OTHER TECH

Right at Home What Tweeter considers to be the most important part of the store is located, appropriately enough, right in the middle. Made up of four sets of tables and chairs, the "Design Studio" is where you sit down with a salesperson to discuss your situation and consider the possibilities.

While Tweeter would love to sell you a complete home theater in one visit, the reality is that people tend to buy systems in stages. "The first time a customer is here, he might just walk around and we'll give him some ideas," says store manager Hector Menna. "Next, we set up a visit where the salesperson, a field supervisor, and an installer go to his home to determine the best solution. Then we write up a proposal, and when the customer comes back in, we discuss it.

"You don't see a lot of boxes moving out of here," explains Menna. "The idea isn't to sell a TV but to sell a solution. And a big part of that is the in-home survey. Someone might come in thinking he wants a plasma TV for watching movies. But once we find out all the factors involved, we might recommend a different kind of TV."

Because the store relies on salespeople to make specific recommendations and forgoes aisles and aisles of product displays, it doesn't have to stock as many components as a typical Circuit City or Best Buy. "Until recently, this was a product-driven business," says Menna. "But the amazing flexibility of digital gear has shifted the focus from individual products to systems. Also, people used to want everything to be Sony or everything to be Yamaha, depending on what components they already had. But our customers trust us to build a system that will accomplish what they want."

While they can create completely customized systems, the members of the sales team also rely on packaged systems they know are sure hits. "It simplifies the options," says Menna. "We have packages where you can walk in and buy everything in the room." For instance, the Family Night In system - which includes a 56-inch Samsung DLP TV, Denon components, and Polk speakers - sells for $10,200. (The HP Media Center PC is extra.)

Another unusual aspect of the store is the emphasis on custom installation. "The vast majority of sales here involve some kind of installation," says Menna, "which is why having the staff come out for a home visit is so important."

About 60 of the larger stores in the Tweeter chain have been revamped along the lines of this one, with the rest scheduled to follow over the next five years. "Where we used to have three rooms devoted to audio, we've taken down one of those rooms and put up a package room with different settings and home theater displays priced from $5,000 to $18,000," says Tweeter CEO Joe Maguire. "That concept comes right out of Vegas."

Maguire won't say how closely the other stores will follow the Vegas model, but the goal is to make shopping easier and more enjoyable for customers from the minute they walk in until their products are installed. "A traditional electronics store is all about the stuff," he says. "In Vegas, we answer the question, 'What does the stuff do for you?' "

There's no doubt that Tweeter's new store is impressive, and it's just common sense that people would want to audition gear in a relaxing environment where systems can be seen in the best possible light. But old-fashioned "tire kickers" are likely to be frustrated that they can't check out a variety of components at a certain price, and some people might equate the store's upscale settings with "too expensive for me." Whether the Vegas concept ultimately succeeds remains to be seen. But for now it offers a stroll into the future that's worth taking.