The point of the showrooms was to promote AR's image,
and thereby _increase_ sales.

OK, fine... did it work? Seems like something called "advertising"
would've worked in that regard too... then they could've used the
undoubtedly high overhead associated with rents in a retail district,
& having to staff up, & pay utilities, etc to actually move some product.

I don't know if it worked -- that is, if it generated sufficient new sales to
offset the costs of operation.

40 years ago, rents were probably much lower than they are today, with respect
to the total cost of running a business. (I don't know that as a fact.) I would
guess that the total cost of operation for both sites was $3000 a month, which
as focused advertising (you're demonstrating your product to self-selected
potential customers).

AR was, of course, a major advertiser in the hi-fi print media of that era.

Note, also, the canny choice of locations. Neither was in Boston. Both were in
New York, one in a train terminal, the other in one of Manhattan's principal
retail districts, through which people from all over the country passed each
day. Listening to hi-fi would be a good way to kill a few minutes.


But silly me, there's that capitalist thinking again...

Yup. Money, money, money, money, money. Not self-improvement, not benefitting
your employees or community, but simply making money to line your own pockets.

You ought to read "Land's Polaroid" and/or "Insisting on the Impossible" to see
what happens (both good and bad, but mostly good) when someone runs a company
without putting "profit for its own sake" at the top of the list of "things to
do today." Dr. Land was extremely wealthy and idolized by most of his employees.
And not because he had a lot of money.


better to just give people a paycheck for showing up - kinda like the
old Soviet Union did (and there's the trifecta) - without them having
to earn it by OMIGOD! expecting them to SELL something!

The AR listening rooms didn't sell anything -- except the company's image and
the "quality" of its products. There were one or two attendants who answered
questions, but did not initiate sales, as there were none.

These attendants not only had to be knowledgable, but had to make a good
appearance and treat people well. In other words, they had to be good salesmen,
even though they're weren't selling anything. That hardly falls into the
category of "getting a paycheck for showing up."


Fun thread! You game for more?

Nope. I'm in interested in advice from people who run their businesses for no
other reason than to make money. Your values and morality are plain.