Amstrad is a manufacturer of electronics based in Brentwood in Essex, England and founded in 1968 by Sir Alan Michael Sugar in the UK. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1980, and is still listed today. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had approx. 25% market share in the computing industry in Europe. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky TV interactive boxes.

History

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1960s and 1970s

Amstrad was founded in 1968 by its current Chairman and CEO, Alan Sugar. Amstrad entered the market in the field of consumer electronics. During the 1970s they were at the forefront of low-priced hi-fi, TV and car stereo cassette technologies. Lower prices were achieved by injection moulding plastic hi-fi turntable covers, undercutting competitors who used the vacuum forming process. Amstrad expanded to the production of audio amplifiers and tuners.

1980s

In 1980, Amstrad went public trading on the London Stock Exchange, and doubled in size each year during the early '80s. Amstrad began marketing their own personal computers in an attempt to capture the market from Commodore and Sinclair, with the Amstrad CPC 464 in 1984. The Amstrad CPC 464 home computer range was launched in the UK, France, Australia and Germany. It was followed by the CPC 664 and CPC 6128 models. "Plus" variants later in the products lives increased their functionality slightly, while building in compatibility with the GX4000, Amstrad's short-lived foray into the video gaming world.

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