A new showroom for L&M Home Entertainment attracts higher wealth clientele. There was a time when some dealers, who concentrated on only installation and did not run a retail business, didn't bother having a showroom. They were getting enough work and, besides, operating a showroom space can be expensive. But more and more dealers are realizing that a showroom is an essential marketing tool for the business, because nothing sells custom installation like an actual experience. Perhaps more importantly, showrooms act as an education and promotion tool for architects and interior designers. It is also sometimes key for attracting luxury clients.

Mike Ware, the owner of L&M Home Entertainment, knows this fact well. His business, based in Tempe, Arizona, is opening a new showroom in the upscale neighborhood of north Scottsdale. His business mostly deals in high-end American or European brands. With the new facility, he is hoping to increase L&M's reach into the luxury market.

Ware has operated a showroom in Tempe for many years. "We have an existing showroom that is pretty concise, as well as two warehouses with several offices," he says. "There are a couple of home theaters and sound rooms in our current locations."

But he has experienced a problem with his current location. "There are a surprising number of clients, as well as designers and builders, who just won't drive down here," says Ware. "I'm just shocked at the number so it was really mandatory [to open one in the new location]. We needed a flagship location that was in Scottsdale."

The new showroom resides in one of the highest demographic areas in terms household income, plus it's in the premium retail shopping district of Scottsdale. "There's a lot of high-end shops around there," notes Ware. "We wanted a flagship showroom that would be over the top."

L&M's new location boasts 7,000 square feet and is strictly dedicated to high-end audio and video. The overall theme of showroom is that of an old-style European city, only indoors. Mock streets, complete with cobblestone paving and streetlights, lead to other parts of the store and hallways are wider than normal to create an open-air atmosphere and to display local artwork. There is even an area that features a wet bar and outdoor bistro tables.

Ware, himself, designed the layout, and even modeled it so that patrons can walk the store in a circle, as if strolling through quaint city streets. "With this [showroom], we were able to design with a large space from the get-go," he says. "The one that we are at now we started with a smaller area and [later] expanded next door. There were a limited amount of things we could do, strictly because we had to do it in steps."

The new showroom will showcase three theaters. "The flagship theater will be quite large. Including the balcony, it will be about 39 feet in length, 15 feet in height, and about 21 feet wide," says Ware. "It will have a functioning balcony and the theater will be a tribute to the old time movie houses of the late 1920s—very ornate with a lot of gold leaf trim and very plush art deco
styling."

This large and detailed theater with a full 2.35:1 screen will seat between 17-19 people. It could hold more, but Ware wants his clients to envision this kind of theater in their own home, so he designed the seating area to invoke a spacious and comfortable feeling, not reflect a commercial appearance. McIntosh XRT2K speakers provide a powerful two-channel demo in the room, but it is also set-up for complete surround sound processing.
In addition to the theaters, the showroom will also have six dedicated music listening rooms, all of which have sheet rock ceilings. Some of the rooms even have vaulted ceilings. "Again," notes Ware, "we wanted to set everything up so that anyone could walk in and truly envision it in
their home."

Ware says he is planning a grand opening for May or June. A charity fund-raiser that supports breast cancer research will mark the event. Charity events are an important function for the showroom, and Ware believes they are beneficial to the charity and the business, as charities are important to wealthier clients. The showroom was designed to transform itself for these occasions. The spacious reception area (12 x 35 feet), with it's circular granite desk, can be transformed into a bar area for serving food and drink, and the design center, decorated to look like a comfortable library, also has a bar area.

Other luxury brands will be part of the showroom, as well. Already L&M has partnered with a local high-end jeweler for charity events and Ware says he is interviewing other high-end companies for product inclusion in the facility, such as cabinetmakers and local artists looking to show their work. Some deals are already done. "Our neighbor, Legacy Lighting, is a very high-end lighting company, and we'll be partnering with them and putting some of their lights on display," he says. "They are doing a lot with the upper-end home market. If someone is designing a multimillion dollar home, chances are their designers have worked with Legacy."

But perhaps the most interesting partnership Ware has managed to capture is the launch of a new book that will not only showcase L&M but also connect the dealer to local architects and interior designers. After a referral to Panache Partners, a publisher of high-end coffee table books, L&M agreed to be featured (a fee was involved) in one of their regional books called, Perspective on Design Southwest, that features top professionals in the area, as well some of their best work.

"I was pretty skeptical [at first]," Ware admits, but was convinced by the roster of other professionals that would be in the book. "[Panache] is particular about who they put in there. A couple of the architects that are in [the book] strictly do multimillion dollar homes and so I thought this was a good fit."

Simply being in the same book doesn't guarantee an introduction, so L&M is going to host the launch party of the publication at its new showroom. The list of attendees includes the other top interior designers, builders and architects, all of whom hail from the Arizona region and as far as into Texas. "Several of them in there I have not met," says Ware. "They've been on my radar, but they are tough to get a hold of, so that was one of my main motivations for doing the book."

As the host of the party, L&M will be front and center and have the exclusive attention of these hard to approach professionals. With the new showroom open and ready, the timing just might be perfect.  •