, 1980. I'm Vincent Thomas. I'm 74, and from 1973 on I sold TVs, stereos and appliances to Korvettes for a Philadelphia distributor. I watched it happen from my side of the counter. In this video: Why Korvettes handed out free membership cards just to sell you a toaster for less What E.J. Korvette really stood for (it wasn't Korean War veterans) The $1.39 record price war and the XAM stereo named after a cat How a wedding engagement helped take the company away from the man who built it The real estate owners who let the stores wear out How the end of fair trade took away the thing that made Korvettes special The French buyers, the HOLD stamp, and the summer the Philadelphia stores closed Why Korvettes' own lawyers went after a supplier for money it had already paid What really happened, from someone who was there No dramatics and no made-up drama. Just what I saw, checked against the record, told the way I'd tell it at the kitchen table. Which Korvettes was yours? Tell me the town and what you bought there. And if you worked there, I'd love to hear from you. My short guide on buying things that last: askvincentthomas.com Chapters: 0:00 Christmas Eve 1980 and the metal tree 2:12 Fair trade, the law nobody remembers 4:40 Membership cards for everyone 5:47 My short guide 6:07 What E.J. Korvette really stands for 7:07 Eugene Ferkauf, the man with no office 8:31 The record department and the $1.39 LP 9:51 Fifth Avenue and the Time cover 11:04 XAM, the stereo named after a cat 12:29 Growing too fast 13:33 The engagement that cost him the company 14:59 The landlords and Lou Marchetti 17:22 Bill Cullen and the 1975 high point 18:05 The end of fair trade 19:20 Beaten by a little store up the boulevard 20:59 The last good Christmas, 1978 22:55 The French take over 23:48 The HOLD stamp 26:07 July 1980: the Philadelphia stores close 28:15 Christmas Eve: the last 17 stores 30:48 Why the lawyers wanted Sanyo's money back 32:15 What happened to the buildings, and to Ferkauf 33:36 So what really happened to Korvettes? 35:41 The order still in my desk drawer Watch more: I Sold TVs for 40 Years. Here's What Really Happened to Zenith and RCA    • I Sold TVs for 40 Years. Here's What Reall...   $733 Million in Sales. Then Two Guys Closed Every Store on Purpose    • $733 Million in Sales. Then Two Guys Close...   I Sold Electronics for 40 Years. Crazy Eddie Was the Biggest Fraud I Ever Saw    • I Sold Electronics for 40 Years. Crazy Edd...