Thanks Serge!

:smoking:

Why did Magnolia drop Sonus Faber though?

To quote one of the early Quadrivio partners: "The number she is the number. She a no lie."

What does this mean? :confused-22:

BB probably dropped SF because they weren't moving enough $$ per square foot of floor space.
Even with the made in China stuff at lower price points, SF is a relatively unknown brand compared to Klipsch or even KEF.

The Magnolia experience has always been challenging for me. The products on display are top notch; McIntosh, B&W speakers, Martin Logan, Sonus Faber, Marantz, etc. One of the stores I Visited had a C2500 / MC 601's driving a pair of Olympica III's. That's a pretty serious 2 channel system. Probably around $30k.
The problem I've had multiple times is that the sales people are not usually interested in talking to me.
They do not seem excited or knowledgeable about the products.
And the equipment is not set up to sound it's best.
So I think the BB Magnolia 'store within a store' model is flawed.
It has got to be excruciatingly difficult to find people to staff these Magnolia stores.
And for BB it is about tonnage. If they can make more money selling WiFi routers, they should, and they will.
I do think Magnolia has exposed a lot of people to brands they wouldn't have otherwise experienced. That's a very good thing indeed.
Tom

Magnolia can't find good staff because you can't make a decent living selling audio equipment on a Best Buy salary.

Back in the 90s I worked for a "Mid-Fi A/V retailer" but we also offered a few high end brands, ARC, SF, Martin Logan, Mirage, KEF. Even back then it was a hard sell to our customer base who mostly wanted Bose.

That being said, it wasn't that difficult to make 100K flipping Mitsubishi big screens and Bose Lifestyle systems.

Try making 100K now at a Best Buy Magnolia twenty years later.

Leave out the probably and you have it.

The formula of selling a high end boutique product at a supermarket of gadgets is akin to selling Lamborghini at a Honda dealership... Always struck me as an odd business model. The results speak for themselves.

I stopped by the Magnolia Center a couple weeks ago to look around and the sales person told me SF had recently pulled out. I asked what happened and he said they never sold anything so SF was gone. The only room of interest was a HT room with B&W, McIntosh and JL Audio. The rest was TV's with sound bars and a wall of cables. Doubt that I'll go back anytime soon.