A revolutionary new home theatre concept that will have its own store network and is estimated to initially generate $30M a year up to $104M a year in sales is set to be rolled out nationally by the directors of the Sydney based Lifestyle store.
The business which has been set up via a new entity called Theatre At Home, has already signed leases in several suburbs for new concept stores, including two in Melbourne, they are also negotiating stores within a store concept with major retailers.
ChannelNews understands that 10 leases are close to finalisation.
Directors claim that they have signed up a silent financial partner, however, they were unable to supply ChannelNews with the name of the partner who is funding the role out.
The only thing found in one of the Theatre At Home Stores will be a complete home theatre solution.
The stores will not sell products directly instead the focus will be on selling a “total home theatre solution” said Vinod Christie David, the Managing Director of the Lifestyle store.
“The target audience are consumers who are technology dyslectic but do want to invest in a new home theatre without the hassle of picking products. They just want an end solution.” said Vinod Christie.
“We are selling a total solution including screen, projector, audio, furniture and the total fit out of a media room for a single price.”
“The package includes everything you need to enjoy a home theatre experience in a home from both an audio visual and a room aesthetic perspective through to the furniture”.
“We will custom the solution to the package they have chosen,” he added.
Consumers will have several ways to buy a home theatre solution from Theatre At Home.
They will be able to go online to a web site that will take you on a home theatre journey with packages ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 plus.
They can also visit a store where the only thing displayed will be a finished media room.
Or they can sign up at a trade show such as The Easter Show or several Home shows that are back being run across Australia following COVID lockdowns.
An extensive pitch document seen by ChannelNews is being used to present the concept to potential partners and supplier such as Epson, Sony, Synergy, Audio Active, Busisoft as well as Sony, BenQ, Sound United and the distributor of Klipsch products in Australia.
According to executives at Theatre At Home, the concept has been designed to be brand agnostic which directors claim allows them to offer several solutions built around major AV and audio brands.
They also claim that they won’t need to re-configure structural hardware in a home to suit the equipment, as a key feature of the system is based on TAH engineers installing the theatre “Without the need to run any cables within the wall structures,” said Christie David.
ChannelNews understands that part of the backend will be a Control 4 box.
They also plan to offer a home theatre in a box for DIY enthusiasts with all the instructions needed to install the theatre given to the DIY customer.
Currently the business is setting up a nationwide network of installation partners among them will be electricians & builders who the business believes can provision the theatres /
The scoping document claims, “This presents a lucrative sales opportunity if the solution can easily be presented by these tradesmen or companies to their clients”.
Builders and electricians will be able to install the Theatre at Home for their clients with the comfort of knowing our support team are there to assist when required the document claims.
“Our pre-delivery team will pre-program and configure the system prior to despatch and our customer support team will work with the installers remotely to complete the last two configuration steps”.
The TAH business plan claims that during the first few months they will take the product to market with a “free installation offer.”
The plan claims that significant amounts of money will also be invested in marketing including Home Shows, Easter shows where the concept will be demonstrated in fitted out shipping containers.
The pitch document seen by ChannelNews claims ‘The Theatre at Home business has been designed around the premise of being able to complete every step of the sales process online including education, configuration, and purchase.
Whilst the sales, configuration and purchase journey are completed online, awareness of the product needs to be garnered and there are a number of initial activities that have been planned to achieve this, they include?
• The Theatre at Home Website
• Theatre at Home Showrooms
• Demonstrations Rooms at the Home Shows
Once these have been implemented then we will start on the next stage:
• Partner Placement (Builders)
• Store in Store Placement
• Event Placement
All of this is being supported by a comprehensive marketing campaign.
Your comments on this concept are welcome. Send your comments to dwr@4square media.com
