CE Pro February 2023 - 43

gional sales manager, Roon
Labs; Tom Graham, training
manager, Focal Naim America;
and Chris Connaker,
founder, Audiophile Style.
" The event exceeded
our expectations in virtually
every way. Honestly,
we were focused on using
this first year to make it a
great experience and learn
best practices for next year.
However, the turnout was
terrific. The vendor support
was almost 100% of those
we approached about coming.
We had far more people
on Friday than we thought, "
Newnam says.
" We had tried to design
the experience such
that the exhibits would be
spread out throughout the
hotel so it would not feel
packed even where there
were quite a few people.
That turned out to work
super well. Even when there
we a lot of people there, it
never really felt that way.
We've already committed
to doing it again, hopefully
bigger and better! "
AV Therapy
Focuses Music
Event Theme on
Turntables
AV Therapy got back into
the audio saddle with a fun
" Groovy Event " it staged
in November 2021, and it
followed up with another
excellent time in 2022 with
its fall marketing event
again being held just before
the holidays. Like Audio
Advice, AV Therapy has
staged events over the
years; usually they are driven
by specific themes that
have included Star Trek and
Canadian audio companies.
cepro.com
The 2022 event put the
spotlight on analog audio -
and more specifically turntables.
The Nashua, N.H.-based
hybrid retailer/integration
firm's featured guest for the
evening was Mat Weisfeld of
VPI Industries.
Located in Cliffwood,
N.J., VPI Industries has been
manufacturing turntables
for more than 40 years, and
for many vinyl enthusiasts
the company is the " go-to "
for analog performance.
Using the company history
as a backdrop, Weisfeld
pointed out to a room full
of people some of VPI's latest
products that were on
hand for the annual event.
Some of those products
included the high-performance
$36,000 Avenger
Direct Turntable and Shyla
phono cartridge that was
developed in conjunction
with Audio-Technica.
Providing some detail on
the Shyla cartridge, Weisfeld
recalled that as part
of the unit's development
process, the company blind
tested the phono cartridge
at the Capital Audiofest
event to gauge peoples'
reaction. The result of
its double-blind testing
of its phono cartridges
with an unknowing crowd
of audiophiles provided
VPI with the feedback
necessary to comfortably
introduce the version of
the product that is now
available to the public.
Reflecting on the past
couple of years and how VPI
weathered the pandemic,
Weisfeld says that things
couldn't be better for the
N.J.-based company.
" People have been
putting more attention
into their homes, " he says.
" With more people at
home, many wanted to improve
their homes, including
their audio systems. "
company he says is its " Time
Travel " effort in which it
is rolling back prices to
2019 levels. Weisfeld says
VPI decided to offer this
promotion to help stimulate
sales during the month of
November.
Sharing sentiments
" Sales have
been outstanding
... no
issues. High end
is trending. The
more expensive
it is, the more of it
we are selling. "
-John Rein,
AV Therapy
Customers Turning
to Turntables, Higherend
Gear
Weisfeld commented one
area of growth for VPI has
been its sales through
custom integrators. He cites
VPI's Signature 21 as a popular
solution for integrators,
and he theorizes the turntable's
combination of an elegant
industrial design and
high levels of sound quality
complements many of the
homes integrators service,
while meeting their clients'
performance aspirations.
Some of the other ways
Weisfeld is helping to drive
VPI product sales beyond
the availability of new
products include limited
marketing promotions. A
new promotion from the
expressed by Weisfeld, John
Rein, principal partner of
AV Therapy, says that when
reflecting on 2022, the
year was strong, but some
trends had developed that
he thought were surprising.
Rein notes that a development
his business has seen
has been a trend in which
customers are purchasing
more expensive solutions
in lieu of more price-friendly
options that may be
available.
" Sales have been outstanding...
no issues. It may
be down a little bit from
last year [2021], but if you
increase 40% year-to-year
for two years, sales will
eventually slow down, " Rein
notes. " High end is trending.
The more expensive
it is, the more of it we are
selling. Entry-level audio
right now is soft. "
In addition to the VPI
turntables on display, some
of the other live demonstrations
at the AV Therapy
Fall 2022 marketing event
included components
from well-known industry
brands Marantz, Bowers &
Wilkins, NAD, PSB, Rotel
and AudioQuest.
Now with the fall 2022
event completed, Rein and
the AV Therapy staff are
looking ahead at the organization's
next marketing promotion,
which will take place
in the spring of 2023.
February 2023 CE Pro | 43
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