Sevenoaks Sound & Vision is bucking the trend at a time when many retailers are reducing their presence on the high street. The specialist AV retailer has opened a new store in Sutton Coldfield, replacing its former Solihull branch following the redevelopment of the town centre, and in doing so has reaffirmed its confidence in bricks-and-mortar retail.
For General Manager Simon Bicknell, the move isn’t simply about changing location. It’s about putting Sevenoaks closer to its customers while continuing to champion the experience that has long set the business apart.
“Our key motivation is building up our in-store business,” Mr Bicknell tells ERT. “We’re always looking at ways we can excite people to come back into the shops.”
The Sutton Coldfield showroom opened its doors after months of planning, but the move itself was prompted by circumstances beyond the retailer’s control. Solihull Council’s long-term redevelopment plans meant Sevenoaks had to vacate its previous premises, forcing the company to look elsewhere in the West Midlands. Rather than seeing it as a setback, Mr Bicknell and Managing Director Rob Lawley viewed it as an opportunity to strengthen the business in an area that has always been important to the retailer.
“We had a fantastic team in Solihull, so we were determined to find a new location for them,” he explains. “The West Midlands is a strong area for us and, when we looked at where many of our customers were travelling from, Sutton Coldfield made perfect sense.”
The pair spent time travelling across the region looking at potential sites before settling on Gracechurch Shopping Centre.
“We travelled the whole of the West Midlands looking for the right fit,” says Mr Bicknell. “Where we’ve ended up is perfect for what we want to do. It’s right for our customers.”
The response since opening has already reinforced that decision. Mr Bicknell spent the opening week helping to fit out the showroom before welcoming customers through the doors on launch day, when more than 100 visitors came to see the new store.
“It was fantastic,” he says. “One of the nicest things was seeing customers come in asking to speak to members of the team by name. They’d say, ‘Can I speak to Wayne?’ or ‘Is Tom here?’ Those relationships have been built over years and people were genuinely pleased to see us back.”
Just as encouraging were the visitors discovering Sevenoaks for the first time.
“We had plenty of people from the local area coming in and saying, ‘It’s so great to have a shop like this here. We’ll definitely be back.’ It was really nice to feel welcomed into Sutton Coldfield.”
The positive reaction reflects something Mr Bicknell believes has been missing from many town centres in recent years: specialist independent retail.
“People do appreciate a good independent retailer,” he says. “You can visit so many high streets now and see the same types of businesses everywhere, but what you don’t always see is specialist retail. That’s what gives a town its character.”
While he acknowledges that retail remains challenging, particularly following the pandemic, Mr Bicknell believes the company has remained successful by focusing on what it does best rather than trying to compete purely on price.
“The internet has given us a fantastic shop window,” he says. “We’ve got brands that customers can buy online, but we’ve also got brands where you really need to come into the store and experience them. That’s where we can offer something different.”
That experience starts the moment customers walk through the door. Rather than creating a traditional retail environment filled with rows of products, Sevenoaks has designed the Sutton Coldfield showroom to encourage people to spend time listening, watching and asking questions.
“We’ve got a dedicated stereo and home cinema demonstration room, so customers can properly experience different systems,” Mr Bicknell explains. “We’ve also created a lounge area towards the back of the shop with comfortable seating and different audio solutions, so it feels more like somebody’s home than a showroom.”
Towards the front of the store sits a headphone bar, allowing visitors to compare different models while listening to streamed music or vinyl records.
“We’ve got a streamer there, we’ve got a turntable, and customers can even listen to records if they want to,” he says. “For someone who’s never experienced hi-fi before, hearing a record played on a good system can be great fun.”
The layout has been carefully considered to make the store feel open and welcoming, particularly for customers who may never have visited a specialist hi-fi retailer before.
“We’ve worked hard to make all of our stores friendly and inviting,” Mr Bicknell says. “The front of the shop is very open with a large glass window, so people can see what’s going on inside. We don’t want to block everything out with products. We want people to look in, see the records, see the headphones and feel like they’re welcome to come in.”
That welcoming atmosphere, he believes, is crucial if the industry is to reach a wider audience.
“Our industry probably hasn’t always been the best at inviting people in who don’t already know about hi-fi,” he admits. “But our customers are music lovers and film lovers. They’re simply looking for a good solution, whether that’s a pair of headphones, a turntable or a complete home cinema system. Our job is to help them find what’s right for them.”
Backing the high street
While the showroom itself has been designed to encourage customers to spend more time exploring different products, Mr Bicknell is quick to point out that the biggest investment isn’t in fixtures and fittings – it’s in the people working there.
The Sutton Coldfield team has made the move from Solihull together, ensuring familiar faces remain on hand for returning customers. The manager and assistant manager have both been with Sevenoaks for around eight years, while every member of staff undergoes regular training to keep pace with the rapid evolution of AV technology.
“It’s a mixture of manufacturer training and our own internal training,” says Mr Bicknell. “The brands will come in and explain new technologies and products, but we also make sure our teams understand the fundamentals. We want them to be able to explain not just what a product does, but why it might be the right choice for that particular customer.”
That customer-first approach is central to the Sevenoaks philosophy. Rather than steering shoppers towards a particular manufacturer, Mr Bicknell says the retailer prides itself on remaining product agnostic.
“Every product we stock is there because we believe it’s good. It’s never about pushing one brand over another – it’s about finding the solution that’s right for the customer. Different members of the team might specialise in hi-fi, home cinema or custom installation, but together we’ve got the knowledge to help almost anybody who walks through the door.”
That expertise is something customers increasingly value, particularly when making larger purchases. Mr Bicknell recalls how, during the pandemic, Sevenoaks quickly introduced telesales support because customers still wanted to speak to somebody before committing to a purchase.
“People were buying online because they had to, but they still wanted that interaction. They wanted someone to reassure them that they were making the right decision.”
It’s a trend he believes has continued long after lockdown ended.
“These aren’t inexpensive purchases. Whether it’s a television, a hi-fi system or a home cinema, people want to know what they’re buying and why. That’s where specialist retail still has a real advantage.”
Changing the conversation
One of the biggest challenges facing the industry, however, is ensuring it appeals to a new generation of customers. It’s a conversation Mr Bicknell says manufacturers and retailers have been having for more than a decade, but one he believes is beginning to bear fruit.
“I think there’s sometimes a misunderstanding that younger people aren’t interested in hi-fi. Actually, they probably listen to more music than any previous generation. They just do it differently.”
For Mr Bicknell, that means the industry has had to rethink how it presents itself.
“If we’re not making products that resonate with younger music lovers, we can’t complain if they don’t come into our stores. The first hi-fi product somebody buys today might be a pair of headphones rather than a separates system.”
He points to the number of premium headphones worn on the street as evidence that younger consumers are still prepared to invest in quality audio.
“You see people walking around with headphones costing three, four or five hundred pounds. They’re clearly willing to spend money on a good listening experience.”
The challenge, he says, is helping those customers discover what comes next.
“Once someone comes into the shop, you can show them that for a little more they could have an active speaker system, a turntable or a streaming setup that completely transforms the way they listen to music.”
Designed for modern living
Manufacturers, he believes, have also become much better at recognising changing lifestyles. Rather than focusing solely on traditional hi-fi separates, many products now sit at the centre of the modern home, integrating televisions, streaming services and vinyl playback into a single system.
Mr Bicknell believes the changing role of hi-fi in the home has also influenced product design. In the past, visitors could often tell what someone was interested in simply by looking at their CD collection or shelves full of films. Today, much of that has disappeared as music, films and books have moved to streaming services and digital platforms.
“You want your amplifier to say something about you because you haven’t got a CD collection anymore,” he says. “If you watch your films on Netflix, read your books on a Kindle and stream your music, you haven’t really got anything in your house anymore that says anything about you.” Instead, he believes consumers are once again looking for products with personality, helping to drive demand for stylish speakers, amplifiers and turntables. “People are trying to put fun speakers and fun amplifiers back into their systems because it says something about them as a person.”
It’s a shift that, in Mr Bicknell’s view, helps explain why manufacturers have started rethinking their product ranges. Rather than designing traditional hi-fi separates for enthusiasts alone, brands are creating systems that sit comfortably at the centre of modern living spaces and work seamlessly with TVs, streaming services and vinyl alike.
“NAD was one of the brands having those conversations long before anyone else,” Mr Bicknell says. “Putting HDMI into stereo amplifiers doesn’t sound particularly revolutionary now, but when they first did it, it changed the conversation. Suddenly people could connect their television to a proper stereo system instead of automatically buying a soundbar.”
He also credits brands such as Bluesound for helping redefine music streaming within the premium audio sector.
“They’ve worked hard to create products that fit into the way people actually live today.”
The resurgence of vinyl has undoubtedly helped introduce younger audiences to specialist audio, but Mr Bicknell says another format has quietly been enjoying a revival too.
“We’re actually selling more CD players than we’ve ever sold,” he says with a smile. “People often assume it’s just a temporary trend, but it doesn’t seem to be. Customers are becoming much more considered about what they buy and they want to understand the differences between products.”
That curiosity is another reason why demonstrations remain such an important part of the Sevenoaks experience.
“If someone wants to know why one CD player costs £150 and another costs £1,000, we can show them. That’s much easier to explain when you’re sitting in a demonstration room listening to the difference.”
Looking ahead
The Sutton Coldfield opening also forms part of a wider period of investment for the retailer. Alongside the new West Midlands showroom, Sevenoaks is in the process of bringing its long-established Kingston franchise into company ownership, with refurbishment plans already in place.
“We’ve got an appetite to open more locations,” Mr Bicknell reveals. “We’re keeping our powder dry and waiting for the right opportunities.”
While he admits political and economic uncertainty has encouraged a degree of caution, the ambition remains firmly in place.
“We’ve just got to let Sutton Coldfield and Kingston settle in first. Once the market becomes a little more stable, we’d absolutely like to continue expanding.”
For now, though, the immediate priority is ensuring the new showroom becomes firmly established within its local community.
Looking back on the opening weekend, Mr Bicknell believes the early signs are extremely encouraging. Existing customers have returned, new customers have discovered the retailer and the team has picked up exactly where it left off in Solihull.
Ultimately, he says, success won’t simply be measured by sales, but by the experience customers have every time they visit.
“Retail is about creating an experience, and you can’t do that online in the same way,” he says. “Whether someone comes in to do their research before buying, or leaves with a complete system that day, what matters is that they leave knowing they’ve chosen the right solution.”
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