Electrical and Electronic Repair Shops, NEC

Specialized electronic repair emerged as an industry after electrical devices appeared in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The development of electronic standards and measuring devices in the 1890s was pivotal to the industry's birth. The profusion of new electrical and electronic goods after World War II pushed miscellaneous electrical repair industry revenues to nearly $2 billion by the end of the 1970s.

Widespread semiconductor use during the 1970s and 1980s in turn expanded the use of electronics in U.S. homes and businesses. Miniaturized electronics were integrated into traditional items, from home appliances to razors, and created new product categories, such as microwave ovens and fax machines.

Electrical repairers held approximately 94,500 jobs in 2009, according to Dun & Bradstreet. About 42 percent of salaried repairers worked in retail trade establishments, especially department stores and electronics and appliance stores, and about 20 percent of repairers were self-employed. Demand for appliance repairers is expected to remain stable through 2014, even though costs for new appliances often lead consumers to replace broken products, rather than have them repaired, and do-it-yourself appliance repair is increasing through guides, advice, and access to parts via the Web, through such sites as RepairClinic.com. Consumer Reports, in October 2005, reported results of a poll of among 2,300 subscribers that revealed readers had commissioned repairs on 16 percent fewer products, including several high cost items, than they had in 1997. In more than half of those cases, consumers purchased new products rather than repair services. However, when the U.S. economy fell into a deep recession at the beginning of 2008, the demand for repair services increased as consumers put off big-ticket item purchases such as appliances, deciding to service their existing units instead.

According to a 2009 Dun & Bradtreet report, the electrical repair industry as a whole was made up of 19,266 firms. Of these, nearly one-half were single-owner proprietorships, and over 80 percent had fewer than five employees. However, while these smallest firms generated an average of $100,00 to $200,000 in annual revenues, the largest four firms averaged over $760 million in revenues. While the vast majority of sales are attributable to electrical repair shops, this industry also includes a wide array of specialized electrical services such as electrical measuring instrument repair and calibration, telephone repair, vacuum cleaner repair, and circuit board repair.

The Maytag Corporation, a sales leader of washers and dryers during the second half of the twentieth century, emphasized the quality of its products through commercials that portrayed the loneliness of the Maytag repairman. In the early 2000s, Maytag offered its All Brand Service, but when the Whirlpool Corporation purchased Maytag in 2006, it clustered repair services under A&E Factory Service, an all-brand service operation with over 2,500 technicians nationwide. Sears Product Repair Services continued to operate as an industry leader, along with Mr. Appliance, which had more than 150 franchises nationwide in 2009. Mr. Appliance is a subsidiary of the Dwyer Group, Inc., one of the world's largest holding companies of franchised service business. Other Dwyer Group subsidiaries include Aire Serv Heating and Air Conditioning, Glass Doctor, Mr. Electric, Mr. Rooter, and Rainbow International Restoration and Cleaning.