Watford Electronics was a British computer electronics company. It was founded in 1972 in a bedroom belonging to brothers Nazir and Raza Jessa, and grew to become one of the best-known suppliers of
microcomputers and micro peripherals during the 1980s.
In the 1970s Watford Electronics sold components and kits, through advertising in electronics magazines, and a paper catalogue. They had one shop in Watford, but mostly traded as a mail-order company.
In the early 1980s Watford Electronics expanded into the home computer market. It was particularly active in the
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...
scene, producing a variety of peripherals for the computer, as well as a version of the
Disc Filing System. They sold their own hardware under the Aries brand. Watford Electronics gradually moved over to supporting the
Wintel
Wintel (portmanteau of ''Windows'' and ''Intel'') is the partnership of Microsoft and Intel producing personal computers (PCs) using Intel x86-compatible processors running Windows.
Background
By the early 1980s, the chaos and incompatibility ...
market in the 1990s.
In the 21st century, the company opened an online store, Savastore, but in 2007 Watford collapsed into administration.
Watford Electronics was then bought out by Globally Limited, and in April that year, the website became known as Saverstore.
Notes
British companies established in 1972
Electronics companies of the United Kingdom
Consumer electronics retailers of the United Kingdom
Electronics companies established in 1972
Electronics companies disestablished in 2007
Mail-order retailers
Computer hardware companies
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