Kharma
JM Lab Utopia line
VAC
Boulder
Nagra
Add some turntables, dacs and cables and it should do it.
You’re An Independent Dealer, Which Companies And What Products Would You Represent?
Hey All!
I live in an average sized city where there are two brick and mortar audio stores. One is modest in both budget and square footage but has great customer service, offers quality products from entry level to high end and works with customers on price. The other one is a mega store with a huge inventory from entry level to very high end, has great customer service but won’t budge on price and wants to be the biggest store on the east coast. Personally, I like rooting for the underdog. So today, I stopped in and chatted with the salesperson at the small store, who I’ve come to know over these many years. He was telling me that the bigger store was carrying the same brands and products that they’ve been carrying but that they were buying inventory in mass quantity. And, that the only way for the small store to separate themselves from the mega store would be to represent companies and products that the mega store can’t or won’t showcase. However, which companies and which products, this is the question. The first thing of course that popped into my mind was to regurgitate everything favorable that I had read about on these forums and from the reviews on 6 Moons, What HiFi, Stereophile, etc….But I stopped myself and I’m glad I did and I said, ‘well there’s certainly a lot to choose from.’ And this is where you come in. So, if you were the owner of a smaller (think size of an average three bedroom house), independent brick a mortar audio store, what companies and products would you ideally choose to feature in your showroom? As I mentioned previously, anything (pragmatic) from entry level to high end. Let’s say for clarification that the $50,000.00 McIntosh subwoofer would be thought of as too extravagant. Eventually, my hope is to direct my dealer friend to this post as a means of inspiration.
Thanks!
- ...
- 52 posts total
Oh, and amps and the pre-amps EAR-Yoshino, Pass Labs, Atma-Sphere, and perhaps Zesto, VTL, and Manley Labs. For cables Auditorium. And the full Vandersteen line. One main reason dealers need to be selective is that they have to sell enough of the product of each line they carry to meet the minimum sales figures each company sets for their dealers. Selling 10 of one company’s amplifiers serves the dealer more than selling 5 each from two companies. My dealer pal Brooks Berdan was a dealer of both Vandersteen (one of Richard’s first) and Wilson. He sold a lot of Vandersteen Model’s 2 and 3, and the Wilson WATT/Puppy and it’s descendants. He could do that because the two lines were not competition for each other; each had it’s own customer base, based on prices (and sound characteristics, of course). When Vandersteen introduced the Model Five, Brooks told Richard he wanted to sell only the Model’s 2 and 3, not the Five. That was not acceptable to Richard (nor would it have been to me), and Brooks was no longer a Vandersteen dealer. Brooks took that position because each pair of Model Five’s he sold would result in him selling one less pair of Wilson’s; they were direct competition to each other. At one Vegas CES I attended with Brooks, I sat in at a meeting he took with the sales manager of Wilson, and learned how the hi-fi business works. Apparently keeping Wilson happy was more important to Brooks than was being a Vandersteen dealer. I thought Brooks was making a huge mistake, but what do I know? Brooks was a very successful dealer. When Brooks passed away, his step-son Brian---who had taken over running the shop as his dad became ill---kept the high standards Brooks had established (Brian grew up learning at his dad’s knee), selling Wilson speakers driven by VTL amps. He eventually branched out on his own, and now sells Wilson and VTL in his shop in Pasadena, Audio Element. Like Brooks, he is a great hi-fi dealer, and like Brooks, an expert at turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup. No, I don’t work for him. 😊 |
+1 I came to refer to our manufacturer's reps as the "aunts" and "uncles" of the industry. Not only where they the coolest guys we knew, they also provided guidance and comfort to our sales staff -- sometimes when tney needed it the most. Reinforcing their career decision to be part of the thing we were doing, providing them with valuable tools and insights, and validating the heck out of them as a person was helpful in ways that count not be measured. Pat yourself on the back. You've earned it! |
Nothing that could simply be bought factory direct or from companies that occasionally offer steep discounts. That would be a mistake from a biz standpoint. If making money is the goal, I would think the following might be wise choices: McIntosh B&W Audio Note Harbeth Rega Marantz Pass Labs VPI Hana Bel Canto Sonus Faber Gryphon
|
@inna Easy for you to say. Suppose the dealer would like to stay in business for more than, say, three months. He needs to carry some of the better, "mass-market" brands in order to build cashflow through sales of reasonably priced systems. It's obvious to me that money is no matter to you, but to most people, especially the younger ones we need to attract to the hobby (and it is a hobby or should be - not some search for "perfection"), a store needs to offer equipment those people can afford. What's so wrong with Rotel, Rega, Music Hall, Denon, Marantz and other brands in that price range if it gets a person excited about what music sounds like through a decent setup? Quit being such a purist and re-enter the real world, please. |
- 52 posts total