Admiral Appliances

Admiral Appliance is currently being manufactured by the Whirlpool Corporation. The brand is sold by The Home Depot.

The Continental Radio and Television Corp. made consumer electronics such as phonographs and radios in Chicago during 1934. Eventually this became known as the Admiral Corp which had annual sales of approximately $2,000,000. During the Second World War, Admiral supplied the US military with electronic equipment, and was one of the primary television manufacturers during that early era of the medium. In 1950, for example, Admiral was selling a line of 7 TV sets, with 2 19" models, a 12.5 "model, and 4 models that had a 12.5" tube size.

By the 1950s, success in television sales allowed Admiral to expand into major appliances such as refrigerators. Annual sales approached $300,000,000 and the company employed 8,500 people by the early 1960s.

By the mid 1970s, numerous divisions were sold to other companies as a result of the competition from consumer electronic goods being imported from Japan. Rockwell International acquired the company in 1973, selling the appliance operations to Magic Chef which then was bought by Maytag which was then bought by Whirlpool.

Admiral Appliances is where the Milwaukee Admirals hockey team got their name. In 1971 the Milwaukee Admirals was sold to a group of investors of whom one owned an appliance store. The team was then renamed as the "Admirals" following the sale of Admiral Refrigerators in the appliance owner's store.

Maytag contracted exclusively with Montgomery Ward for the rights associated with use of the Admiral brand with regard to its consumer electronic goods in 1991. Eventually, Montgomery Ward went bankrupt and closed the doors on all its stores. After Whirlpool purchased Maytag, the brand was then only sold by The Home Depot. Television enterprises continue with the Admiral Overseas Corporation (AOC).