Koken Exits Wiz; Unkefer Departs Good Guys Again
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 1/21/2002
Two well-known consumer electronics retail executives, Good Guys' Ron Unkefer and Tasso Koken of The Wiz, have left their respective chains.
Good Guys founder and chairman Unkefer has stepped down for the second time as chairman of the West Coast CE chain. Unkefer, who founded the company in 1973, first left the company in 1995, only to resume control in 1999. He was succeeded last month by Good Guys veteran Ken Weller. Weller, who returned to Good Guys in 2000 as president following a seven-year stint as senior VP/sales at Best Buy, assumed Unkefer's CEO title in December.
Unkefer said he plans to spend more time with his family in Dallas and to focus on his other business interests there. He remains Good Guys' largest individual shareholder.
Koken has left his position as executive VP/merchandising and marketing for The Wiz, but will continue his association with the company as a consultant.
According to a spokeswoman for the New York metro area CE chain, Koken "recently decided" to make the change. No successor was named at press time.
In a statement, The Wiz lauded Koken for his help in bringing the Cablevision unit out of bankruptcy. Koken has been with the 44-store chain for 15 years.
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