This month's Re-Tales takes us to Toronto again—though it's quite a different story than the one we told last month, in a different part of Toronto.
As we've reported previously, several successful, longstanding brick-and-mortar hi-fi dealerships in major cities have shuttered in recent years. Others, including some with aging owners, don't have succession plans in place. New blood is essential, for these dealerships as for the industry as a whole. But how many young people are interested in running a hi-fi store? (footnote 1) One such young person is 22-year-old Blair Babineau, who, alongside his father, recently took over Executive Stereo on Avenue Road in Toronto's North York area (footnote 2).
Ed Stone, the store's previous owner, spent 25 years as a recording engineer. He told me that Executive Stereo opened in 1969 under a different owner, who had a few locations. He said his wife "basically talked me into buying it," so he did despite having no retail experience. Twenty-eight years later, he put the business up for sale.
Meanwhile, Blair Babineau and his father Mike were looking to buy a business together—something Mike could do to stay busy during semiretirement that could also provide a career path for Blair, setting him up for the future. Mike is an audiophile of course—he likes McIntosh—but he's not as immersed as his son. Blair told me in a recent Zoom call that they came across an ad online for a high-end audio store for sale: Ed Stone's Executive Stereo. Blair had never visited the store, but he knew it from online.
Stone didn't intend to sell his business to just anyone. He first listed it before the COVID pandemic, so it took some time to find the right buyer. There were other prospects, but "None of them seemed like the right fit." he said. "It was just a money-making venture for most of the people." He was looking for someone with the passion.
When Blair and his dad came in, Ed could tell that they cared about continuing the legacy. The deal was finalized in early June. Stone will stay on for a while to help with the transition.
After the deal was finished, the new owners ran into some issues as they prepared to transfer the real estate lease. They decided to look around for another space and found a larger, better space just four blocks away, in a more visible location with more parking and better listening rooms. There's a personal-audio room—headphones, headphone amps, portable DACs, desktop speakers, and so on—and a few thousand vinyl records are for sale, used upstairs, new on the main level.
Blair told me he intends to continue carrying the same brands Executive always carried, including McIntosh, Moon, and Cambridge Audio, but electronics are more the focus than before. The store also carries electronics by Simaudio, HiFi Rose, Playback Designs, and Chord, wire by Cardas, Nordost, and Wireworld, and speakers from Audiovector, MoFi, Spendor, Joseph Audio, and Triangle. He has been auditioning speakers by Q Acoustics and Canton.
Most of the store's sales are from brick and mortar, but Blair is redesigning the website, aiming to increase online sales of smaller and less expensive items: phono cartridges, headphones, and accessories. Some brands don't permit online sales—"which is good, because it keeps us open," Blair said.
"People like to come in the store. They like to hear what they're going to buy, especially when it's expensive. Especially for audio, brick and mortar is very important."
When we spoke in late July, the new store had been open three weeks. So far the response has been good. Existing Executive Stereo customers have come in to check out the new space. Curious new customers have also wandered in.
How does someone like Blair end up with a job like this? It helps that he's a musician—a multi-instrumentalist since childhood—and he has other jobs in sales, including selling cars. Most important: "I have a massive interest in high-end audio."
Blair approaches his customers much as he did when he sold cars—which is not the stereotypical way of selling cars. "My approach is, you get to know your customer, just be friendly with your customer, be as informative as you can. Don't push the customer for anything." Blair isn't concerned about his customer's age or if they look like they could afford the gear, though he does hope to get in a younger crowd. "I know my own crowd," he told me. "A lot of us"—younger people like him—"are not in a position yet to afford a lot of the higher-end gear, but we go into the stores anyway to see what's new and to experience it.
"I want it to be memorable for whoever's in the store. That way, they think about it. ... Down the line, they may come back."
So far, the former owner likes what he sees. "Blair definitely has to put his own stamp on the store," Stone told me, "and it looks like they're doing that in what to me looks like a very smart way."
Fancy electronic toys are fun, but at the end of the day, it's about music. "Music is what we're all doing this for," Blair said. "Of course I want to make sales, but when you prioritize the music, you can then use your systems to demonstrate how good the music sounds."
Footnote 1: How did Re-Tales end up covering Toronto dealerships in two straight issues? From our end it looks like coincidence, but it may say something about the vitality of Toronto's hi-fi scene. Footnote 2: A few examples: Re-Tales #51, Re-Tales #37, and Re-Tales #32.
Footnote 1: How did Re-Tales end up covering Toronto dealerships in two straight issues? From our end it looks like coincidence, but it may say something about the vitality of Toronto's hi-fi scene. Footnote 2: A few examples: Re-Tales #51, Re-Tales #37, and Re-Tales #32.
