SMART THINKING: RICHER SOUNDS
FROM RACKS TO RICHER Dean Gledhill, Head Of Custom Installation at Richer Sounds, explains the company’s approach and ambitions for this side of its offering. Tell us about your role at Richer Sounds (RS) I’ve been with Richer Sounds for 14 years now, having started after a chance encounter with Julian Richer. It’s a very forward thinking, supportive and ethical business to be part of, and we’re very keen to promote from within and give people a chance to rise to the top. Our Custom Installation division is a team of former store colleagues who support the stores with the leads they generate. We’re all self-confessed CI geeks - completely focussed on training, system design, product ranging, project management, technical advice, problem solving and anything else required to make sure that Richer Sounds’ CI offering is second to none.
a few years building contacts and soaking up as much knowledge as I could. I found the industry to be so helpful and supportive, from the Smart Home network & CEDIA, to helpful distributors and manufacturers, and of course the EI podcast! I was lucky enough to have a phenomenally technical colleague at Leeds, Stephen Ashton. We convinced Julian Richer to let us spend a chunk of money on a dedicated cinema space within the shop that allowed us to showcase high-end projects that Richer Sounds might not necessarily be associated with. I’d planned for the room to pay for itself over the next three to five years, but we managed that within the first year.
How long has RS had a CI division?
What are some of the main types of projects you carry out?
Our CI team, such as our Installations Manager Tim Smith, have been designing and installing home cinema, Hi-Fi and (more recently), smart home set-ups for our customers for many years, through our network of shops. The centralised CI department itself has just reached its one year anniversary, but is really just an extension of that huge wealth of experience. My own involvement came from my time managing the Leeds store, which seemed to be a hub of CI activity. I spent
Anything and everything! We’ve supplied and installed equipment in a wide variety of residential and commercial properties, and also schools, hospitals, MOD buildings… even submarines! We’re lucky enough to have some great colleagues in our branches who’ve cultivated strong working relationships with a network of over 150 approved third party installers, and we’re always on the look out for more installers to work with.
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What are some of the main products and systems used?
Being Richer Sounds, we have access to a huge array of products. This is great for customer choice and for installers buying specific products from us, so we really have to be on our toes making sure we’re clued up on everything. Some of the most popular products we’re installing at the moment are Control4 automation and lighting, Blustream distribution, Monitor Audio speakers, Cinema Build Systems wall coverings and Screen Innovations screens. Of course, something we’ve always been passionate about is excellent quality audio, and large scale CI projects should be no different. We love setting up high-performance audio systems throughout a customer’s home, all linked into the same eco-system.
What are some the favourite projects you have personally been involved? We did a loft cinema in Barnsley four years ago in conjunction with Smart Integrated Systems. This was my first ‘proper’ cinema job, and it was for a brilliant client. We created a gorgeous-looking room for them, which sounded awesome. They even opted for some tactile transducers in the
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