Black Friday at Bjorn’s AV: Lessons from a Master

Black Friday found Bjorn Dybdahl selling as usual in his store, Bjorn's Audio Video, in San Antonio, Texas.

Business was brisk at the shop, located just a few minutes away from at least two Best Buy stores. But it was a far cry from the madhouse you usually see at those superstores.

Bjorn's doesn't advertise during the busy season because "it's a waste," Dybdahl says. "People are out. They'll come by."

On this particular day, boxes were stacked in the store – an anomaly for the specialty shop which is best known for custom installation, not box pushing. Like other retailers, Bjorn's had some great deals, like Samsung 42- and 50-inch plasmas selling for "literally one dollar more than Best Buy," Dybdahl says.

One of Bjorn's several tweets (twitter.com/bjornsav) on the subject read, "This weekend ONLY - 50" Samsung Plasma HDTV 699.99 & 22" Samsung LCD $249.99 - Quantities Limited."

Bjorn's did not open early on Black Friday, and sales did not end at 10:00 a.m. as they did at some of the big boxes.

"People go out at 5:00 a.m. [to the big-box stores] and then they come here to buy what they really want," says COO Doug Bravin.

Even long-time Bjorn's faithfuls were milling around the store, chit-chatting with the staff and even helping other customers who may have been lost -- like one big family.

"I bought my first TV here in 1980 and I've been buying ever since," says Dennis Rickman, LEED AP, a Houston-area businessman who will use Bjorn's for the new house he's building in Kentucky. "He's done two media rooms for me and over 20 TVs."

Here are some highlights from black Friday at Bjorn's.

$200K McIntosh Demo

In a room off of the main floor, Bjorn's has a large room that can open up to seat 80 or 90 people. The company recently hosted about 60 guys who work in the cable industry for cable-related training.

"But then I get them," says Dybdahl. "This year, we brought them up to date on technologies. These are the guys that do a lot of installations. They mention us. Now they're asking if they can do this [technology update] every year."

On Black Friday, the training room was set up with a $200,000 McIntosh audio system. Dybdahl was sitting with a customer from South America, and the conversation went like this:

Dybdahl: Did you see the Da Vinci Code?

Customer: Yes

Dybdahl: Remember that scene at the end where he cuts his cheek? And it keeps building up and building up and building up? This is the scene. …

That end, where the music keeps building and he keeps walking faster and faster. It got to me.

Customer: That sound track is outstanding.

Dybdahl: This is not the sound track. It's a re-recording. It's better than the sound track.

In addition to the Da Vinci soundtrack, Dybdahl played from the Film Music Of Hans Zimmer.

Bjorn's never really intended to sell the demo system from McIntosh, but as it happens, a customer bought the floor model on the spot at a discount. Later, another customer bought the same system, new in the box and on the pallet.