San Antonio — The Progressive Retailers Organization was at the Westin La Cantera Hill Coun
DANIA BEACH, FLA. — Distributor Wave Electronics has opened a full-service location here, serving the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and surrounding markets.
The fully featured facility has sound rooms, hand-picked areas, training areas, working automation and control demo systems, and an “automated living room,” the company noted.
Wave said it opened the branch to showcase an exclusive mix of products that now includes the Pioneer and Just Add Power lines.
Connect
The following is an alphabetical list of the major buying groups and select divisions for independent CE, appliance and furniture dealers.
Azione Unlimited (AU)
501 E. Uwchlan Ave. Chester Springs, PA 19425
Phone: (610) 280-3840
www.azioneunlimted.com
President: Richard Glikes
Categories: A/V, custom install, system integration Annual
volume: $250 million
Membership: 67 dealers/integrators, 35 vendors
NEW YORK – CE and appliance setbacks at some of the biggest of big-box chains has allowed independent dealers to reclaim some of their lost market share.
But the buying groups they belong to are urging them to press their advantage – and boost profitability – by adjusting their assortments, stoking their digital strategies and moving into adjunct businesses.
EAGAN, MINN. — Capitol Sales is broadening its video and audio selection and expects sustained growth this year from its retail and custom installer customers.
Curt Hayes, president and chief financial officer, said the CE distributor recently received the entire Toshiba 2013 TV line, “which is mostly Cloud-based and gives consumers access to updated apps.” Hayes also reported that Capitol has received most of Panasonic’s TV line, “which has been well received by retailers and, I think, should be by consumers.”
NEW YORK – Best Buy said early indicators from the first wave of 200 Samsung in-store boutiques have been promising.
“Customer feedback has been extremely positive,” Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly noted at the recent launch event for the Samsung Experience Shops here.
“The concept makes sense,” he said. “The next question is, ‘How big is big?’ We don’t know yet.”
CHICAGO — AT&T has opened a 10,000-square-foot flagship store on Chicago’s Miracle Mile designed to showcase present and future wireless technologies and services.
The interactive showroom, which opened last week, features more than 100 digital displays, some located on an 18-foot-high “Connect Wall,” to help customers explore products, apps and content.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. – The Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG) is pulling out all the stops to gird its independent dealers for what could be a bare-knuckles second half.
Operational improvements, new and enhanced merchandising and marketing programs, and an expanded product portfolio that now includes Canon and Nikon will help members gain share amid a challenging market for CE and appliances, NMG executives said.
LAS VEGAS – BrandSource is upbeat about its prospects in CE for the upcoming fourth quarter and holiday season, as it sees industry trends breaking its way.
In an interview with TWICE during last week’s annual Las Vegas BrandSource convention, Jim Ristow, executive VP of the group’s Home Entertainment Source (HES) division, noted, “This show focuses on TV and appliance dealers and rent-to- own members. In this channel CE has done very well.”
LAS VEGAS – BrandSource sees its group of independent retailers as “holding its own,” if not more so, with national online and big-box retailers in major appliances and CE, and the group hopes to increase that competitiveness with its new Cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system.
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