Lyon History
Founded in 1876
as a family business, Lyon provided credit information and collection services to the Furniture Trade and Kindred Branches. Robert P. Lyon was General Manager and compiler of the Lyon Reference Book for over thirty years.
In 1909
the company expanded into the Carpet, Upholstery, and the Undertaking industries. By this time, the Lyon Reference Book, also known as the Lyon Red Book, had become "The Bible of the Industry" for credit ratings.
Service innovations at the time
- The Lyon Reference Book combined Capital, Credit, and Pay Ratings in each listing - "a report in itself"
- Lyon credit reports were stamped with Lyon Credit Signals, color-coding the report to give the subscriber a quick summary of Lyon's rating.
- Lyon published the Lyon Weekly Clearing House reports, which eventually evolved into today's Daily Supplement, Daily Collection Report, and Monthly New Business Listing.
- Each Red Book contained a Railroad & Express Guide, providing the client with railroad schedules to assist in planning the shipment of goods.
In 1920
Arthur Lyon participated in the Olympics and won a Bronze Medal in Fencing, which was one of the nine original sports with which the modern Olympics began in 1896 (the other eight were athletics, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and yachting). Of these nine sports, only four, including fencing, have remained in the Olympics.
In 1923
the Lyon Furniture Agency of New York and the Furniture Commercial Agency Company of Ohio merged to become the Lyon Furniture Mercantile Agency with Executive Offices at 258 Broadway, New York, NY.
In 1942
Arthur S. Lyon succeeded Robert as General Manager and compiler of the Red Book. The company further expanded the scope of their investigations to include Interior Decorations and Major Home Appliances.
In 1962
Lyon had eight offices nationwide. The company transitioned into a partnership that grew to seventeen partners. By 1986, with only three partners left, the company was in need of a turn-around.
In 1989
Robert Mantin purchased the company. To be competitive in a fast changing industry, offices were consolidated and all processes were computerized.
In 1992
Lyon Collection Services, Inc. became its own entity expanding its debt recovery and AR Management services to ALL industries.
In 1996
Lyon expanded into factoring as Lyon Capital Corporation. Lyon offers a unique "spot factoring" product, allowing companies to get financing without committing all their accounts receivable. Lyon's factoring includes advancement of funds, accounts receivables management, and a credit guarantee.
In 1997
Lyon launched the Lyon Red Book in CD ROM format combining the furniture and gift industry credit information into one database.
In 1998
Lyon expands its offerings to the Gift Industry. The company also launched a new website to elevate Lyon's services to real-time capability.
In 2001
Lyon purchased Credit Business Services, a textile credit reporting agency, expanding into the Textile and Apparel industries.
In 2002
Rick Mantin joined Lyon as President of the company and soon thereafter relocated the headquarters to Las Vegas, NV.
In 2004
Lyon Capital added Non-Funds Advanced Factoring services in addition to the traditional Funds Advanced Factoring.
In 2007
Lyon teamed up with Equifax Credit Information Services to offer the Equifax Enhanced Lyon Pride Report. This flagship Credit Report provides subscribers with Industry-Specific credit information from Lyon combined with non-industry trade and banking data (including credit cards, loans & leases) from Equifax.
In 2008
The Territory Sales Book relied upon by industry reps for decades was transformed into an online credit and trip planning web service.
In 2009
Lyon Capital began offering Purchase Order Financing to complement its Factoring products.
In 2010
LyonPort was launched. This Account Management Portal revolutionized the way credit managers monitor their customer portfolio. The online service merges customer files with Lyon credit data to display daily alerts, dashboards, watch lists and customized reports.
Today
Lyon is a still a private owned corporation managed by Robert Mantin, Chairman of the Board and Rick Mantin, President. Lyon is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV with regional office in New York, NY.
