CE Pro June 2023 - 71

and tech retailer Howard's
in Southern California and
former LG executive. Riddle
shared the story of how
he came out of retirement
when presented with the
opportunity to turn around
Howard's into what is now
a major brand name with
17 locations/experience
centers and counting.
He pointed to a few basic
things the company - in
business since 1946 but
struggling with the Southern
California market at
the time Riddle joined the
board in 2018 - focused
on to start heading in the
right direction.
" Every day, it's that
feeling of taking care of
the customer. If you eat,
breathe and sleep taking
care of your customers,
then the competition won't
stand a chance, " Riddle says.
" If you're focused on your
customers, you have to
show it. "
Howard's makes sure
customers help sell others
on the company, too - the
retailer calls customers up
to five times to secure a
positive Yelp review, and
has improved its average
rating from the low 3s to
the high 4s since Riddle
became CEO.
He told Azione attendees
to use services to elevate
websites, add short videos
with employee testimonials,
post company history timelines
highlighting milestones
and innovations. Howard's,
for instance, has one the
oldest Employee Stock
Ownership Plans in retail
and several employees who
cepro.com
have decades of tenure... a
source of pride that can also
attract potential talent.
Your website, Riddle says,
should show those who find
it exactly what you do, how
you do it, what differentiates
your team, what's your
mission statement, etc. " You
should all be proud of the
history of your company, "
he says. " Communicate with
vendors what your company
stands for. ... Working with
vendors can help you get
things done. "
New Vendors
Welcomed
Speaking of vendors,
Azione Unlimited gave
its new vendor members
the opportunity to briefly
address attendees on
the second day of the
conference. The group
recently added a handful
of well-known custom
industry companies -
DISH, Atlona, Leon,
Hunter Douglas, Lenbrook
NAD & Bluesound,
Lowell Manufacturing,
OneVision, Bryston and
eero. Additionally, Azione
announced during the
conference that Angela
Larson, Sr. VP Customer
Operations at Savant,
would be joining the
advisory board, in the
stead of Alex Camara, who
recently stepped away from
AudioControl as president.
The new vendors represent
a swath of opportunities
for Azione dealers, from
the ability to customize
loudspeakers to distributing
high-res music, to outfitting
fully featured racks to
addressing the hot window
treatments category.
Family-owned, St. Louisbased
Lowell Manufacturing
enabled the group to fill an
opening in the racks category
and help fuel Azione's
Drive to 1,000. Lowell does
plenty of residential work,
but its bigger business is in
commercial.
" It's the first buying
group that we've ever been
associated, that's in 75 years
of business, " John Lowell
tells CE Pro of the company
established by his parents,
Ben and Dorothy Lowell.
He was joined by son Jarret
during vendor introductions.
" What's really stood
out the most at the meeting
here is just the high energy
of the group. "
Lowell says that before
joining Azione, the company
sent product to three
of Azione members to
essentially beta test Lowell
Manufacturing equipment
in projects, and said it was a
very positive experience.
Several Azione dealer
members stepped up to
the stage for the group's
" Dealer Think Tank " session,
highlighting business
maneuvers and implementations
that proved
successful in 2022 - such
as raising labor and RMR
rates, adding employee
morale boosters, working
with real estate agents,
cultivating builder relationships
and more.
Among the Azione
awards for dealers and
vendors, AVI Systems and
La Scala earned nods for
" Big Kahuna " dealer and
Canadian Dealer of the Year
(42 of the 280 members
reside in Canada), respectively,
while Sonance took
the " Dealer Choice " award
as top vendor for 2022.
Members collaborated on putting together 40+ bikes to benefit local charity Umom during
the spring meeting.
June 2023 CE Pro | 71
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CE Pro June 2023

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