A new perspective, on Audio Retailing from an Audio Retailer and ex SBS employee.
Hi guys,
I have been following this thread for a while and I thought it would be fun to write in.
My name is Dave Lalin, I worked at SBS from 1989-1996, then at Innovative Audio from 1996-1999 and back at Singer from 1999 to 2005 then I left to start my own company, Audio Doctor. You can say I know Andy well, as well as the workings of SBS for both good and bad.
I do believe there are multiple parts to this saga, the first is the rent issues, which as Myles pointed out to completely changed the profitability and viability of having a huge store which went from an asset to a liability, the second is the erosion of a customer base, the industry is not doing anything to educate the younger generation that an ipod and a cheap set of headphones is a toy not a real music system, the third is Andy himself and the way the store was run.
Even in today's tough economic client there are audio stores that are doing well, one of the cornerstones in this business is the customer installation world. There are many custom install houses doing $200k installations which are profitable. Andy never had the ability to crack that segment of the market, which requires true dedication by the entire staff and sometimes you have to kiss the asses of the project managers, GCs, etc and a dedication to do it right, which Andy would never do. An interior designer doesn't want to see speakers, yet stores like SBS **** off and alienate the high end interior design crowd, who generally work with the wealthy who can afford good gear, by only pushing gear which the designers deem ugly and offensive.
The last part of the story is Andy is a polarizing figure, a true jekyl and hyde. Andy can be highly enrolling, charming and patient at times while others his treatment of both customers and staff boardered on insanity. Over the years i heard a litany of woes, from clients with bungled jobs, or poor service. This is bad business practice if you give good service and make the customers happy you may continue even in a bad economy.
If you put the customers first and profits second you will win over a lot more people. Today you have to work harder and smarter. Andy's model never changed and his demise is part of that reason.
As per me, my model is working wonderfully. I have been preaching the gospel of the micro store for years. If you look at circuit city or best buy with their huge stores, with wasted aisle space, huge arrays of shelves filled with low profit items, poorly trained staff, and bad displays and merchandising with too much overlapping products which confuse the client makes you wonder why best buy is still around.
With that being said I left SBS in 2005 because I was fed up with Andy and his treatment of both me and client's in general and proceeded to turn my 4,000 sq foot home into a private by appointment audio store. it is 2010 I have four sound rooms, six listening rooms, and $800,000.00 worth of gear on display, a micro SBS. However, where Andy and I differ is the selection of products, I worked very hard to find amazing sounding products that are more affordable while Andy generally went only for the most expensive products where ever he could. My Scaena speakers at $60k can challenge the $180k JM Labs, my $10k AMR CD 77 can compare with a $30-70k DCS stack, etc, and my business is doing well.
I feel that customers really benefit from someone who is selling superb gear and is looking out for their best interests.
I hope this sheds some light on the saga.
Sincerely,
Dave Lalin, President, Audio Doctor, www. audiodoctor.com, way out of date website no one is comming, if anyone is interested in my line listing here it is:
AMR, Artcoustic, Audioquest, ASI, Anthem, BAT, Bryston, Conrad Johnson, Cabasse, Chord Electronics, Cambridge Audio,Cyrus,l Dali, Earthquake, Exposure, Esoteric,Gallo, Gershman, HRT, Hegel, Isotek, Jl Audio, KEF Reference,Kubala Sosna, Luxman,Manley, Micromega, Naimnet, Nuforce, Primare, Plinius, PSB, Qsonix, Rega, RTi, Running Springs, Roksan, Runco,Scanea, Synergistic, Soundstring, Stillpoints, Screen Innovations, Solid Tech, Salamander, Stealth, Shakti, Tannoy, Usher, Vincent, Walker, and probably a few others i have missed.
My Kef 207.2 sound incredible yet cost $7k less than a Magico or Wilson, by preaching price over performance and the flavor of the month you may **** off a lot of consumers who can pick up on the retailers real motive.
. I am with you all the way except maybe the home showroom part 
