Silo

Silo was an electronics retailer operated throughout the United States between 1947 and 1995. The western region stores were known for a number of years as "Downings" in Colorado and "Appliance-TV City" in Arizona and California. History Beginning Silo was founded by Sidney Cooper in Philadelphia, PA, in 1946 following his service in World War II. The company was named for himself and for his wife Lorraine, combining the first two letters of each name. Prior to opening its first retail store, Silo operated as a door-to-door installment business. With the advent of television, Cooper saw an opportunity and seized it. He opened his first store about 1951 in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, featuring appliances and televisions. Silo was an early discounter, operating under the name "Silo Discount Centers." Silo regularly opened on Sundays, violating Pennsylvania's strict Blue laws. Cooper claimed that it was necessary to open on Sunday in order to serve working families, and was even arrested at least once for doing so. On one such occasion, the press was on hand to cover the arrest, apparently tipped off by Cooper himself, who understood the value of free publicity. The company grew rapidly, opening stores throughout the tri-state region over the next twenty years. Silo went public in 1962, raising money to fuel its geographic expansion throughout a region bounded by Trenton, NJ, Wilmington, DE, and Reading, PA. The company's early advertising stressed that the "S" in Silo stood for savings, service, selection and satisfaction. Early store formats of 4,000 to 8,000 square feet were considered large by standards of the day. Later, Silo operated stores of 12,000 to 25,000 square feet, with two warehouse outlets of almost 60,000 square feet in Buffalo, NY and New Orleans, LA. Stores were generally freestanding, with some attached to shopping centers or malls. Expansion