Avnet history

In 1948, Leon Machiz and partner Seymour Schweber invested $3,000 each to start Life Electronics Sales, which sold surplus connectors.

In 1955, Avnet Electronic Supply Company was incorporated with a primary business of selling capacitors, fasteners and switches.

In 1956 a second connector assembly plant was opened near Los Angeles for the aircraft industry.

Anthony Hamilton, a buyer for Lear, Inc., went into business for himself in 1957 as a GE-franchised distributor of tantalum capacitors.

Name changes again, and shares are listed in 1959 on the American Stock Exchange.

In 1960, Avnet made its first acquisition, British Industries Corp., an audio equipment company.

Net sales in 1964 reached $57.5 million with earnings of $3 million.

Avnet acquired guitar manufacturer Guild Musical Instruments in 1965; in that year a Guild Starfire 12 guitar was presented to Beatles legends John Lennon and George Harrison.

Avnet is included in the Fortune 500 in 1968.

Lester Avnet died in 1970 and was succeeded by Simon Sheib as chair and chief executive officer.

In 1973, Avnet became Intel Corp.'s first distributor, solidifying Avnet's place in the computer business.

Avnet's sales soared, reaching $225 million in 1974.

During 1975, however, not only did the company recover, but it showed record earnings of more than $35 million.

In 1979, Avnet hit $1 billion in revenue for the first time.

In 1980, Hamilton became chair and CEO of Avnet when Sheib died.

In 1982, Avnet sold its wire and cable businesses.

Charles Avnet’s grandson Jon Avnet sold his shares in the family business to pursue a career in the movie industry, using those resources to produce the successful 1983 movieRisky Business, which made Tom Cruise a star.

Through centralization of inventories eliminating redundant facilities and personel, it cut inventory costs from $567 million in September 1988 to only $457 million two years later.

In 1989, Avnet instituted quality programs to improve customer service and boost profits.

The industry was caught in another nationwide recession, which called for new strategies. It continued to cut inventory in 1991 by another $20 million to $30 million.

Avnet had endured several years of disappointing financial performance but came back in 1992 with $1.76 billion in sales.

In 1993, Avnet acquired Hall-Mark Electronics Corporation, a rival distributor, for more than $344.6 million.

In 1997, Avnet moved west by relocating its headquarters to Phoenix under then-CEO Leon Machiz and his successor, Roy Vallee, who was a prominent Valley business leader for more than a decade.

In 1998, Roy Vallee entered as CEO and chairman, the same year that the company relocated its corporate headquarters to Phoenix (from Great Neck, NY).

2007: Company opens Global Solutions Center in Chandler, allowing customers and other partners to deliver “complete custom computing and embedded systems” using technologies from leading manufacturers.

In July 2010, the company purchased Bell Microelectronics for $631 million.

In July 2011, CEO Roy Vallee retired, and then-COO Richard Hamada was appointed CEO.

In September 2016, Tech Data announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the Technology Solutions operating group from Avnet, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately US$2.6 billion.

2018: Avnet stock moves to Nasdaq.

In March 2019, Avnet announced that it was working with blockchain payment provider BitPay to accept cryptocurrency as payment for products and services.