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How will the TV industry/shops survive?

Scottyltd

Scottyltd

macrumors member
Original poster
May 3, 2013
34
1
Sweden
Hi everyone,
Not sure if there is an interest on this subject but here goes.

I have been interested in technology for quite a while and it seems that the TV industry is on its knees. I used to work in TV sales and can only say the market is dreadful.

Here in Sweden there are stores which sell TV's at a loss. They are more interested in selling the customer add ons to make some money. There is a chain here called 'ElGiganten' who are happy making money on the small things like hard drives, memory sticks, covers etc.. Selling TV's just brings people in the stores. Whats worse is that the high end TV market is suffering as well because of this. Especially HI-FI shops which can't compete with these huge chain stores ('why should I pay €3000 when I can get same size of tv for €1500? is the usual question these shops get). They give the customer their time, expertise, and solutions to the customer and the customer in turn takes this info and goes to 'ElGiganten' and gets the TV or solution they want 15-20% cheaper.

I know as I had honest customers who told me this because they felt guilty. End of the day people want to save money, even if it means saving 30 Euros on a TV. It breaks my heart as our shop has now closed and people are now getting advise on their next TV from inexperienced, minimun salary individuals. You know, the ones just interested in making money and not selling what is best for the customer.

What a shame really. Any thoughts??:confused::confused:

regards
Apple enthusiast
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,478
43,405
Selling at a loss will cull the weaker competitors out of the field. I don't think the TV industry is going to collapse when you have major TV makers like LG, Samgsung and a few others.

The Japanese TV makers are hurting and may not survive, but at some point if they are selling TVs for a loss they'll have to stop.

Here in the US, there's a lot of competition and a lot of sales, so I don't see this going anywhere, i.e., people are buying TVs
 
V

vrDrew

macrumors 65816
Jan 31, 2010
1,376
13,412
Midlife, Midwest
Scottyltd said:
It breaks my heart as our shop has now closed and people are now getting advise on their next TV from inexperienced, minimun salary individuals.
Click to expand...

The US electronics retailing business went through a similar process over the past ~ 15 years. First the "Big Box" stores like Best Buy and Circuit City came along and wiped out the specialty retailers. And then Amazon came along and is busy wiping out Best Buy.

Short answer: Long term its probably going to be very difficult, if not impossible, for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete on price with market disrupters like Amazon (or your Giganten store.) People will always seek out the lowest price.

Where specialty stores can - and do - thrive is in providing services. Installing and setting up big TV sets can be a highly complicated process - especially if the consumer wants special services: for instance hiding all of the wires; or getting a universal remote (or smartphone App) to control all his devices; or he needs help with a Surround Sound installation; or simply help getting his internet-connected "Smart TV" to work properly.

I know several people who have ended up gladly paying several thousand dollars for the technical expertise needed to properly install a high-end TV with surround-sound.

Thats where the specialty business can succeed.
 
S

sdilley14

macrumors 65816
Feb 8, 2007
1,242
201
Mesa, AZ
vrDrew said:
The US electronics retailing business went through a similar process over the past ~ 15 years. First the "Big Box" stores like Best Buy and Circuit City came along and wiped out the specialty retailers. And then Amazon came along and is busy wiping out Best Buy.

Short answer: Long term its probably going to be very difficult, if not impossible, for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete on price with market disrupters like Amazon (or your Giganten store.) People will always seek out the lowest price.

Where specialty stores can - and do - thrive is in providing services. Installing and setting up big TV sets can be a highly complicated process - especially if the consumer wants special services: for instance hiding all of the wires; or getting a universal remote (or smartphone App) to control all his devices; or he needs help with a Surround Sound installation; or simply help getting his internet-connected "Smart TV" to work properly.

I know several people who have ended up gladly paying several thousand dollars for the technical expertise needed to properly install a high-end TV with surround-sound.

Thats where the specialty business can succeed.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Price leaders will take a large chunk out of "big box" business, but there will always be people who will gladly pay a little more to walk into a store, buy a product, and walk out with it. Especially when it comes to large items like a 60" television. A lot of people aren't keen on the idea of having an item like that shipped to their home, largely due to the thought of "how am I going to return this thing if it isn't working/isn't what I want"? I took this gamble and bought a TV off of Amazon last year and fotrunately it worked out nicely, but it took me a long time and lot of thinking before I was able to take that risk.

I think in order for "big box" stores to survive, they need to downsize. Get rid of overhead, cut down on large staffs, move into cozier and more inviting buildings, cut down on SKUs and inventory on hand, become more "specialty" with reduced operating costs. I think a store like Best Buy would be nicely served finding a balance between their huge, cold, warehouse model they have now, and the small, clean, inviting shops like your typical Apple store. Reduce the size of your staff and increase pay/benefits for the remaining staff...cultivate an environment where the people working for you feel like they are in a career rather than a job, they're making a comfortable wage, and they're happy to stay with your company for the long haul...develop true product professionals and cut down on turnover (very costly) from paying low wages and creating a "throw away" type job.
 
Scottyltd

Scottyltd

macrumors member
Original poster
May 3, 2013
34
1
Sweden
sdilley14 said:
Agreed. Price leaders will take a large chunk out of "big box" business, but there will always be people who will gladly pay a little more to walk into a store, buy a product, and walk out with it. Especially when it comes to large items like a 60" television. A lot of people aren't keen on the idea of having an item like that shipped to their home, largely due to the thought of "how am I going to return this thing if it isn't working/isn't what I want"? I took this gamble and bought a TV off of Amazon last year and fotrunately it worked out nicely, but it took me a long time and lot of thinking before I was able to take that risk.

I think in order for "big box" stores to survive, they need to downsize. Get rid of overhead, cut down on large staffs, move into cozier and more inviting buildings, cut down on SKUs and inventory on hand, become more "specialty" with reduced operating costs. I think a store like Best Buy would be nicely served finding a balance between their huge, cold, warehouse model they have now, and the small, clean, inviting shops like your typical Apple store. Reduce the size of your staff and increase pay/benefits for the remaining staff...cultivate an environment where the people working for you feel like they are in a career rather than a job, they're making a comfortable wage, and they're happy to stay with your company for the long haul...develop true product professionals and cut down on turnover (very costly) from paying low wages and creating a "throw away" type job.
Click to expand...

So in essence restructure your business?.

Better location, more attractive/home/stylish etc.. shop atmosphere. More attractive and warm than a warehouse style shop. Cut down on staff and specialize on knowledge and service. I totally agree with this but the problem still remains!!

Joe Smith walks in with wife and get a seriously good presentation, questions answered and solution presented to them with a quote. Joe says this is a little bit more money than we had thought to spend and says he (they) want to think about it (at this point the sales person needs to act quick. If you are a salesperson you know what I mean.). Joe then goes home and wife approves the purchase of tv etc. Joe goes on-line or visits Best Buy or what ever and gets tv cheaper. At least thats my take on it :-(

If I were to ask you to join in a business venture with me where we open a shop selling Audio/Video products, would you want to? We would have to select a few number of manufacturers (perhaps we choose ourselves the best of the best? Maybe thats our angle. We don't go by reviews too much, we study and test those tv's we want to sell our customers.). Then we have a small showroom with what 10-30 different screens? Are we really going to make a good business out of it? I think the market is overcrowded perhaps. I don't know. Question is what I do now work wise.
 
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