veteran leadership brings the company into its 90th year - Music Inc ...

RETAILER EXCELLENCE
R
SPEED OF
SOUND
Sweetwater continues to expand its
staff, facility and product offerings
while focusing on innovation
It’s no secret Sweetwater
Sound is growing
at the speed of, well,
sound. The company,
run by founder Chuck
Surack, is already housed
in a 180,000-square-foot
complex in Fort Wayne,
Ind., and it’s continuing
to expand with a $24 million,
110,000-square-foot
addition that is expected
to be fully completed by
May 2014.
Christopher Guerin,
vice president of corporate communications
for Sweetwater,
said that while the space will
provide expanded warehouse
and shipping capacity — along
with additional conference and
training space — the lion’s share
of the new addition will accommodate
the company’s growing
sales force.
“We are bursting at the
seams,” Guerin said. “We already
have more than 500 employees,
and the expansion will accommodate
1,000. We plan to add 315
just over the next four years.”
Almost more astounding than
the number of the employees
Sweetwater has is the training
that its 200-member sales team
goes through. All new sales engineers
attend a 13-week training
program, which covers not
only musical gear, but also sales
techniques.
“Twice a week we have sales
training on gear,” Guerin said.
“We have various vendors come
in for a 90 minute session and
train the staff on the latest gear.”
PGROWTH IN INNOVATION
art of those sessions include
education on new products
that Sweetwater brings on —
many times well before other
retailers. One voting supplier
mentioned that Sweetwater,
Artist rendering of Sweetwater’s
headquarters post-expansion
SWEETWATER SOUND
Fort Wayne, Ind.
PRINCIPALS
Chuck Surack
FOUNDED
1979
EMPLOYEES
500+
STORES
1
ANNUAL REVENUE
About $300 million
“is willing to try new, innovative
products targeted to
new markets.”
Phil Rich, senior vice
president of merchandising
for Sweetwater, said that
while the company features
a versatile mix, they are
careful about what brands
and products they choose
to carry.
“When we consider new
products or new brands, part
of our decision making process
is credibility,” Rich said.
“At Sweetwater, we stand
behind everything we sell
and nearly every product gets
our free two-year warranty and
lifetime tech support. That’s not
carte blanche to carry everything
under the sun; rather it’s a daily
reminder that we want to carry
quality products we are confident
that our customers will love.”
So, why is Sweetwater willing
to carry these products before
most retailers?
“Look back at how Surack
built the business: innovation
over novelty, quality over cost,
and relationships over a quick
buck,” Rich said. “When we
stick to that formula, things
seem to work out pretty well
for our customers, our vendors
and Sweetwater.” –KK
32 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2013