AVAD’s Busy Year Highlighted by 11 Grand Openings, New HQ
AVAD hasn’t slowed down since being acquired by Kingswood Capital Management and shifting its business model last year.
Last November, AVAD set course to radically change its business model. It has also been just over one year ago that the distributor was acquired by Kingswood Capital Management, and in the past 12 months, the company has unveiled new branches in new cities, a new headquarters, added several new website enhancements and even created a new logo.
First, the distributor announced it would be tweaking its business model to be more hub oriented from a shipping standpoint versus shipping from local branches. That was followed by the opening of four new locations, as well as expansion into northern Florida. AVAD opened three new California branches in San Diego Van Nuys (Los Angeles) and Irvine, along with new branches in Marietta, Ga. (Atlanta) and Eden Prairie, Minn. (Minneapolis/St. Paul) to serve the Southeast and Midwest.
AVAD also expanded its market reach in northern Florida with the addition of Michael Brickwedde, providing local representation to integration in Tampa, Orlando and other emerging markets in northern Florida. Brickwedde brings prior experience in sales and distributing within the consumer electronics area, including previous positions at AVAD, where he served as a sales representative for seven years, as well as 21st Century Distributing and Sound Advice. In addition, the distributor is announcing the opening of its new warehouse hub in Baltimore.
Grand Openings and a New HQ
The changes kept coming when AVAD announced the opening of 11 new grand openings in June of this year, expanding its reach to 20 locations in 13 states as well as Canada.
The grand opening events, spread across 10 markets, showcased AVAD’s newest facilities and offered dealers the opportunity to meet with vendor partners. The events also will feature a free BBQ lunch, door prizes, great buy-in specials and participation from several of AVAD’s key vendors. Among the attendees: Gefen, Niles, Panamax, Sunfire, Aprilaire, MartinLogan, Lutron, Harman, Polk Audio, Middle Atlantic, JVC, Chief/Sanus, Aprilaire and Bose.
The company also announced its move to new headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. Under the ownership of Kingswood Capital Management and the leadership of Tom Jacoby, AVAD’s CEO, and Fred Farrar, president of AVAD, the company says it is positioning itself for a strong year.
Lastly, AVAD announced a new website, featuring added enhancements, as well as a new logo. The new website is a direct result of feedback from dealers and will include phased enhancements throughout 2017. The new site includes upgraded searching functionality, access to detailed order history, easy-to-access promotional pricing and custom product recommendations. Designed to provide dealers with a simple, more efficient search, the new site allows dealers to utilize an advanced search functionality with better results and simplified sorting.
In addition, dealers can access an extensive order history, displaying 24 months of web, branch and phone orders, as well as shipment tracking or scheduling a pickup at an AVAD Depot location. AVAD’s improved site is the beginning of many digital enhancements as the company continues to invest in tools for residential and commercial custom installation integrators.
You can find AVAD at CEDIA 2017 in San Diego in booth #4612.
Editor’s Note: This story first ran in Security Sales & Integration’s sister publication CE PRO.
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About the Author
Jason Knott
Jason Knott is Chief Content Officer for Emerald Expositions Connected Brands. Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990, serving as editor and publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He joined CE Pro in 2000 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of that brand. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He has been a member of the CEDIA Business Working Group since 2010. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California. Have a suggestion or a topic you want to read more about? Email Jason at [email protected]
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