A HEADPHONE EMPORIUM IN MANHATTAN

摘要

Situated in the heart of New York City, on a Mid-town block on 46th St. off Fifth Ave. that is normally populated by a constant pedestrian stream of office workers and tourists, is Audio46, a Deal-erscope 2021 Retail Excellence Award honoree. But while the pandemic has somewhat affected foot traffic these past 18 months, Tony Aama, Audio46's vice president, says business is healthy and booming. That, he says, is due to both his many loyal, longstanding customers who appreciate the huge selection of pro and consumer headphones and other audio gear he carries, and to the store's formidable online domestic and international presence. Audio46 started out primarily as a B-to-B brick-and-mortar camera retailer, and then took a different turn in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, when Aama added online sales capability in 2009. And in 2013, he continues, "we noticed another shift - we were getting customers walking in asking for more audio brands. So we started adding them, and began to carry a lot more high-end audio brands." The boom in consumer usage of smart-phones as cameras also helped Aama in reaching his decision to train Audio46's category focus more acutely, and in the direction of solely catering to a different set of loyal hobbyists: audio-lovers.