RWR real world retail
“Anything that
makes the experience for the
consumer better,
I’m all for it.” – Dean Magnesen
Bad Penny Even stores as popular as Sound
Warehouse misfire once in a while. It came in the form of a one cent sale this past spring. Although they’ve run pro- motions like it before, this one fell flat for a variety of reasons. “I think we made it too confusing for the customer. It’s a good idea, but the execution was less than satisfactory,” Magnesen said. “We’ll do it again and execute it better.” Te goals of the sale were to create
traffic, sell merchandise, and clean up old inventory. Te team planned out the sale by reviewing what products weren’t sell- ing well at the time. “If I could have done it differently I
would have made it more simple by lim- iting the items we sold. Maybe 10 items with a penny attachment, and be crystal clear what the deal is,” he said.
won. Everyone in the company has the types of shirts they get from miscellaneous manufacturers.”
Home-Grown Heroes
Once a car is ready to be worked on, the installation technicians follow a strict workflow to guarantee top-notch results. Each technician works on their own install, only helping out others if they are available and needed. Procedures are in place to cover vehicle protection, sound integrity, and proper wiring techniques, according to Magnesen. “We go to great lengths to protect the interior and exterior of the vehicle, including masking off body panels and paint, being aware of signal integrity and the balance of individual components to their power rating. We also strive to do same day installa- tions and pride ourselves in doing work that other shops cannot do.” For specialty custom jobs, each shop has a designated expert to utilize the fabrica- tion facility, which all of the shops also have in place. The company has had the good fortune of very low turn-over since its inception, with most employees having worked for the company for 10 years or more. When a new employee is hired, training isn’t generally an issue due to the criteria the new hire must meet to even be considered. “The first thing we’re looking for is experience in the 12-volt business, then MECP
certification or years on the job. If someone’s been installing for five years they’re prob- ably every bit good enough to do it,” Magnesen said. “The person has to be of good character, experienced in this business, and have a passion for it. Everyone here does. If it’s a new installer, we generally know them or of them and where they’ve been. If we know they’ve been at shop X for five years then we’re comfortable with them right away. We keep an eye on things for a little bit but once we feel confident, they’re on their own.”
Finding qualified installers used to be much easier for Magnesen, with the lack of proper training and continued interest from newer generations having taken its toll on the field. “We had one installer who went on to work for a power plant and to replace him
was very difficult. That’s one of the big problems that plagues our industry. We switched our pay ratio to be higher intentionally because we want to be the place where guys want to go to work. The install tech is a tough position to fill. There’s a huge void.”
Retailer Defined
Despite widespread installer drought, a solidly grounded, well-run business like Sound Warehouse can prove to be a beacon of hope for shops concerned with financial stability. Throughout the myriad changes over the years, Magnesen has managed to keep the company one step ahead, no matter the challenge. “We came to the realization years ago that the old 18 to 34 male group wasn’t coming in as much. That’s when we changed the marketing demo to 25 to 45-year-old males. But it’s paying,” he said. Considering the longevity of the company, the fact that it just had its most profitable
April ever and that the store has won the highest honor in the industry (ROTY) twice, one might think those would be the benchmarks of victory for Magnesen, who’s had a fulfilling run as a 12-volt retailer. But then, that just wouldn’t be Dean. “I’m 65 years old, but I think we’ll be here doing what we’re doing for some time.
I don’t see us doing anything else. Our mission statement is something everyone can understand and no one can forget: Just do it right. If you do everything right you’re gonna be fine. If you make a mistake, fess up, apologize, and make it right. You pull the trigger, sometimes you hit the bullseye and sometimes you don’t even hit the target. But you gotta keep pulling the trigger.”
44 Mobile Electronics July 2014
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