Memorex
American technology brand with roots in computer storage media, IBM-compatible peripherals, and consumer recording products.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Memorex is an American technology brand whose history spans enterprise computing hardware, magnetic and optical recording media, and consumer electronics. The original Memorex Corporation was established in Silicon Valley in 1961 by Laurence L. Spitters, Arnold T. Challman, Donald F. Eldridge, and W. Lawrence Noon. It began by producing computer tape and soon expanded into disk packs, disk drives, communications controllers, and other peripheral equipment for IBM-compatible mainframe environments. The name Memorex was formed from the idea of “memory excellence.” During the 1960s, Memorex became one of the first independent suppliers to ship computer tape and disk packs. Its IBM-plug-compatible disk drives and communications controllers helped establish the company as a significant alternative to IBM’s own equipment. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, it was among the largest independent suppliers of disk drives, controllers, and related media for IBM-compatible systems. This enterprise business made Memorex an important participant in the early computer-peripherals industry rather than merely a consumer recording brand. Memorex entered consumer media in 1971. Its most enduring consumer identity was created through advertising, especially the “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” campaign. Television commercials featuring jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald presented a recording and playback test in which a note appeared to shatter a glass. The campaign positioned Memorex tape as a benchmark for recording fidelity and made the brand broadly recognizable outside the computing market. The company’s corporate structure changed substantially in the 1980s. Burroughs acquired Memorex in 1981 for its enterprise businesses, while Burroughs sold the consumer brand to Tandy in 1982. The consumer business subsequently developed a broad catalog of audio and video products and, by the late 1980s, reportedly covered more than 120 items in seven categories. The enterprise assets were progressively closed, sold, or separated by Burroughs and its successor, Unisys. Memorex International was spun out in 1986, and its 1988 combination with Telex produced Memorex Telex NV, an international information-technology services and systems business that survived into the 1990s. The consumer trademark continued through additional ownership changes. Tandy sold it to Hong Kong-based Hanny Holdings in 1993. Imation acquired the Memorex brand in 2006 and later sold the trademark and two related licenses to DPI Inc. in 2016. Finest Brands acquired the brand, its global trademark, intellectual-property portfolio, and licensees in 2024. Consumer products are marketed by Mizari Enterprises. The contemporary Memorex range is centered on recordable and removable media, flash memory, storage accessories, computer peripherals, and selected consumer-electronics products. The brand therefore represents a continuing consumer label rather than the original integrated computer-hardware corporation, which ceased to exist as a unified operating company after the restructuring and disposal of its businesses in the 1980s and 1990s.
History
Memorex was founded in Silicon Valley in 1961 by Laurence L. Spitters, Arnold T. Challman, Donald F. Eldridge, and W. Lawrence Noon, with Spitters serving as the company’s first president. The company’s name referred to the concept of “memory excellence.” Its first business was computer tape, a market in which it became an early independent supplier. Memorex then added disk packs and other magnetic-storage products, building expertise in the media used by mainframe computers. The company expanded from media into hardware. In 1968 it became the first independent supplier to ship an IBM-plug-compatible disk drive, and it later produced communications controllers compatible with IBM terminal-controller families. By the 1970s, Memorex served both enterprise-computing customers and consumers, supplying disk drives, controllers, computer media, and recording products. At its height in the 1970s and early 1980s, it was one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of disk drives and communications controllers for IBM-compatible mainframes. Memorex entered consumer media in 1971. Its advertising became especially influential in the following decade. The “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” campaign used recordings of Ella Fitzgerald singing a high note, followed by playback that appeared to produce the same dramatic effect as the live performance. The commercials promoted the fidelity of Memorex audio cassettes and transformed the company name into a widely recognized consumer brand. Corporate ownership and organization changed rapidly after 1981. Burroughs acquired Memorex for its enterprise operations in April 1981. In April 1982, Burroughs sold the consumer brand to Tandy, which broadened the catalog into a large range of audio, video, media, and related electronics products. The enterprise business remained under Burroughs and later Unisys, but its constituent activities were gradually shut down, sold, or spun off. Burroughs exited the OEM disk-drive business in 1985, and after Burroughs acquired Sperry in 1986, Unisys separated the remaining Memorex media, telecommunications, and international activities as Memorex International NV. Memorex International merged with Telex in 1988 to form Memorex Telex NV. The resulting organization operated as an international provider of information-technology products, network and storage integration, and related services. It operated across multiple countries but did not preserve the original Memorex Corporation as a unified business. The United States operations of Memorex Telex entered bankruptcy proceedings in 1996, and assets were sold with court approval. The consumer trademark continued independently. Tandy sold it to Hanny Holdings in 1993. Imation acquired the Memorex brand in 2006, later transferring the trademark and two related licenses to DPI Inc. in 2016. Finest Brands announced its acquisition of the brand and associated intellectual property in 2024. The contemporary brand is marketed through licensees, including Mizari Enterprises, and focuses on storage media, flash memory, accessories, and consumer electronics. Thus, present-day Memorex is best understood as a continuing licensed consumer brand with a substantial historical legacy in both computer storage and audio recording, rather than as the original enterprise hardware corporation.
- 2024
Finest Brands acquisition
[1]Finest Brands announces its acquisition of the Memorex brand, global trademark, intellectual-property portfolio, and licensees.
- 2016
DPI trademark acquisition
[1]DPI Inc. acquires the Memorex trademark and two associated licenses from Imation for $9.4 million.
- 2006
Imation acquisition
[1]Imation acquires the Memorex brand for $330 million.
- 1996
Memorex Telex United States bankruptcy
[1]The United States operations of Memorex Telex file for bankruptcy and are sold through court-approved proceedings.
- 1993
Hanny Holdings ownership
[1]Tandy sells the consumer trademark to Hanny Holdings of Hong Kong.
- 1988
Memorex-Telex merger
[1]Memorex International combines with Telex Corporation to form Memorex Telex NV.
- 1986
Memorex International is spun out
[1]Unisys separates Memorex’s media, telecommunications, and international operations as Memorex International NV.
- 1982
Consumer brand sold to Tandy
[1]Burroughs transfers the consumer Memorex brand to Tandy while retaining the enterprise operations.
- 1981
Burroughs acquisition
[1]Burroughs acquires Memorex for its enterprise computing businesses.
- 1972
“Is it live, or is it Memorex?” campaign
[1]The company introduces the advertising platform that becomes its defining consumer-brand message.
Products and positioning
Accessible storage-media, recording, and consumer-electronics brand built on a heritage of reliable computer and audio recording technology.
Computer storage media · 1961
Computer tape
Memorex began as a supplier of magnetic computer tape in the early 1960s. These products supported mainframe data storage and helped establish the company as an independent alternative to vertically integrated computer manufacturers.
Computer storage media · 1966
Disk packs
Disk packs were among Memorex’s early expansions beyond tape. The company became an early independent shipper of this removable magnetic-storage format for mainframe computing environments.
Computer peripherals · 1968
IBM-compatible disk drives
Memorex produced disk drives designed to connect with IBM-compatible mainframe systems. These products were central to its enterprise identity during the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.
Networking and communications hardware · 1970
Communications controllers
The company supplied terminal and communications controllers compatible with IBM systems, including the 1270 Communications Controller. This line extended Memorex from storage media into data communications infrastructure.
Consumer recording media · 1971
Audio and video tape
Memorex entered consumer media with tape products in 1971. Audio cassette products became especially associated with the brand because of the Ella Fitzgerald fidelity advertisements and the “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” slogan.
Optical storage media
Recordable CDs and DVDs
In its later consumer-brand phase, Memorex became associated with recordable optical media for CD and DVD drives. These products extended its original storage-media heritage into formats widely used for personal data, music, video, and backups.
Removable digital storage
Flash memory products
The modern Memorex portfolio includes flash-memory products such as USB flash drives and memory cards. They represent the brand’s transition from magnetic and optical media toward solid-state removable storage.
Consumer electronics
Computer accessories and consumer electronics
Licensees have used the Memorex name on computer accessories and selected consumer-electronics products. The range reflects the brand’s positioning as an accessible, mass-market technology label rather than a current manufacturer of enterprise systems.
Marketing campaigns
- 1972Is it live, or is it Memorex?
United States · International
Memorex used commercials featuring Ella Fitzgerald to compare live singing with playback from a Memorex audio cassette. A glass-shattering demonstration dramatized the claim that the recording reproduced the original performance with exceptional fidelity.
Outcome. The slogan became one of the best-known technology advertising lines of the 1970s and 1980s and helped make Memorex a household consumer brand.
Brand decisions
2024
Finest Brands acquires MemorexM&ABackground
Memorex was operating as a consumer brand managed through trademark ownership and licensing arrangements.
Action taken
Finest Brands acquired the brand, its global trademark, intellectual-property portfolio, and licensees.
Aftermath
The brand remains active through licensed consumer products, with Mizari Enterprises identified as its current marketer.
2016
DPI acquires Memorex trademark assetsM&ABackground
Imation divested selected consumer brands and related intellectual property.
Action taken
DPI Inc. acquired the Memorex trademark and two associated trademark licenses.
Aftermath
The brand continued as a licensed consumer-electronics and storage label.
Transaction value. $9.4 million (2016)
2006
Imation purchases the Memorex brandM&ABackground
Memorex had become primarily a consumer storage-media and electronics brand after the original enterprise corporation was dismantled.
Action taken
Imation acquired the brand for $330 million.
Aftermath
Memorex continued under Imation until the trademark and associated licenses were sold to DPI Inc. in 2016.
Acquisition price. $330 million (2006)
1986
Creation of Memorex InternationalStrategyBackground
Unisys was reorganizing the businesses inherited through Burroughs and the earlier Memorex acquisition.
Action taken
Unisys spun out the media, telecommunications, and international activities as Memorex International NV.
Aftermath
The separated organization later merged with Telex and continued as an international information-technology provider.
1982
Separation of the consumer brand from the enterprise businessM&ABackground
Following Burroughs’s acquisition of Memorex, the consumer business and enterprise operations were treated as separate assets.
Action taken
Burroughs sold the Memorex consumer brand to Tandy while retaining the enterprise businesses.
Aftermath
The transaction began the long separation between Memorex’s consumer-electronics identity and the original company’s computer-hardware and services operations.
Recent events
- 2024
Finest Brands acquires Memorex[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Finest Brands announced the acquisition of Memorex, its global trademark, intellectual-property portfolio, and licensees; transaction terms were not disclosed.
- 2016
DPI acquires Memorex trademark assets[1]
M&A
Imation sold the Memorex trademark and two associated trademark licenses to DPI Inc. for $9.4 million.
- 2006
Imation acquires Memorex[1]
M&A
Imation acquired the Memorex brand for $330 million.
- 1993
Hanny Holdings acquires the consumer brand[1]
M&A
Tandy sold the Memorex consumer trademark to Hong Kong-based Hanny Holdings.
- 1988
Memorex International combines with Telex[1]
M&A
The combination with Telex created Memorex Telex NV, an international information-technology services and systems company.
- 1986
Memorex International is separated from Unisys[1]
Other
Unisys spun out Memorex’s media, telecommunications, and international operations as Memorex International NV.
- 1982
Tandy acquires the Memorex consumer brand[1]
M&A
Burroughs sold Memorex’s consumer business and brand to Tandy while retaining the enterprise operations.
- 1981
Burroughs acquires Memorex[1]
M&A
Burroughs acquired Memorex for its enterprise computing and peripheral businesses.
Sources3 sources
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