Updated! AVS Audio Video, the Plainview, N.Y.-based custom integrator, will be providing networking solutions and premium A/V products to Pirch’s Big Apple patrons.
For those unfamiliar, Pirch is an eight-store (about to be nine) luxury kitchen, bath and appliance chain co-founded eight years ago by former homebuilder supplier and outdoor grill merchant Jeffery Sears and his partner Jim Stuart.
Together they have created a splash, often literally, within the appliance, decorator and retail channels with their high-touch experiential showrooms, which feature live vignettes, full-time chefs, working showerheads and demo commodes in restrooms.
Their newest location formally opens May 21 in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo district, where AVS will lend a hand on the CE side.
Pirch CEO Jeffery Sears with Bertazzoni range at the Soho showroom
“Its retail concept is nothing NYC has ever seen before,” observed industry veteran Franklin Karp, COO of AVS. “Potential customers will be invited to test the pricey showers, soak in super expensive tubs and cook in lavish, custom-made kitchens. Major personalities, as well as customers who want the ultimate in luxury, have been signing up to experience the possible $100,000 makeovers.”
AVS will bring to the party Sonance speakers, Lutron lighting and shades, Savant control systems, Leon media decor and Seura outdoor television viewing, as well as the services to install and control them.
The Pirch-Karp partnership continues a chain-wide relationship with Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), a buying group for custom integrators that the retailer has named a Synergy Partner. Besides AVS, other HTSA members providing tech services to Pirch customers include Barrett’s Technology Solutions, at the Oakbrook, Ill., store; Audio Visions, for locations in California; and Dallas Sight and Sound, for a forthcoming Pirch store in Austin, Texas.
“AVS is the perfect strategic partner in this revolutionary retail concept because we specialize in the integration of all custom systems and control technologies throughout the home,” Karp continued. “Complementing the Pirch retail concept, AVS will provide the customer with hands-on experience that will include intuitive and seamless controls at the press of a button.”
The new SoHo store will stand three stories tall and provide 37,000 square feet of showroom and backroom space. It is located at 200 Lafayette Street in New York.
