07/07/2016
Amateur Electronic Supply (AES[1]) will close its doors at the end of July
after 59 years in business. No reason has been given for the decision to close
the business. AES has been a premier player among Amateur Radio equipment
retailers for decades, as well as a major presence at Dayton Hamvention? and
other events. Various media outlets were informed of the closing in a brief
e-mail message on July 6, but word of the closing has not yet appeared on the
retailer's website or Facebook page.
"It's with great sadness that I have to tell you that Amateur Electronic Supply
(AES) will cease operations at the end of this month," AES National Sales
Manager Tom Pachner, W9TJP, said in an e-mail. An employee at the Milwaukee
headquarters store, who did not wish to be identified, confirmed that the
message was legitimate. It's believed that the AES staff was notified before
the July 4th holiday weekend. In addition to the Milwaukee store, AES operates
outlets in Cleveland (Wickliffe), Las Vegas, and Orlando.
Fond-du-Lac, Wisconsin, native Terry Sterman, W9DIA (SK), founded AES[2] in
1957 when he was just 18, after getting into the radio-TV business by working
in his father's TV and electronics parts store. On January 1, 1998, ownership
of AES shifted to Amateur Electronic Supply LLC, headed by Phil Majerus, a
prominent Wisconsin businessman. Sterman died the following year at the age of
60, after a period of ill health.
For many years, the public face of AES was its Executive Vice President Ray
Grenier, K9KHW, who oversaw marketing and advertising for the retailer from
1964 until his retirement in 2013. Grenier nearly singlehandedly produced the
famous AES catalog, as well as magazine ads. For about 20 years, he also
organized the well-received AES Superfest, a promotional effort begun in 1995
that grew into a hamfest. In April, the AES Superfest hosted the 2016 ARRL
Wisconsin Section Convention.
Many radio amateurs reacted to the news on various online forums, expressing
surprise, sadness, and dismay, and saying they would miss AES. A few reminisced
about having bought their first radios from AES.
[1] http://www.aesham.com/
[2] https://www.aesham.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/terrysterman.pdf
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