Campo on Webb Street in Metairie; this store had huge red neon lettering on their sign.
Campo Electronics opened their first store in 1967 in Harahan Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. The company grew to 33 stores with several New Orleans area locations, and was taken over in 1998 by A-1 Appliances. Some stores were closed and others were converted to the new A-1 Appliance and Electronics name. Sometime in 2006 seven years after the take over; a new Campo store opened just across Clearview Pkwy from the Clearview Mall, but it was much smaller than the old Campo stores. I am not sure if the Clearview store is affiliated with the company that took over Campo because there is not much information available online. Campo electronics was similar in layout to the Conn's electronic stores in Southeast Texas.
The Campo on Clearview and two others- one in Mandeville and one in East New Orleans (both subsequently closed), were opened by the Campo family, who currently owns Mobile One Auto Sound, just after Katrina. The opening got in front of the huge and nearly impossible to fill demand for new refrigerators throughout the area and other appliances in flooded area. The company returned with the old Campo: The Appliance Giant logo/tagline and vintage commercials (starring the late founder Tony Campo) that had been abandoned several years before the original chain was sold off. This was part of a drift of several local companies back to the familiar histories, serving to evoke a feeling of nostalgia and comfort after the devastation. The stores were rebranded and Campo Better Living and received new logos before two of the three were closed. Only the Clearview store adjacent to the Mobile One remains open.
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ReplyDeleteI love Campo. I liked Tony a lot. I met him in one of his stores in October of 1993. Can anyone please tell me when Tony retired? I'm curious to know. My email address is scpno@hotmail.com in case you can give me an answer. Thanks.
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