MARTA BUYING GROUP MEMBERS SEEKING TECHNOLOGY EDGE
MARTA buying group retail members are getting 2nd look from manufacturers with mainstreaming of new display technologies and recent decision by Circuit City to switch to non-commissioned sales force, industry officials told Consumer Electronics Daily at group’s meetings in Orlando.
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With many of MARTA’s 102 members featuring commissioned sales staffs, manufacturers such as Philips have moved to expand their MARTA presence while Sony has had “exploratory” talks with group on program or possible alliance, dealers said. Many MARTA dealers carry Sony-branded product, but group doesn’t have formal agreement with that company, whose officials weren’t available for comment. Sony in past had downplayed participation in buying group programs, but signed on with NATM several years ago.
“Any retailer that has knowledgeable salespeople on the floor is better equipped to discuss these [new display] technologies and help people make choices,” Sharp Senior Mktg. Mgr. Anthony Favia said. “But there are other ways to go about it,” he said in noting in-store displays for LCD TVs that Sharp had deployed at Circuit and other retailers. Philips, which attended its first Marta show last Aug., since has added 15 dealers, some to fill geographic void for distribution such as Furniture Fair along N.C. coast, Buying Group Gen. Sales Mgr. Michael Leese said. Philips, whose largest MARTA member is Rainbow Rentals, also had discussions at show with Jer-Mel, which would give it coverage in Syracuse, N.Y. area, Leese said.
Manufacturers’ push to establish new distribution for plasma and LCD TVs also comes as dealers themselves shed some CRT-based sets to make way for new display technologies. Walter’s Home Appliances, Canton, Mich., has added 20 LCD and plasma TVs to its 3 stores, in some cases at expense of CRT models, Vp John Mistak said. New technologies also have enabled independent dealers to survive onslaught of regional and national dealers by carving out niche in custom installation, he said. Independents that have survived “are strong and are selling more of the higher end products,” Mistak said. Moreover, emergence of high-end CE goods with their inherent sellthrough complexity has “given us a chance to shine because we have a knowledgeable selling floor,” said MARTA officer Roger Van Vreede, pres. of 3-store Van Vreede’s chain in Appleton, Wis.