Robin Walenta, president of West Music, has achieved multiple retail breakthroughs at her Coralville, Iowa-based chain operation. During Breakfast of Champions at the 2014 NAMM Show, she sits down with NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond to discuss everything from her company's breakthroughs in strategic planning and market development to her role as a female leader in the music products industry.
Daniel Haver, CEO of Native Instruments, oversaw his company’s rise from startup to music software pioneer. Since then, Native Instruments has entered the hardware market, undergone a major growth spurt and even influenced musical styles, including dubstep. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond looks at these breakthroughs with Haver during Breakfast of Champions at the 2014 NAMM Show.
Jim Odom founded PreSonus in 1995 to solve the problems he’d run into as a recording engineer and gigging musician. Since then, he’s had several product and technology breakthroughs, such as the StudioLive series. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond speaks with Odom about his unique story, his breakthroughs and the future of gear during Breakfast of Champions at the 2014 NAMM Show.
David Kalt, owner of Chicago Music Exchange, had a viral video hit in 2012 with “100 Riffs (A Brief History of Rock N’ Roll).” Since then, he’s had more breakthroughs in video marketing and also launched Reverb.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling used gear. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond discusses these initiatives with Kalt at Breakfast of Champions during the 2014 NAMM Show.
The last morning of the 2014 NAMM Show began with Best in Show. This session, moderated by Music Inc.’s Frank Alkyer, featured six music retail gear experts from Internet giants and independent powerhouses alike. These judges revealed their picks for the best products and services at the show—gear that’s certain to be a big deal in the year ahead. Watch the entire session.
As construction for Gist Piano Center's Lexington, Ky., store came to a close, the company needed to get customers and media to visit the newly expanded facility. James Harding, Gist's president, decided to throw a chocolate party. The event, which cost $500, attracted 300 people, jump-started the lesson program and resulted in two piano sales—one of them a grand.
Today's digitally armed consumers have adopted showrooming as part of the buying process. Using brick-and-mortar stores to check out products and later purchase them online is becoming more common. There are productive ways to combat showrooming, so you can get those customers browsing and buying in your store. Kenny Smith shares a few ideas that top retailers have successfully implemented.
Every December, Damm Music Center hosts a holiday concert called "The Best Damm Christmas Concert." It gives Damm Music's team an opportunity to showcase their talents and also raises money for charity. According to Kevin Damm, company president, the concert legitimizes his staff as musicians and gear experts in the community. "And each year, we get to play Christmas music as a band for 200–250 people," he says.
Instrumental Music Center of Tucson, Ariz., hosts a Rummage Sale on Black Friday weekend every year. The promotion not only clears out old inventory before year end but also gets new and existing customers into the store. And in 2013, the company did three times its normal weekend business during the sale, according to co-owner Leslie Faltin. Her total cost: $600 (which included lunch for staff). Find out how she did it.
In less than one minute, Don Tegeler of Tegeler Music shares his big idea: Hold a benefit concert on Labor Day for your non-profit organization of choice. This year, Tegeler hosted a concert to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. "I do a lot of business from people that just came in after they saw the event," he says. "They wanted to support me because of what we did."