Julie Mullins

Julie Mullins  |  Mar 26, 2025
Adam Wexler of Brooklyn dealership Resolution AV (right) with Stereophile Technical Editor John Atkinson (Photo: Ken Micallef)

The hi-fi industry is evidently experiencing a shortage—not of parts or materials as during COVID and just after, but of qualified salespeople. As this column has pointed out, some hi-fi shops have closed, for various reasons, while some new ones have opened. Meanwhile, not just dealers but also manufacturers and distributors have reported difficulty finding qualified salespeople. Michael Manousselis, president of Americas for Dynaudio, stated as much in emailed responses to my questions. "I have heard more from dealers having a hard time finding experienced salespeople, that is for sure," he said. "We've seen some hire former customers, to groom them for sales."

What's going on? If people are passionate about this hobby, wouldn't they jump at the chance to get more involved in it professionally?

Mark Henninger, Julie Mullins  |  Mar 01, 2025
Stereophile's Julie Mullins walks us through Advance Paris’s high‐performance hybrid amplifiers in a Playback Distribution room. At the Florida International Audio Expo 2025, she spoke with Cédric Léon about the company's offerings, now available in the U.S. market.
Mark Henninger, Julie Mullins  |  Feb 28, 2025
At the Florida International Audio Expo, Julie Mullins interviewed the Scott Walker Audio team as they showcased Aldo Filippelli’s installation from Luxury Audio Group. Every component was selected to suit a 35×55' room with 10' ceilings, ensuring the system delivers precise, adaptable sound in a challenging space.
Julie Mullins  |  Feb 19, 2025
Photo by Julie Mullins

Hi-fi dealership Big Kids Toys, in Greensboro, North Carolina, is aptly named. Since its 2002 inception, fun has been at the center of its ethos. At the outset, company founder Michael Twomey established a mantra: "Life is short. Enjoy yourself." It might not be all that original, but it's apt.

In the third quarter of 2024, Big Kids Toys began expanding to the Midwest: The dealership's sales manager, North Carolina native Luke Sumerford (above), opened a home-based dealership in Fort Wright, Kentucky, about five miles from the Ohio River and Cincinnati, Ohio. That's a long way from Greensboro.

Sumerford, at 29, is part of hi-fi's youth movement. He hopes to instill—or reinforce, or bring back—musical enjoyment as the central pillar of the hi-fi hobby.

Julie Mullins  |  Feb 05, 2025
Matt Thomas's hi-fi business has always been personal. He wants to keep it that way—in his curated, personalized sales approach, in choosing esoteric gear to carry, and in his listening preferences and not wanting to get too big.

A health crisis was the catalyst for Matt Thomas to start Hearken Audio: A back injury caused temporary paralysis. "For lack of a better word, it was an experience," he told me in a recent phone conversation. He's now fully recovered, but the experience changed him. He decided to pursue his passion. He was already an avid audiophile and music lover; he had been for years. After the accident, almost five years ago, he started Hearken Audio, a home-based dealership in Kitchener, Ontario, where he lives with his wife and two teenage daughters.

Julie Mullins  |  Dec 23, 2024
Myriad distribution factors drive and affect the hi-fi marketplace. Ultimately, these can impact end customer purchasing choices. Recently I've written—including in the December 2024 issue—about evolving new distribution models and how the term's meaning has shifted somewhat: Some companies have been expanding (or in some cases reducing) the kinds of services traditionally provided to exporting international manufacturers.

That made me curious about how business is going for "traditional" distribution companies. That is, companies whose services typically include handling importation, warehousing, shipping, and working with retailer partners and dealers in other capacities. They support retail dealers with the inventory they need.

Julie Mullins  |  Nov 22, 2024
YG Acoustics speakers have always had a distinct look, but the massive aluminum towers in room 806 were unmissable, even if you only glanced into the room. These were the Colorado-based manufacturer’s state-of-the-art Sonja 3.3 loudspeakers.
Julie Mullins  |  Nov 19, 2024
Traditionally in hi-fi, "distribution" refers to importing and warehousing audio equipment then delivering it as needed to a network of domestic dealers. In recent years, that model has evolved. Distributors have expanded the range of services they offer, and an increasing number of companies are skipping the distributor step altogether: dCS and T+A, among other companies, have established wholly owned subsidiaries in the US to handle importation, local warehousing, and other domestic duties. They and others have hired full-service sales and marketing agents, sometimes called "brand ambassadors." The goal, of course, is to make the practice of getting a product into the country and on the radar of dealers and customers as efficient and effective as possible.
Julie Mullins  |  Oct 16, 2024
Since it started in late 2020, this column has emphasized the imperative for bricks-and-mortar hi-fi dealerships to evolve if they want to survive and thrive in the current era. They—indeed, the whole industry—need to attract new customers as they give existing customers reasons to keep coming back.

In its current form, Houston, Texas–based dealership 3mA arose from founder and majority owner Johnny Yip's connection with Luis Miranda, a customer. The two became partners when Miranda bought into the business in 2017.

Julie Mullins  |  Sep 18, 2024
North Carolina hi-fi dealer Audio Advice has been busy lately. As I reported in last month's Industry Update, the company recently acquired The Audio Lab, a longtime dealership based in Wilmington. As this issue went to press, Audio Advice was getting ready for Audio Advice Live, the show they put on annually at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. Just before showtime, Stereophile spoke with Audio Advice CEO Scott Newnam and COO Gregg Chopper via Zoom. We asked about the expansion and their approach.

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