RWR real world retail
AUDIO INNOVATIONS OF FRESNO FAST FACTS
WEBSITE:
www.aifresno.com FEATURED STORE
Audio Innovations of Fresno, 4210 N. Fresno St., Fresno, CA, 93726. AI is a traditional retail store on the corner of one of the busiest intersections in Fresno. The retail showroom floor space is roughly 800 square feet with an addi- tional 200 square feet of stockroom space. The install bay and fabrication room are detached from the main show- room. The install bay consists of four bays with 1,100 square feet of workable space along with a 60 square foot room for installation supplies and 340 square feet of storage. The fabrication room is 500 square feet with enough room to store a vehicle overnight if overflow parking is needed from the other four bays.
EMPLOYEES
Ryan Autry, owner/sales , James Coil, installation manager and lead tech- nician , Matthew Penner, installation technician, Russell Jones, installation technician, Jesse Rodriquez, installation technician, Don Olson, outside sales, Diana Serbian, part-time bookkeeper
TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 7
» Keeping a minimalist, clut- ter-free showroom has helped Autry push his strategy of letting the customer choose their product. Tis has helped him narrow down the product lines that fit the tastes of the shop’s clientele.
Coil, and 2012 Top 12 IOTY Ray West. What might surprise some is that not only did West leave the company for another 12-volt retailer, Sonus Car Audio of Clarks- ville, Tenn., but Autry is happy for him and wishes him the best in that endeavor. “Ray and I still have a great relation-
ship. He saw Sonus growing very fast and wanted the opportunity to be part of that shop. I respect him 100 percent for that decision,” Autry said. “I hired Ray from Best Buy. He was very eager and became an important part of the Superior Sound team, which was what the shop was called back then. If it wasn’t for Ray, we wouldn’t have succeeded the way we have.” This positive, supportive attitude Autry has had with his team, both past and present, is part of why Coil was able to emerge as an IOTY candidate. “Every single one of my previous employ- ees has prospered. They have all been extremely successful with the jobs they got after they left here,” Autry said. “The most successful thing people take from AI as employees is structure. It’s a big part of our business. That’s how we’re so successful and it’s how we can be so efficient. We do twice the sales we should be able to do with the small crew that we have.” To remain competitive against the large
contingent of 12-volt shops in Fresno, Autry and his team focus on fabrication as their core business. This is mainly due to the fact that none of the other shops in the region do fabrication of any kind, according to Autry. “We are fabricators, but in this town
we’re a dying breed. Nobody fabricates in my town,” he said. “They slap them in, swap them out and they’re done.”
44 Mobile Electronics June 2014
In the installation bay, the team is run by Coil, so their management style and core responsibilities are followed. Those responsibilities, said by Autry to be the “foundation of Audio Innovation’s suc- cess,” include communication, teamwork, adaptation, problem solving, and individ- ual empowerment.
Musketeer Mentality The classic story, The Three Muske- teers, uses the motto, “One for all and all for one.” This theme of being personally responsible while working well in a team atmosphere is personified by the practice the installers use when working on cars. “Every car that leaves the installation
bay is overseen by at least two differ- ent technicians and then given a final delivery authorization by James,” Autry said. “This is to ensure our final delivery to the client is always a success with no surprises.” This strategy, however, didn’t happen over night. It was a happy accident Autry discovered through necessity one day when he noticed one installer had fin- ished his work faster than another. “I saw that James was working on a car by himself and Matt had finished his. I told Matt to just go to the other side of the car and help finish before the next car got here. By the time the next car got here, both guys could jump on it.” he said. Everybody here does all kinds of installa- tions but having the whole team work on one car at a time until it’s finished allows each installer to utilize their strong suits.” The idea is that if there are three
installers and the job has three separate tasks or more, all installers pick a project,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68