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Independent distributors were among the industry's earliest supply- chain managers, many of whom brokered radio and vacuum tubes and later turned their businesses into influential franchised distributors such as Hamilton Avnet and Schweber Electronics.
It seemed a natural part of America's independence movement. The Cortland Street section of Manhattan's Lower West Side near the Statue of Liberty, known in the 1920s as Radio Row, catered to amateur-radio enthusiasts. Assembled radio sets weren't yet available in manufactured form, so these hobbyists had to rely on crystal-set devices they built themselves, mostly from surplus electronics parts.
Charles Avnet began selling surplus radio parts in New York in 1921. Radio Row proved a prime location because most of the trade was derived from radio operators whose ships docked at the nearby West Side piers. Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other port cities followed.
Electronics distribution soon outgrew its place of origin, but Radio Row remained until years later when the area was renovated and the World Trade Center took its place.
When the semiconductor industry emerged in the 1960s, the Vietnam War was in progress. The industry was unprepared to handle the surge in demand for products during that period. Defense electronics were in demand and consumer spending was high.
The same independent sources that had become an important sales arm for emerging players, such as Fairchild and Texas Instruments, attempted to keep up with supply and demand.
As the 1970s rolled in, electronic-components...