EVOLVE.

This simple word is anything but when it comes to business. Evolving is critical to long-term success, yet, evolving is far easier said than done. It takes time, intuition, trial and error and a whole lot of grit.

Arguably, no one knows this better than Jim Fossile of EDS TV, an electronics, audio, entertainment and home automation store in Colmar, Pennsylvania, about halfway between Philadelphia and Allentown. In fact, it is impossible to tell Jim’s story without considering the many ways he and his business have evolved over the past 40-plus years.

Jim’s passion for both electronics and retail is evident throughout his career. In the early-1980s, he worked as an audio buyer for Sam Goody until the company exited the audio division to explore other trending opportunities. Soon after, Jim landed at Almo Corporation as the Director of Purchasing — with responsibilities that included both buying and account management. It was there that he first met Ed of EDS TV.

“I always wanted to get back into the retail channel. I wanted to be on the front line. I had great success with it at the retail level,” Jim recalls. As a buyer and purchasing director, he felt disconnected from the customer. So, he pivoted his career to work for EDS TV.

“The first thing I did was try to grow the business by my brands, and I knew it was profitable” explains Jim. “My biggest acquisition of brands was Mitsubishi back then,” he continues. “I was in a wholesale category for a while and knew what brands were good.”

Mitsubishi was indeed good for EDS TV. “I rode that lightning in a bottle until the end and it really put us on the map financially,” shares Jim about the success of his plan. Yet, the end came as core brands like Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Pioneer began to disappear. “Price erosion” also contributed to a decline in business. And “of course, the internet,” as Jim put it.

So, the business evolved. “Through the trials and tribulations of retail, we tried to expand the category of business,” Jim explains. “I had a bed store next to EDS TV called Ed’s Beds that we ran for years.” But the economic turmoil of 2007 – 2009 put an end to that. “We abandoned the bed business because [it] needed a lot of marketing money, and no one was buying beds because no one was buying houses.” The business also tested the appliances category, but it was short-lived.

“Financially, everything got a little crazy,” Jim admits, which led to even more trial and error including purchasing — and later selling — the shopping center where EDS TV was located and reducing staff to the bare minimum to create more financial stability.

“We rode through the storm,” Jim shares triumphantly. “I can make a list of 40 manufacturers or retailers that are no longer with us, that we used to compete head to-head with,” he adds.

EDS TV Team

Yet, even on the other side of that storm, price erosion remains a challenge. “We have to sell four times more product items today to make the same volume that we did 20 years ago,” Jim states. Current core brand, Sony, still can’t compete with the margins they once received through Mitsubishi. And so, the evolution continues.

Nine years ago, EDS TV moved to its current location in Colmar, PA, a storefront that Jim describes as, “a unique setup because we share space with Leather Expressions, which is a brand new killer category.” And that’s not all. EDS TV also carries custom Amish furniture, home theater seating and custom cabinetry for TV and media needs. “With the leather combination, the integration of the furniture, Salamander, BDI, and the Amish vendors and the customization of cabinets, we have become a solution for people that want something better than they can get at Raymour & Flanagan, or from Wayfair.”

Courtesy of EDS TV

Cohabitating with Leather Expressions has allowed EDS TV to create theater-like rooms to showcase top product offerings and differentiate from local competitors in the industry. “A lot of [businesses] don’t have the luxury of having a showroom,” Jim acknowledges, and EDS TV theater showrooms provide dedicated space for the sales team to properly educate customers. “The ability to demonstrate is very powerful,” notes Jim.

Courtesy of EDS TV

Courtesy of EDS TV

Finding success in the home theater niche has led to opportunity in related categories, including integration, dimmers, networking with Wi-Fi extenders, surveillance cameras, outdoor TVs, external audio solutions and, of course, installation of all of the above. “We have our own installers; we have our own service department,” Jim points out. “If someone has a pickle, we’re factory authorized with Samsung, LG and Sony. We’re a self-servicing dealer.”

With its humble beginnings as a TV repair shop, EDS TV is far more than just TVs. “I thought EDS TV sounded hokey. It sounded like something out of the 70s, which it is,” Jim shares candidly. Rather than change the name, he turned EDS TV into an acronym — EDSTV — which stands for: Electronic Design Solutions – Tomorrow’s Vision.

Courtesy of EDS TV

So how does Jim keep track of what’s working for his business and where to evolve next?

He offers this no-nonsense advice: “If you do things that Amazon, Walmart, Costco and Best Buy can’t do effectively, you leverage that.”

As for what’s next, Jim is keeping an eye on the micro LED market, which he believes “is going to be hot if they can get the price down.” He also sees smart home technology as an evolving opportunity, along with media rooms, whole-home audio and surveillance systems.

Even EDS TV marketing continues to evolve with Jim moving from TV advertising to utilizing more ROI friendly tools like Podium’s SMS services and mail-in rebate campaigns through Nationwide. But there is one new marketing tool that Jim is still on the fence about — AI chatbots. “Jerry is a virtual AI guy, and the guy is supposed to replace an employee,” Jim explains. “But we realized that he can’t replace a live person.” Still, his team is open to evolving. “Right now, we’re trying to pivot around Jerry,” he adds hopefully.

“You try hard. If you fail, you try again.”

Wise words for all business owners striving to evolve in the ever-changing world of retail. Listen to the full EDS TV interview below.