While COVID-19 has upended many businesses in 2020, SnapAV, the industry-leading source of A/V, surveillance, control, networking and remote management products, is reinforcing its commitment to local market support with the opening of three new SnapAV Pro Stores in Houston, Dallas and Plainview, New York. At the same time, the company has expanded existing Pro Stores in Troy, Michigan; Carmel, Indiana; and San Diego.
According to Wally Whinna, SnapAV Senior Vice President of Local, expanding reliable same-day product availability and strengthening personalized service is enabling SnapAV integrators to complete jobs and stay on schedule.
“Because of the pandemic, integrators increasingly want to keep their own inventory at a minimum and utilize SnapAV Pro Stores as an efficient inventory solution that provides same-day product pick-ups,” Whinna said. “This reorganization of the supply chain is benefitting every participant and simplifying the procurement of hard-to-get products as third-party manufacturers transitioned their logistics to large, single-site orders instead of many smaller shipments directly to integrators.”
Considering that the SnapAV Pro Store program just started in 2018 and already has 23 locations in major metro markets throughout the country, the growth and integrator success experienced in 2020 points to the company’s forward-thinking vision that will see the addition of three new stores in the southwest and southeast by year’s end.
“Our research showed that integrators like being able to pick up custom integration products locally, and this unprecedented time has only increased the value of local, physical product availability,” Whinna explained. “SnapAV now has more physical stores than any other custom integration-focused distributor, and our network of Pro Stores continues to grow every quarter with new locations and store expansions.”
In total, the company has added tens of thousands of square feet of wholesale floorspace to support the needs of SnapAV integrators nationwide, while some competitors have struggled to maintain normal operations. Each store is stocked with SnapAV’s vast catalog of CI products in addition to popular third-party components that are in high demand, such as high-end TVs and lighting systems.
The expansion of SnapAV Pro Stores also adds to the company’s ability to host regional training sessions, although in-person training has been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, each physical store took full precautions to protect their staff and customers, following all social distancing and facial covering ordinances and enacting strict disinfection and cleaning protocols.
“We want our valued integrators to know that we are here to support their businesses, and we are taking bold steps to ensure their projects can continue uninterrupted,” Whinna added. “We’re all in this together, and by trusting and supporting each other, SnapAV, its integrators, vendors and end customers are propelling the growth of custom integration solutions all across the country.”
