Unfortunately for the specialist AV industry it's people like Frank Di Bartolo who are giving the specialist industry a bad name which right now the specialist AV industry does not need. What he is communicating is that the AV industry is being hurt by mass retailers instead of communicationg the benefits of dealing with a specialist.
His claims that it is his experience is that when the consumer is in the market for better quality products, they will often milk the specialist for the information, then take advantage of the information they have gleaned from the specialist retailer to do a deal with a mass retailer like Harvey Norman.
Really! Isn't it a fact that millions of consumers every month walk through the mass channel stores Vs a select group who actually take time out to visit a specialist store? And isn't it human nature in Australia for consumers to try and obtain "a deal" when spending thousands of dollars on a flat panel TV or related home theatre kit.
These are the deals that the specialist AV channel cannot offer, because they don't have the buying power or even the relationship with the TV vendors who are attracting the big sales like Samsung.
To Frank I say get a life, get off your high horse and put your pent up energy into generating new business than taking pot shots at the mass retailer channel.
Instead of identifying the weaknesses in the strategies of the mass retailers he is sitting back on his backside winging to the media.
For example a massive weakness for the mass retailers is sound and for every display sale that a mass retailer makes there is an opportunity to sell a premium sound system. The message that specialist retailers should be pushing day in day out is that without a great sound you only get half a movie or sporting experience.
