Sixth Ave. Grabs First Philly Stake

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 3/9/2009

MONTGOMERYVILLE, PA. — Sixth Avenue Electronics is entering the Philadelphia market.

The move marks the first expansion into Pennsylvania by the New York metro area A/V chain, which may also open stores in Connecticut later this year.

The retailer plans to open at least four stores in the Philadelphia area, beginning with a 35,000-square-foot location in suburban Montgomeryville.

The newly built facility is situated within a strip mall in a heavily trafficked shopping corridor, and should be open for business within three months, operations VP Tom Galanis told TWICE.

Sixth Avenue will open two to three more stores later this year, either in Pennsylvania or Connecticut, he said.

The PRO (Progressive Retailers Organization) Group dealer, which currently operates 14 stores in New Jersey and Long Island, has been planning the expansion for well more than a year, and is looking to move its main distribution center to a new, larger site to support the growth.

In the meantime, the Philadelphia stores will be supplied by a satellite facility in Somerset, N.J., although the Montgomeryville showroom will require fewer shipments due to its expansive warehouse space, Galanis said.

He added that the new store will be managed by former Tweeter personnel.