Walmart to battle BestBuy.

[Auricauricle]

And that is what I mean. Aside from my rude comments, which were hopefully taken with a grain of salt, BB and CC just seemed more interested in the Bottom Line. If you encountered somebody who knew anything, you were lucky.

Yes, unfortunately, there are boutique stores that are staffed by such morons; but I avoid them or return the silent rebukes in kind. There are others, however, that are staff by well-informed, genial people.

My comment was and is a generalization, yes; but one (like yours) based on experience and perception.

[Woochifer]

Yeah, ok, perhaps a tad bit of exaggerating on my part. I've been to Best Buys all over the continent and I'm amazed at how many stores struggle to keep knowledgeable employees, how many of these kids just try to push their favorite brands as being the best, and how much bad info these guys will offer instead of answering "I don't know but let me find out for you".

A lot of it does depend on the regional managers. The stores with weak managers will often see very rapid staff turnover. Also, the stores with Magnolia ministores have a bit more latitude in handpicking the staff. My understanding though is that the Magnolia sections don't operate as autonomously as they did before, so that might be going by the wayside.

Exactly. And frankly...IMHO...I've seen what I consider to be anti-competitive behavior by Walmart on all fronts.

I've had dealings with Walmart at the corporate level, and a lot of the bad publicity is well deserved. In more recent years, they've become more conscious of how people and communities perceive them, but they still got a long way to go.

On the other hand, if you were a manufacturer wanting to move some product, how much could you move if each WM store took two pieces each?

Walmart operates more than 4,000 stores in the U.S., so you can do the math.

The issue for a supplier would be how much margin can they maintain, given Walmart's history of squeezing their suppliers and dropping those suppliers that cannot keep lowering their costs. For an audio component manufacturer, they might do better sticking with smaller specialty stores because those stores will support and promote the brands they carry. The manufacturer would also likely maintain a higher margin on those sales, so they don't need to make up for it in volume.

For Walmart, two items of anything is probably not worth the shelf space. Their stores are designed for high turnover and high volume.

I don't think it would be hard for them to end up with a name brand receiver line if they wanted one.

Audio components are a tiny market compared to other segments in consumer electronics. That's why I doubt that it would interest Walmart.

Think about it this way -- Apple's iPod sales alone are more than 4x the size of the ENTIRE home audio component market. In this context, Walmart would make far more money with their iPod section than if they had a full selection of home audio components.

BB has locations in mainly larger metro areas where WM is in every cow town in the U.S. I wonder where small town America shops for their electronics?

Most small towns I've worked in had Radio Shack stores well before Walmart entered the picture. You also have local appliance stores, furniture stores, and TV repair shops that also carried electronics gear. Nowadays though, Best Buy is starting to move into more rural areas. They no longer limit their market to the large metro areas.

It's probably WM already or more savvy may use the internet or drive the 100+ miles to a BB, but this could be a still untapped market that really only WM can reach. It will be toe to toe in the metro areas but outside that WM could maybe do something. Now that I think of it I wonder why WM hasn't tried this before. Maybe they feel Uncle Joe don't care if his farm report is in HD. I worked in an electronics store in a college town of a population of about 24k not counting students and we moved some car audio. Home moved alright but the kids in small town jumped on the "crank it up" circuit just like the slickers.

Walmart will do what's best for Walmart. Muscling in on the electronics market is something they've been doing for years. Circuit City's demise leaves a gap that a lot of players will try to plug. But, Walmart will only carry items that can generate huge volume and turnover quickly. People living in rural areas will just do what they've been doing. It's not uncommon for people living in rural areas to drive 100 miles to do their shopping for a lot of things. Walmart might divert a few customers, but you'll still have a sizable number of shoppers that will travel to a specialty store.

Walmart's advantage is that their customers visit the stores regularly for their food and other household items. Best Buy also built up their market share by emphasizing products that their customers shopped for regularly -- i.e., DVDs, CDs, video games, etc. People do not buy a TV every week, but Walmart and Best Buy have a built-in audience.

[02audionoob]

Here in Dallas there's a boutique audio store staffed by fellows who in my experience have been easy-going, knowledgeable and respectful. I haven't bought anything from them yet and whaddyaknow...their attitude remains just as good in each of my visits.

[luvtolisten]

Sadly, all the boutique stores in my town have closed. It all started with the entrance of the big box stores. We had the chains Silo, Yes, Sounds Great, Lechmere, and a few others I can't recall. At first it was great, all the competition and the sales battle in the weekend papers. But the boutique stores couldn't compete. Along with that, the new stores concentrated on trying to wipe each other out. The boutique stores were the first to go. To cut costs as Circuit City did, they fired their experience and knowledgeable people, only to replace them with new people with little experience or knowledge of the product, because they could pay them less. The turnover rate for employees in these stores is tremendous. It's why there are no knowledgeable people there. They just don't pay then enough. It's one of the things we have to give up for lower prices. Whether we want to admit it or not, price means more to people than service. I'm afraid it's just a sign of the times.

[Smokey]

And from my experience, the boutiques and speciality audio stores I have visited seemed to be staffed by eltist jerks who couldn't understand how anyone could listen to any system less than the price of a new car (minimum).

Some of these speciality audio stores seem to be have wierd store policy also.

I called an audio dealer that carry Paradigm (the only one in town), and try to get some price quotes on Atoms line. He told me they are not allowed to give speaker prices over the phone. WTF?? So he wants me to drive 25 miles just to find out the price!

Told him to forget it.

[Mr Peabody]

They probably think if you were actually interested it would be worth yor time to come in and hear them then discuss price. Why did you call for price any way? Were you really going to buy them? If so, I'd think an audition would be in order. If not, why should the guy waste his time giving you a price?

[luvtolisten]

I think asking for the price is a fair question. What about the consumer's time? What if you know what you want already? Why the mystery? Price is a BIG factor. It's partly why a lot of people buy on line. Besides, you could always go to the store, do an audition, gather information,and then go buy elsewhere. Wouldn't that be a bigger waste of the salesman's time? I don't blame Smokey, "Gimme the Damn Price!" I aint got time for those games.
That's the way audio salesman in my area anyway, did business back in the 70's. I don't think it worked out too well for them, since they are all gone now. I realize everyone needs to make a living, and they want you to come in. But I like it better knowing upfront what the price is. Then I can determine what services/benefits they offer justifies the difference in price vs. buying on line.

[Woochifer]

Some of these speciality audio stores seem to be have wierd store policy also.

I called an audio dealer that carry Paradigm (the only one in town), and try to get some price quotes on Atoms line. He told me they are not allowed to give speaker prices over the phone. WTF?? So he wants me to drive 25 miles just to find out the price!

Told him to forget it.

Your reputation proceeds you!

Paradigm is particularly protective of its U.S. dealer network (their standards about who carries their speakers are a lot looser in Canada, where you can find Paradigms in big box stores). That's why you don't see any of their speakers offered up online, why they don't post a complete dealer list on their website (you have to enter a ZIP code and they'll only give you the closest dealer) and why you don't see price lists on their website. I think this is a Paradigm policy. You probably could have gotten a price quote if you'd inquired about a different brand.

If you want to know the price of the Atoms, it's a lot easier to check online since people regularly post the list prices on discussion forums. As MP indicated, are you actually interested in those speakers? If so, you're best served by auditioning them first anyway and that's how Paradigm does business. They don't cater to the bargain hunters who shop based on how big a discount they can find, or who demo their components at a retail store knowing that they will buy online anyway.

Paradigm's not the best brand to go with if you're just fishing for a bargain. They tightly control the distribution, and they have strict marketing and support guidelines for their dealers. Seems to work for them.

[luvtolisten]

Your reputation proceeds you!

Paradigm is particularly protective of its U.S. dealer network (their standards about who carries their speakers are a lot looser in Canada, where you can find Paradigms in big box stores). That's why you don't see any of their speakers offered up online, why they don't post a complete dealer list on their website (you have to enter a ZIP code and they'll only give you the closest dealer) and why you don't see price lists on their website. I think this is a Paradigm policy. You probably could have gotten a price quote if you'd inquired about a different brand.

If you want to know the price of the Atoms, it's a lot easier to check online since people regularly post the list prices on discussion forums. As MP indicated, are you actually interested in those speakers? If so, you're best served by auditioning them first anyway and that's how Paradigm does business. They don't cater to the bargain hunters who shop based on how big a discount they can find, or who demo their components at a retail store knowing that they will buy online anyway.

Paradigm's not the best brand to go with if you're just fishing for a bargain. They tightly control the distribution, and they have strict marketing and support guidelines for their dealers. Seems to work for them.

I don't doubt what you say, Paradigm is a funny company to figure. Some prices are listed here, and some you have to call. I was able to buy the Paradigm Titans for $349 (Jan 09) here, while the nearest store wanted $579. And both are authorized dealers. Their stock here comes and goes, as well as their sales. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.6ave.com/shop/SearchResul...srt=&apr=&zpr=

[Woochifer]

I don't doubt what you say, Paradigm is a funny company to figure. Some prices are listed here, and some you have to call. I was able to buy the Paradigm Titans for $349 (Jan 09) here, while the nearest store wanted $579. And both are authorized dealers. Their stock here comes and goes, as well as their sales. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.6ave.com/shop/SearchResul...srt=&apr=&zpr=

The Cinema series is generally available for mail order, while it looks like the other models on that site are discontinued versions. I have no idea what that store would be smoking if they want $579 given that the list price on that model is $500.

Paradigm (as well as most other specialty/high-end brands) protects its U.S. dealers by not selling through mass merchants and mail order houses. A lot of this was caused by JBL's decision in the early-80s to begin selling their speakers through big box stores and mail order retailers. JBL's dealers responded by dumping the brand in droves, and that coincided with the rise of the Canadian speaker manufacturers (among others) who quickly filled the shelf space vacated by JBL. Paradigm knows that if they move into the big box and mail order markets, the same thing might happen to them.

JBL still makes high end speakers, but those are primarily sold overseas because the company no longer has a huge network of independent audio dealers.