Difficult decision
Steve’s TV, Movieworld stores closing as focus turns to home automation
KITCHENER — Randy Martin says it was an extremely difficult — but necessary — decision.
The doors to the Steve’s TV and Audio and Steve’s Movieworld stores inside the Frederick Mall will close in the coming weeks as the company refocuses its efforts on its home automation and custom integration business.
“The retail business as it is now is not sustainable,” says Martin, who acquired the company in 1996. “It’s just been in a steady decline.”
Over the past decade or so, “we’ve seen a continuous price erosion or commoditization of the TV industry,” he says. “There’s no margin left.”
Online retailers and big box stores are the real winners, Martin says.
At the same time, those online retailers and streaming services like Netflix have deeply cut into Movieworld’s sales and rental business.
One bright spot has been home automation and custom integration systems, in which everything from door locks, surveillance systems and lighting to audio/visual equipment, climate control and motorized shades can be controlled on a single platform.
“It continues to grow and is a positive part of the business,” Martin says of the company’s sales and installation services.
While he plans to open a small boutique storefront to complement the installation business and its associated technology, it doesn’t require a large showroom.
“Our efforts are less on being a retailer and more on being a custom installation and integration business,” he says.
Martin expects the two Frederick Mall stores will close in early July; liquidation sales are underway.
Steve’s TV and Audio was founded by Steve Mathiesen in 1957 as a television and radio repair business, transitioning into retail sales, service and installation. Movieworld opened in 1981. “It’s one of the last-standing video stores,” says Martin.
In 1984, the businesses moved to a standalone building beside the Frederick Mall; the stores moved to separate storefronts inside the mall in 2015.
“We rode the wave of televisions, eventually home audio and home theatre, and just an array of consumer electronics — camcorders, VCRs, microwaves,” Martin says.
But sales — home automation aside — began to drop around 2011 or so. Martin hoped the move to smaller quarters inside the mall would save costs and rejuvenate the business, but the retail decline continued.
From the beginning, the company built a customer base through its commitment to friendly, knowledgeable customer service, Martin says.
“The asset of the business is our name, and the customer database,” he says. “It’s huge from being in business for 60 years.”
Moving forward, Martin says he wants to continue to serve those customers while growing the custom integration and installation business. While a name change may be coming, the Steve’s branding will still be front and centre, he says.
The company employs about 16 full-time and six part-time employees. Going forward, it will probably have six full-time staff, Martin says.
“As a business owner, you get emotionally or personally attached. You do everything you can to maintain it, maybe to a fault,” Martin says. “It was an extremely difficult decision to come to.”