Audio Video News

SVS Feeds Audio’s Resurgence with “Experience” and Crutchfield Deals

Rob Sabin  |  Sep 17, 2015

Audio manufacturer SVS, which first made its name with high-performance subwoofers and now sells a mix of high-value, full-range speakers that have been favorably reviewed by Sound & Vision and others, made two key moves recently that should please enthusiasts and SVS fans—and neither involves a new product announcement.

In the first, the company launched its first brand “experience” last week in a brick-and-mortar retail location, an approximately 200 square foot corner vignette within the 13,500 square foot Electronics Expo showroom in Wayne, New Jersey. Electronics Expo, a well-regarded independent with two suburban Jersey locations nearby New York City, is now prepared to demonstrate for its walk-in customers virtually anything in the SVS family, including the full Ultra and Prime speaker lines and 12 subwoofer models set up in the “SVS Experience,” as it’s been dubbed.


Gary Yacoubian, SVS (left) and Leon Temiz, Electronics Expo, in the store's new "SVS Experience"

At a well-attended event to celebrate the opening on September 10th, press and invited customers were treated in the vignette to an impressive 7.1.2 Atmos demo featuring the company’s Ultra Towers, Ultra Center, Ultra Surrounds, the massive SB13 Ultra Subwoofer, and a pair of ceiling–mounted Prime satellites doing Atmos duty. Other demos set up around the store featured a Prime 5.1 surround system mated with a front projection system, a Prime Satellite 5.1 system, and a CD- and vinyl-driven 2-channel demo supported by Cambridge Audio electronics and a pair of the company’s Ultra Bookshelf speakers.

The SVS Experience, which follows a trend toward brand-focussed marketing in consumer electronics and other retail sectors, does not represent the first brick-and-mortar presence for the traditionally Web-only manufacturer. SVS began judiciously expanding into brick-and-mortar several months ago as a way of engaging with another potential customer segment that prefers the live shopping experience, and it maintains the same retail pricing structure in about 100 storefronts nationwide as it does at its online store, according to SVS president Gary Yacoubian.

But SVS has been careful about working only with retailers who can properly represent the line, Yacoubian said, and “Leon [Temiz, president and CEO of Electronics Expo] is the perfect partner because their team here is extremely professional and effective” at both brick-and-mortar and online sales. Electronics Expo’s expanded commitment now gives SVS significant brand exposure and a powerful sales platform in a store where it competes with better established premium lines that include Paradigm, Martin Logan, Definitive Technology, and Klipsch, among others. Electronics Expo stands to gain as well, as it enjoys not only increased SVS sales but new referrals from SVS’s already strong online presence.

“We always rise to the top of the search and we tend to do really well when a potential customer does research, but then they want to see the prodcut live,” Yacoubian observed. “And Electronics Expo is presenting the full breath and totality of our brand in the New York market…This is as much about marketing our two brands as it is about selling products. ”

Those in the New York metro area seeking an SVS speaker or subwoofer demo can visit electronicsexpo.com, or to learn more about SVS, visit svsound.com.

SVS Goes Boom at Crutchfield
Meanwhile, in a separate announcement this week, SVS said that respected e-commerce and catalog giant Crutchfield would now be selling the company’s subwoofers. A visit to the site reveals six models for sale, some available in multiple finishes, including the SB13 Ultra, SB-2000, SB-1000, PB-2000, PB-1000, and PB-12 Plus.

In a statement, Yacoubian said “Crutchfield is one of the most iconic names in the consumer electronics industry, and I couldn't be more thrilled about our partnership since it unequivocally validates the progress SVS has made over the past several years."

COMMENTS
Mister Leadfoot's picture
Submitted by Mister Leadfoot on September 18, 2015 - 6:36pm

I was wondering what the Prime Satellites serving as Atmos were held with on the ceiling if it was visible. It seems tricky to find speaker mounts using keyway brackets to aim downwards.

Thomas J. Norton's picture
Submitted by Thomas J. Norton on September 19, 2015 - 7:38am
SVS fans might want to keep a close watch on SVS prices as they go into brick and mortar retailers. The big negative for Internet sales is the inability to audition beforehand. Even if returns are accepted, this can still be a hassle. But the big plus of Internet sales is lower prices because there's no middleman. With a middleman in the picture now, can SVS keep its prices the same? They can't use a two-tiered pricing system as few would buy at the higher B&M price if the prices over the Internet are significantly lower.

Dealers have to make a significant profit. They have a lot of overhead, including rent, salaries, taxes, and customer service. And it's no secret that speakers typically offer the dealer the highest markup from dealer cost to to retail of any major A/V component category. Only cables and other accessories add more to their bottom line.

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