One big reason why brick and mortar high end audio dealers struggle.

Best Buy Magnolia is what passes for a High End dealer in my area.  We had 2 or 3 bm dealers at one point, but they all faded away.  I am primarily a value/used buyer, but I made sure the allocate some purchases to my local dealers.  They were nice to deal with, and did not condescend to me or assume an arrogant attitude.  I have come to realize these were the exceptions, and I was lucky to have them as resources.

I have travelled a bit for business over the years, and have had opportunities to visit dealers in other (larger) areas.  Many were some combination of rude, condescending, arrogant etc.   Several were essentially drop shop clerks-  no inventory, all sales at MSRP, then purchases are drop shipped to the buyer, with warranty support from the wholesaler/manufacturer.   These people litterally took your money upfront, then entered details on line and tole you to expect delivery in about 2 weeks !   

IMO if a BM wants to justify their higher costs, then they have to deliver higher value.  Education, opportunities to browse, delivery and warranty support are just the tip of the iceberg.  Allowing for in home audition (with a deposit of course) would build good will.  Buyers now have a worldwide market from which to purchase, and a physical dealer has to justify their place in the sales chain.  Very few provide enough value to justify their existance.   

If one wants to invest some time, carefully purchased used equipment allows for an extended in home audition, and then resale for your cost if the purchase does not work out.   With Covid after effects, more buyers are migrating to this mindset, and realizing they enjoy their purchases and the process much more because they are in control.

They talk about the changing values of their customers, saying that younger people these days (under 40) simply aren’t as interested in two-channel systems as they used to be. As far as the mid- to hi-end market, I wonder if that’s really the problem that dealers are facing.

After reading dozens of comments on this thread, the phrase "late 70s/early 80s" keeps popping up. It would be safe for me to assume that the average age of most on this forum is skewed into Baby Boomer territory. I believe this is the TRUE issue, not "tire kickers" or "time suckers" or any other pejorative term for prospective customers. With that said, there is a generational disconnect with the preferences of those in the "under 40" crowd. As I'm on the cusp of that demographic, I know for certain that a solid majority of those in that age group don't have a clue what high end audio is about nor do they express interest in it (even after having listened to it). Most of them prefer PORTABLE electronics; this is where I see the future of high end audio. Several dealers in my area are catering to this market with Audeze, Focal, Hifiman, etc., as most of those so inclined in audio do not have the space for big speakers and racks of gear and are underwater in so much student debt to where it's not affordable. Portable/headphone audio can be had with an outlay of several thousand for the high end brands. This should become more a focus for most dealers if they want to stay alive. The older audiophiles cannot be around forever and things change. 

Also, it would make more business sense to reserve one or two days a week for "appointment only" or on-site customer calls and the rest of the week for standard operating hours. A LOT of younger people have no idea these places exist because they're not accessible (and we're talking about younger people with money to spend). Boost the visibility and lose the "snob" factor because multi-millionaire clients are not guaranteed.

I'm a firm believer in going to a shop to demo the product you're interested in buying - you MUST hear what it sounds like - especially with headphones. I understand the direct sales model but how many times am I going to buy heavy speakers and send them back because the sound doesn't match the review hype? I've been burned before with that and I want to audition the gear in 3-D, not read about it or watch a video. I've been in the audio hobby for over 30 years and you still need to LISTEN to this gear before parting with $100 or $100,000.

Wow and hey!, Best Buy has people waiting for you to come in and browse.  They've got a great deal right now on a Crosley system.  Amp, tuner, cd player, a turn table and even a cassette deck with speakers!  It's $199.95 so jump on it!!  But really, high-end audio is a tough damn business.  Think, how many people do you know who have a stereo in thier home?  Now, how many of them have an audiophile level system that cost somewhere between 10 and 50 thousand to assemble?  The people your running down struggle to survive and I, for one, am thankful for the ones that manage to.  Yes, a friendly, not too engaging approach to the "customer greet" could help some of them.  But it's likely hard when someone feels the pressure of the books running in the red and not seeing how to change that long term.  Remember, just because they close doesn't mean their financial bleeding stops.  Committments have been signed.  Paying the salaries of staff to just wait around for you to stop in when there is consistently little traffic is financially brutal.  Audio shops will have formal relationships with high-end makers who set the sale prices of their products and define the territories in which they can sell.  This means the "authorized dealer" who's products carry a real warranty are competing agains gray market re-sellers who can undercut them.  So the local dealer pays rent and utilities and licenses and taxes and salaries and benefits to create space where people can listen to products before they go buy from someone online with much less overhead.  Best Buy loses business along that line when someone comes in, checks out the new LG OLED screen and then price shops and buys it for $35 cheaper somewhere they find online.  But Best Buy is in perfect condition to fight it out in that market space and as often as not they will undercut everyone else and take the sale from some other brick and mortar.  High-end audio shops can't fight like that for a number of structural reasons.  Maybe we cut them some slack.  They and we are in a rarefied niche.  Maybe you left a shop thinking, "I didn't like the way that person acted.  What an idiot."  I can guarantee you that you have had people over to your home who heard your system who said to you, "oooo.. I didn't know a stereo could sound so wonderful!", who then on the way home in the car said to one another, "Can you believe that stereo? It sounded nice, but I think he said altogether it cost something like $18,000!!  What an idiot."  (and before anyone goes off on that number, maybe you can go lower, but for many in here that didn't even buy your speakers, for some it didn't even buy all your cables). Point is, the audio dealers and we are a rarefied niche.  We get to buy cool stuff, take it home and enjoy it.  They are struggling to survive.  So again, maybe cut them some slack.  Of course there is that awesome Crosley system at Best Buy.  They've got lots of people who've gone through greeter training to be sure to give you that big smile and anyway that Crosley system will even play your old cassettes !!!!  

Whenever I am dealing with a local store, I always deal with the owner so there is never any commission issues. If I am seriously looking at something, I will make sure they can have it set up when I get there to save time. If they are a one person operation, I will make sure they will be there regardless of hours posted if I want to stop by (doesn't happen nearly as often as in the early 80's). They have lives and go to doctors, etc. and occasionally stray from the hours.

If you make your intentions clear, you will earn their respect as you won't waste their time. I see the value in buying from a local guy for support and expertise. They can give you an educated opinion, and you can learn usually. The ones that are surviving are in low overhead spaces they either own or are very low rent.