Real World Retail: Hi-Pro Audio

INHERITING THE DREAM

One man’s vision led to the creation of Hi-Pro Audio in 1987. Today, the family continues to provide lasting memories and quality service, while connecting with the community through car clubs, car shows and events.

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

Hi-Pro Audio has made a name for itself by creating a positive store culture andfostering continued community engagement. From left to right: Marcus Munoz, Jaylen Jones,Justin Hosek, Megan Hosek, Janet Hosek, Henry Hosek, Logan Sauer and Matt Caldwell.

FAST FACTS

Main Location: VICTORIA, TEXAS

Number of Locations: ONE

Square Footage: 7,000

Type: Traditional Retail

Number of Employees: TEN

MAIN FOCUS: 60% Car Audio 20% MARINE/ POWERSPORTS 10% MORTORCYCLE AUDIO 10% RC CARS/HOBBY SHOP

KEY STAFF: Owners: Erwin and Martha Rother

Store Manager: Henry Hosek

Assistant Store Manager: Justin Hosek

Install Manager: Matt Caldwell

Assistant Install Manager: Logan Sauer

Installers: Marcus Munoz and Jaylen Jones

Bookkeeper: Janet Hosek

Hi-Pro RC Hobby Shop: Janet Hosek and Megan Hosek

The original owner of Hi-Pro Audio—David Rother—is remembered by his friends for his iconic, colorful van, which boasted a big build with 24 15-inch subwoofers. His dream was to open a car audio shop, according to his nephew and current store manager, Justin Hosek. In 1987, David’s father, Erwin Rother, loaned him money to start his business, which began in a small retail location. The business grew, and David sold his van for funds to pour a concrete slab to build a new location.

“But before the building was complete,” Hosek said, “he passed away unexpectedly in 1991. We had three walls up. My grandpa wanted to finish it. They kept the business going in his memory. Today, we’re continuing David’s dream.”

This year marks 34 years in business at the same location, and Henry Hosek, Justin’s father, has been managing it since 1991, while Erwin and Martha Rother remain the owners. The father-and-son team act as the main sales staff, but most of the installers are also cross-trained in product and pricing knowledge. While much of the work focuses on car audio, the business also works with vehicle safety, marine audio, powersports and motorcycles.

Located at “the crossroads” near highways 59 and 77, the shop draws clients from numerous surrounding towns such as Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Being only 30 miles from the coast means the shop services a lot of saltwater boats, as well as freshwater craft used on a nearby lake.

Justin Hosek grew up not only in the car audio side of the business, but also in the family’s hobby shop. “I jumped back and forth from remote control cars to real cars,” he said. “I started out helping my grandpa fix broken remote control cars after school, and I started working here officially when I was 14 or 15. It’s been about 19 years.”

Henry Hosek noted that the hobby shop—which mainly focuses on the sale of remote control cars—was renamed and rebranded Hi-Pro RC after Hurricane Harvey. “We operate it in conjunction with Hi-Pro Audio,” he added.

Separate Showroom and Sound Room Draw in Customers

Clients often drive up to two hours’ distance to get to the shop. The client might not have someone reputable in their immediate area, or maybe the family is already familiar with the business.

“We’re helping third-generation customers,” said Justin Hosek. “Maybe my dad sold a grandfather a system when he was younger, and then his son came in, and then his son’s son….”

Hi-Pro Audio has also kept its Wintech sound room from 1997, which is very popular with customers. Other than providing an experience for new and long-time clients alike, the sound room is a nod to the shop’s longevity. The business chose to keep it, Hosek said, in part because “a lot of people don’t have them these days.” He added that the sound room was modernized during the last remodel.

“We took out the neon and put in LED, giving it a cool look,” he said. “Everyone who comes in is impressed.”

Still, he said he could understand why some businesses decide against sound rooms: “It can overwhelm them, and I get that. We carry so many brands, and each brand has good, better and best categories, so where do you stop?”

Most of the time, though, the staff is accustomed to selling out of the sound room, and he added that it’s a lot of fun. “I don’t think you need to get rid of them. We’re lucky to have a big store where we can use it without it intruding on the displays in our showroom area.”

The showroom boasts Rockford Fosgate, Wet Sounds, Alpine and Ground Zero displays, along with glass cabinets to display product. The shop’s main focus, Hosek said, is OEM integration in mostly newer vehicles. “People are often happy with their factory sound system, but they

want more bass,” he added. The team qualifies the customer by finding out what they’re looking for and getting a sense of their previous experience with car audio. “We find out how well-versed they are, and whether or not they’re looking for a beginner setup. People come to us because of our reputation, not necessarily the product. They aren’t as focused on brand. Just about everything we sell, we install.”

If a customer is looking for a specific brand, the salesperson will show them good, better and best. The strategy tends to be top-down selling. Being a good salesperson, he said, comes down to being there for someone when they need help. “You don’t get that on the Internet.” Hosek added that younger people are now coming away from the Internet and stepping into the brick-and-mortar

Clients often come in for car audio, then add a remote control car to their purchase. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the accompanying hobby shop was rebranded Hi-Pro RC and moved into the same location. It’s been boosting revenue ever since.

store. “High school kids come here and they just want to talk,” he explained. “They think it’s cool, and they say, one day they’ll spend money with us. I think that’s neat.”

Grand Reopening Helps Raise Awareness

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm, and Hi-Pro Audio sustained roof and other exterior damage. Justin Hosek noted that the storm gave them an opportunity to not only fix the damage, but complete a full remodel of the front of the store and the sound room.

The shop closed for the remodel, which included installing new flooring and moving the sound room away from the showroom and into its own space. The redesign allowed the business to offer a new retail experience for customers. “We still have people who come in and say, ‘Woah, this looks completely different!’” Hosek said.

In March 2020—just before everything shut down due to COVID-19—the Victoria Chamber of Commerce came to the shop to do a ribbon cutting as part of a grand reopening event. Besides making the Top 50 lists in 2020, Hi-Pro Audio also earned a Small Business Award with the local Chamber of Commerce.

“We were finally done with the up-front construction,” said Justin Hosek. “Our doors were already open, but getting everything back up and going, the remodel after the hurricane took us a long time to complete with insurance and everything else.”

The Hoseks said it was just a fun day. “We invited people in and showed them around. We showed them the new sound room.” Some of the attendees might not have had any interest in car audio, he added, “But they might have a grandkid who is. It was all about community connection.”

There were also a few giveaways: Rockford Fosgate offered a set of speakers, and the Victoria Generals gave away two season tickets to every game. “We got everything done, and then COVID happened and we had to shut down the showroom,” Hosek said. “We’re thankful we did the ribbon cutting when we did. If we had waited, we couldn’t have done it at all.”

Hobby Shop Side Business Boosts Revenue Through Pandemic

Justin Hosek said his business-minded family once owned a garden center which also housed a hobby shop—but after the hurricane hit, the building required a new roof and three new sides. “My grandparents felt it was a good time to retire and rent out the building,” he said. “My mom didn’t want to lose the hobby shop account. She’s had that business for 30 years.”

Moving the hobby shop to Hi-Pro Audio was the next natural step, and it turned out to be a great move. Since then, Justin Hosek and his father said the sale of remote control cars has gone hand-inhand with car audio. “We get customers looking for a radio and speakers, and they’ll also leave the store with an RC car,” they said. And it’s not just cars, it’s also boats, airplanes, rock crawlers and more.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people were spending more money on hobbies, and as a result, Hi-Pro RC saw a sizable increase in revenue. “The RC side of the business carried us through COVID,” said Justin Hosek, adding that his mother, Janet, has an online store that ships nationwide. “The whole hobby industry blew up during COVID. They were selling out of RC cars. They have stacks of backorders.” It’s probably because less people were going on vacations, he added, instead focusing on family time.

Some of the business’s staff are also cross-trained to handle the hobby side of things. One of the employees, Hosek said, came from the hobby industry. While he works on broken RC cars, he’ll also help out with installs.

During the past year, Hi-Pro Audio incorporated curbside service and used the opportunity of a closed showroom to do a “spring cleaning.” Hosek said the team set up tables outside so people could drive up and look at what was available. For much of 2020, the indoor showroom was closed to the public, but

During the past year, the staff closed the showroom due to COVID-19 and took the opportunity to do some deep cleaning. With the inside of the shop closed to the public, business continued with outdoor tent sales.

there was a tent sale every day. “No one could come inside, so we basically put the showroom in the parking lot.”

According to Justin Hosek, he and his father, Henry, and the shop’s install manager, Matt Caldwell, worked tirelessly as business boomed. “We hired three people. We were still booking almost a month out by the end of the year.”

While the sales of RC cars increased, the shop also saw a few RVs. “We did about four or five last year,” Hosek said. “A lot were bigger builds, and one was a very large one. We installed a full Alpine system with a three-way front stage.”

While Hi-Pro Audio services all types of vehicles, Justin Hosek has a passion for Japanese import cars. He attends local car shows that have a high percentage

of muscle, classic cars and trucks. “I just take my car and hang out with people,” he said, adding that he’ll probably join one of the car clubs that sponsors local shows, or Cars and Coffee events. Going to these events has brought in some clientele, and adds a face to a local business.

“We also donate to raffles. One of my good friends here in town got caught in a house fire, and he was in a coma for a couple of months. They had a benefit for him and we donated an RC car for the raffle.” Hosek said the $400 car brought in $1,400 for the cause.

Outings Provide Leisure Time and Networking Opportunities

During the summer, the team attends Victoria Generals baseball games,

sometimes setting up a booth. Other local businesses also take part. The Hoseks look at it as a much-deserved night out for the staff, and they all have a beer and enjoy some downtime together. Justin Hosek said he and Matt Caldwell go to almost every game.

“A local church does a free ticket night. Interstate Batteries is located right across the street from us, and they go, too,” Hosek said. “Their employees have bought from us, and we network with them while we’re there. The RC stuff really kicks it over there.”

During other games, he added, they’d play “Name That Tune,” and the winner would get a prize. “In the last couple of years, since the remote control car side is [even more popular], we do the ‘Race to

While business boomed as stimulus checks were dispersed, install manager Matt Caldwell, store manager Henry Hosek and assistant store manager Justin Hosek (pictured from left to right) worked tirelessly to keep everything moving and to hire additional employees to help handle the workload.

Home,’ which involves two people racing around the bases, and whoever makes one lap and completes the finish line wins,” he said. “It’s attention-getting.”

Henry Hosek added that having the same name for both sides of the business helps with brand recognition. “It’s a lot of fun,” he noted, “and they remember us that way.”

Along with continued monthly sales on various products, the shop also hired someone to help them increase efforts online with Google AdWords and Facebook. “We’re trying to reach out more. We have small monthly sales, not big blowouts,” he said, adding that it helps the shop try to beat Internet sales.

“People want to come to that local business, but they also want to save money. If they can go online and get it cheaper, most of the time they will, but if you’re the same price, they’ll probably come to you,” he explained, adding that these incentives don’t include the labor. Since the shop increased focus on Internet awareness, it’s seen a huge influx of new customers. The staff will ask how the customer heard about them, and they’ll hear “Facebook, or a Generals game,” according to Hosek.

Justin Hosek dreams of one day designing and manufacturing his own brand of enclosures, but his plans of expanding and gathering more knowledge have definitely been slowed by material shortages.

“Since it’s so fast-paced right now, I have to rely on pre-fab boxes. I’m ordering them every month. If I could get to the point where I could design something like that, get it into CAD and cut it out, I could do it. I plan on doing that in the future,” he said, adding, “I’d like to have something like that associated with us.”

Facing Difficulties With COVID-Inspired Online Storefront

After Hi-Pro Audio hired someone to assist with Facebook and Google AdWords early in the pandemic, the business decided to reach out to people who were quarantined by offering online sales to local residents only. The project was meant to connect Hi-Pro specifically with this audience, but an unexpected problem meant people from states away were placing orders, which had never been the intended purpose.

“I had people from Michigan and California trying to buy something from us,” said Justin Hosek. “I had to tell them it’s not that kind of site. Then you’re refunding people, and it was a mess.”

Timing also turned out to be a problem. “We didn’t know how long COVID would last. People were sitting on the couch, going on Crutchfield, and we thought if they could get it from us instead, they definitely would,” he said, adding that the website failed in some respects. “It has brought us business. But I think we just hit it too late.”

By the time they launched the site, customers were coming back into the store, he said. “If we could do it again, I might focus on key products, maybe more on the marine side.” He added he also would’ve ensured customers understood it was just for local sales.

The main benefits turned out to be Google AdWords. If a customer searches on Google for something the store carries, the Hi-Pro website will appear higher on the list.

While the delivery option is no longer available due to the confusion, Hosek said clients can still purchase a product on the website and pick it up in-store.

Long-Standing Vendor and Dealer Partnerships Provide Continued Support

The shop sells a variety of brands including Rockford Fosgate, Alpine Electronics, JL Audio, Kenwood, Sony, Ground Zero, SounDigital, Wet Sounds and Stinger. According to Hosek, they’ve been selling most of these brands for over 20 years. Their longest-standing rep is Brian Tolley with TEAM Sales. Justin Hosek said Tolley knew his Uncle David. Henry Hosek noted the company has been with JL Audio since January 1993, and in fact, Hi-Pro Audio is one of the “founding 50” JL Audio dealers.

“If we don’t have something in stock, I know I can call my rep. We have a good dealer network, too,” said Justin Hosek, adding that another dealer might say, “‘I have three of these in stock and I’m willing to sell one.’ Brian will locate it for us. It’s been hard to get some equipment in the marine category.”

The shop has built solid relationships with stores in a two-hour radius. Houston Car Stereo is one, Hosek said. “We’re able to lean on each other. There was something he needed the other day, and I was able to help him out and repay a favor.”