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Article: Finding opportunity in a brutal market: how Dennis James' Piano Warehouse is expanding sales in the San Diego market with a creative sales approach.(RETAIL STRATEGIES)
- Article from:
- Music Trades
- Article date:
- July 1, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Music Trades Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DON'T TELL DENNIS JAMES the piano business is dead. He readily admits that some components of The Piano Warehouse's business are slow. For example, his "bread-and-butter" customers, who in the not-too-distant past bought everything from $2,500 consoles to $10,000 baby grands, have all but disappeared. But while nationwide the market for imported pianos is reeling from an 80% decline since 2006, James reports that The Piano Warehouse's high-end products--Bosendorfer and Petrol grands--are up about 130% over the last 12-month period, and his Kawai digitals are also selling well. "Petrol, of late, has been very strong," he says, "and 2008 was ...