Serious Hi Fi gear is now being sold online in Australia with Eastwood Hi Fi claiming that up to 86% of their business comes from online sales.
Eastwood Hi Fi CEO Steve Neil claims that there are no barriers when it comes to a consumer purchasing a $4,000 receiver, amplifier or set of high end speakers for over $6,000 online.
Neil who claims that he is Yamaha’s biggest customer for high end audio gear, an issue that is disputed by Len Wallis Audio, who earlier this month was awarded NSW dealer of the year award by Yamaha, claims that consumers are buying both new and refurbished Hi fi gear online.
According to Neil the bulk of his business comes from forum and chat room referral s. He also spends about $20,000 a year on buying Google Adword’s which is an investment that he claims delivers better results than Yellow Pages.
A long time resident of Eastwood, his retail store operations have recently been moved to Dural where new sound lounges have been built. “We have car parking a better environment and a lot more customers. It’s quite amazing we have twice turned up on a Saturday morning and people have been queuing to get into the shop. The move was forced on us because of the shopping centre at Eastwood is being demolished”. He said.
Among the brands sold by Eastwood Hi Fi are Sonos, Yamaha, Marantz, KEF, Cambridge Audio and REl.
