i3 - September/October 2018 - 25
t
lers
e was shopping for a TV set. She was looking for a Sonos system and asked
him - a total stranger - if he knew anything about the product.
From that random connection at the Video & Audio Center in Santa Monica,
California, emerged a fairy tale worthy of its Hollywood neighbor. The couple is getting
married this year and wanted to celebrate their nuptials in the high-tech store where
they met. Joseph Akhtarzad, founder and co-owner of the store, loves to tell this romantic tale as emblematic of the "community" at his stores (there are four others in the Los
Angeles area in addition to the Santa Monica location). Alas,
Akhtarzad cannot rearrange the store for a wedding, but he is helping the couple in more tech-related ways.
Meanwhile, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, Debbie
Schaeffer, the chief customer officer at Mrs. G TV &
Appliances, is planning a party for Operation BBQ Relief,
which provides meals to displaced residents and first responders. Typically, 200 customers come to support charitable events
like this at the Mrs. G store. Schaeffer encountered the charity
when it helped residents and emergency workers after
Hurricane Sandy's devastation six years ago.
In Dallas, Starpower Home Entertainment Systems provides
a professional chef to prepare a gourmet meal when a client
purchases a complete kitchen. And on any day in one of
Starpower's four stores, local musicians offer live performances
and can discuss high-end
audio, explains Chairman
and CFO Daniel Pidgeon.
H
Even though they are miles away, Akhtarzad, Schaeffer and Pidgeon have
found similar ways for their independent electronics stores to thrive in the
era of Amazon. While e-commerce - Amazon in particular - has shuffled the
merchandising ecosystem in recent years, savvy local dealers continue to find
ways to focus on their communities and provide services that make them
stand out in the complex retail field.
Thanks to buying groups and competitive instincts, local merchants can
often price match online sales. More, both long-time shoppers and newcomers
recognize the community value, according to the merchants. This is also backed
by research - an American Independent Business Alliance study identified "the
multiplier effect" that locally-owned merchants keep within their communities.
Independent stores "recirculate revenue" locally at nearly four times the rate
(48 percent versus 13 percent) of other merchants, according to the study.
Schaeffer at Mrs. G says she even buys office supplies from a local merchant
rather than a big chain.
C TA . t e c h / i 3
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
25
http://www.videoandaudiocenter.com/main/
https://www.mrsgs.com/
https://www.mrsgs.com/
https://star-power.com/
i3 - September/October 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - September/October 2018
Contents
i3 - September/October 2018 - Cover1
i3 - September/October 2018 - Cover2
i3 - September/October 2018 - Contents
i3 - September/October 2018 - 2
i3 - September/October 2018 - 3
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i3 - September/October 2018 - Cover3
i3 - September/October 2018 - Cover4
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