Re-Tales

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Re-Tales

Re-Tales #15: The Beat Goes On

Julie Mullins Nov 18, 2021 First Published: Nov 18, 2021 0 comments

Finding fresh approaches to doing business isn't easy, especially in the current climate. But now it's becoming essential. Audio manufacturers, distributors, and dealers must figure out how to attract new customers while continuing to provide service for existing customers. Neither thing is easily accomplished in an era of change. But failure isn't an option. People with something to sell must connect with customers, and vice versa. Access is key.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #14: Reinventing the audio boutique

Julie Mullins Oct 28, 2021 First Published: Oct 28, 2021 0 comments

As I noted in previous Re-Tales columns, audio dealerships that stick to outmoded models after the world has changed may find themselves in danger of extinction. Such conflict between old and new has been with us since the beginning of time, or at least since the internet became ubiquitous. But the pandemic and its economic stresses and stimuli have accelerated the pace of change. So, how are dealers, um, dealing?

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #13: Getting your hi-fi fix(ed)

Julie Mullins Sep 30, 2021 First Published: Sep 30, 2021 0 comments

Lately I've been hearing stories about people getting back into hi-fi, often from the people themselves. Some are buying new gear, but others have dug out and dusted off older equipment. Demand for electronics repair services was surging even before the pandemic. Once it struck, once and future audiophiles stuck at home plumbed their basements, attics, and storage units and pulled out old hi-fi components, hoping to resurrect them, only to find they weren't working, or not well.

Should they get 'em fixed?

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #12: The Next Generation

Julie Mullins Sep 01, 2021 First Published: Sep 01, 2021 0 comments

A few audio retailers have recently closed their doors due to pandemic-related hardship or retirementLyric Hi-Fi in NYC is a landmark case. So it's refreshing to hear about a longstanding bricks-and-mortar dealer- ship that has avoided that fate: House of Stereo in Jacksonville, Florida.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #11: Business as Unusual

Julie Mullins Jul 13, 2021 First Published: Jul 13, 2021 0 comments

Photo: John Atkinson

As the pandemic abates and reopening progresses, times are still uncertain. Industries worldwide continue to be obstructed. Parts and materials costs have risen sharply. Shipping rates, and shipping demand, have spiked. The recent Suez Canal blockage didn't help. All this has led to widespread supply-chain difficulties.

The audio business is not immune. Disruption and delays have troubled manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and customers for several months.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #10: Are You Experienced?

Julie Mullins Jun 23, 2021 First Published: Jun 23, 2021 0 comments

Change, it seems, is a byword for audio dealerships that aim to stay afloat, and Hanson Audio Video has seen its share of changes. Events and unconventional outreach are now integral to the company's approach.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #9: Mind the Gap

Julie Mullins May 20, 2021 First Published: May 20, 2021 0 comments

To borrow Lyric Hi-Fi owner Leonard Bellezza's words from last month's Re-Tales, the traditional audiophile customer base "is graying."

That doesn't mean the future is bleaknot necessarily. Many in the industry have hope for hi-fi's future. For that potential future to be realized, however, audio dealers must adapt. Interest in better sound seems to be rising. Consider vinyl's resurgence; regardless of your views on vinyl's ultimate fidelity, it's a big step up from the earlier fashion for MP3s and cheap earbuds. (There's good news on that front, too: Those earbuds morphed into Beats headphones, then Beats into good-quality headphones.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #8: A Lyrical Denouement

Julie Mullins Apr 13, 2021 First Published: Apr 13, 2021 0 comments

New York's Lyric Hi-Fi & Video is one of high-end audio's longest-standing and most legendary institutions. In a recent telephone conversation, Leonard Bellezza, Lyric's owner and president, confirmed what many in this industry have long heard rumored: Lyric is closing.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #7: Clicks'n'mortar

Julie Mullins Mar 22, 2021 First Published: Mar 22, 2021 0 comments

"I'm going to be making as much of a commitment to the brick-and-mortar [dealers] as we can," says Bryston's James Tanner.

In Re-Tales and in Industry Update, I've written about some of the ways the pandemic has accelerated changes in the hi-fi business. Government-mandated safety measures, the absence of audio shows, and a marketplace that was already changing have combined to force companies to get creative about how they reach customers, both to sell products and to provide service.

A few established dealers have closed or are preparing to. Some can no longer afford inventory. Some have just retired. Others, though, report that 2020 was an extraordinarily good year.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #6: Online sales get personal

Julie Mullins Mar 04, 2021 First Published: Mar 04, 2021 0 comments

It's 2021, and the audio business marches ever onward. Accelerated by the pandemic, economic transformation continues apace; online sales are burgeoning across all industries. This includes hi-fi, which is under pressure to facilitate more online sales, andmaybe, for somemove away from the traditional dealer-based sales model.