In Great Britain there is Richer Sounds. The have locations all over the UK and many in London. The owner Julian Richer is also the general partner of Cambridge Audio. Mostly mid-fi and budget audiophile equipment (like Cambridge Audio and Arcam, Mordant Short, NAD, Marantz, Wharfedale), but the only chain I am aware of that has a really huge selection and sells better stuff than Best Buy and Circuit City. The closest thing to an audio chain in the US that I know of is Tweeter, but their salespeople are clueless. Has a large web presence also, but only ships to Europe, probably because of the voltage. You can browse their stuff at www.richersounds.com
New Home Depot concept coming to Audio?
Home Depot just opened a new store in town with a different name - it's called Expo and it's a mega-store for home remodelling and decorating. It has high-end appliances, oriental rugs, etc. My wife, who has been reading about kitchen upgrades for the past year and has tried in vain through different venues to see all the products she has read about can now see most of them in one stop locally. I don't know how the prices are, but if the concept catches on I would think the prices would come down somewhat based on competition and increased sales in this market segment.
I've always wondered if high-end audio manufacturers will ever see benefit in this approach and support it as well. I don't think you'll see a mega-store with only products that you see in boutiques, but the ability to go see a lot of different manufacturers' products in one place, many more than you see in any given high-end shop today, would be an interesting concept to consumers. I suppose the market for $3K ovens is bigger than the one for $3K amps but does it have to be?
I know a lot of high-end shops are falling on hard times, but there are some where business is just booming and it would seem to me that one of the big-time retailers could open a new chain that services the high-end audio / video market and designs stores with display capabilities that go well beyond what we have to choose from today and gain a critical mass of manufacturers. Any opinions? -Kirk