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RadioActive AV: Using Space and Building Community
Desert-based integrator RadioActive AV has maximized its showroom appeal and has formed a remarkable (and profitable) network of tradesmen & contractors.
Gary Hall, vice president of RadioActive AV, says the company’s showroom reflects the demographics of the Palm Springs area, incorporating indoor and outdoor entertainment systems with car audio/video for the affluent. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSAN WERNER
It was 1986 when RadioActive AV set up shop in the desert town of La Quinta, Calif.
Revving up a business powered by the popularity of car stereos, RadioActive quickly became the go-to place for superior sound systems. Though times have changed and souped up car stereos have pretty much played out, RadioActive is still the name revered and remembered by customers in Coachella Valley.
Expanding its specialties to include home theater, surround sound, home automation and controls, lighting controls and home and business security, the company is still running on all cylinders.
It has grown from a company with four employees to an employer of 33. Furthermore, it did $6.7 million in revenue in '07, a 20 percent increase over '06. While the average install comes in at about $75,000, RadioActive also welcomes a lot of $5,000- to $10,000-jobs.
"We don't want to leave money on the table," explains Gary Hall, vice president and principal.
Hall is seeing the most demand for distributed music, RadioActive's background music system and outdoor installations. "Everyone wants music because the weather is so great here," he says.
That beautiful climate (especially pleasant in the resort area of La Quinta) lures scads of seasonal visitors with scads of money.
Hall heartily points out that the company is "in a weird geographical area." He adds that the clientele is kind of unusual. "A lot of people who come here are from Oregon, Washington and Orange County," he says.
"No one lives here primarily; it's a second home population -- unless you're a builder or work in a hotel." He adds, "Once May rolls around, our population drops in half. People come here for the winter."
So, it doesn't surprise RadioActive that its fastest-growing category is outdoor living technology. "We do an outdoor theater that's waterproof," Hall notes. "People want to sit out and enjoy the weather."
He explains, "Our clients are older and well off. Their grandkids come out and they want to cater to them and spoil them. So, they'll buy the pool. That sort of thing."
There are many other things the prosperous people of La Quinta can be sold, and, recognizing the clout of its own name, RadioActive has found two neat ways of capitalizing on that.
The first way has been facilitated by the creation of the company's 6,000-square-foot Smart House facility. "Smart House is a term consumers relate with home automation," Hall says. "So, we're using a term everyone recognizes."
He points out, though, that the Smart House facility differs from the showrooms of other dealers. After all, it's an actual house. "It includes a high-end kitchen with appliances, a master bedroom and bath," he says.
"You walk into what would resemble a typical courtyard, because most of the houses here in the desert have a courtyard."
While RadioActive's Smart House does much to drive core service sales, cool off-shoots help to drive other sales. "Once we capture the clientele, we can often sell them more stuff," Hall explains. RadioActive, which occupies 18,000 square feet of showspace, plays host, for instance, to a game room gallery.
"We sell pool tables, juke boxes and memorabilia. Customers come in for one thing, but see a signed picture of Frank Sinatra -- and they buy it on the spot."
RadioActive's space includes a garage. Cars ranging from Rolls Royces to Corvettes are rotated regularly. "We have a different car in the showroom each week," Hall says.
They help drive business traffic, and also help the collector who displays them. His Lamborghini is the only car he doesn't sell. He does trades and works with high-end dealerships. "We have more Rolls Royces in our area per capita then anywhere else," Hall points out.
La Quinta also has a huge surplus of golf courses (some 148 of them) and, because of that, RadioActive's Smart House also features a golf cart garage.
RadioActive takes other approaches to maximizing its sales. For example, in putting together its impressive Smart House facility, the company also put together an ensemble of some of the best tradesmen in the area.
Dubbed "The Legends Group," the tradesmen form a partnership of high-end companies including an electrician, carpenter, lighting expert, high-end pool company and others.
"Everyone in The Legends Group has been in business for over 20 years," Hall explains. "People know these names are high-end and top quality. It means something. So, we brand RadioActive as the elite high-end company."
Revving up a business powered by the popularity of car stereos, RadioActive quickly became the go-to place for superior sound systems. Though times have changed and souped up car stereos have pretty much played out, RadioActive is still the name revered and remembered by customers in Coachella Valley.
Expanding its specialties to include home theater, surround sound, home automation and controls, lighting controls and home and business security, the company is still running on all cylinders.
It has grown from a company with four employees to an employer of 33. Furthermore, it did $6.7 million in revenue in '07, a 20 percent increase over '06. While the average install comes in at about $75,000, RadioActive also welcomes a lot of $5,000- to $10,000-jobs.
"We don't want to leave money on the table," explains Gary Hall, vice president and principal.
Hall is seeing the most demand for distributed music, RadioActive's background music system and outdoor installations. "Everyone wants music because the weather is so great here," he says.
That beautiful climate (especially pleasant in the resort area of La Quinta) lures scads of seasonal visitors with scads of money.
Hall heartily points out that the company is "in a weird geographical area." He adds that the clientele is kind of unusual. "A lot of people who come here are from Oregon, Washington and Orange County," he says.
"No one lives here primarily; it's a second home population -- unless you're a builder or work in a hotel." He adds, "Once May rolls around, our population drops in half. People come here for the winter."
So, it doesn't surprise RadioActive that its fastest-growing category is outdoor living technology. "We do an outdoor theater that's waterproof," Hall notes. "People want to sit out and enjoy the weather."
He explains, "Our clients are older and well off. Their grandkids come out and they want to cater to them and spoil them. So, they'll buy the pool. That sort of thing."
Leveraging the Showspace
There are many other things the prosperous people of La Quinta can be sold, and, recognizing the clout of its own name, RadioActive has found two neat ways of capitalizing on that.
The first way has been facilitated by the creation of the company's 6,000-square-foot Smart House facility. "Smart House is a term consumers relate with home automation," Hall says. "So, we're using a term everyone recognizes."
He points out, though, that the Smart House facility differs from the showrooms of other dealers. After all, it's an actual house. "It includes a high-end kitchen with appliances, a master bedroom and bath," he says.
"You walk into what would resemble a typical courtyard, because most of the houses here in the desert have a courtyard."
While RadioActive's Smart House does much to drive core service sales, cool off-shoots help to drive other sales. "Once we capture the clientele, we can often sell them more stuff," Hall explains. RadioActive, which occupies 18,000 square feet of showspace, plays host, for instance, to a game room gallery.
"We sell pool tables, juke boxes and memorabilia. Customers come in for one thing, but see a signed picture of Frank Sinatra -- and they buy it on the spot."
RadioActive's space includes a garage. Cars ranging from Rolls Royces to Corvettes are rotated regularly. "We have a different car in the showroom each week," Hall says.
They help drive business traffic, and also help the collector who displays them. His Lamborghini is the only car he doesn't sell. He does trades and works with high-end dealerships. "We have more Rolls Royces in our area per capita then anywhere else," Hall points out.
La Quinta also has a huge surplus of golf courses (some 148 of them) and, because of that, RadioActive's Smart House also features a golf cart garage.
RadioActive takes other approaches to maximizing its sales. For example, in putting together its impressive Smart House facility, the company also put together an ensemble of some of the best tradesmen in the area.
Dubbed "The Legends Group," the tradesmen form a partnership of high-end companies including an electrician, carpenter, lighting expert, high-end pool company and others.
"Everyone in The Legends Group has been in business for over 20 years," Hall explains. "People know these names are high-end and top quality. It means something. So, we brand RadioActive as the elite high-end company."
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