After Careful Market Study, Bjorn’s Takes Measured E-Commerce Approach

Longtime specialty AV retailer Bjorn’s in San Antonio quietly launched an e-commerce business, President Bjorn Dybdahl told Consumer Electronics Daily Monday. The move is notable for the high-profile retailer whose commitment to the AV demo made his store the go-to launch pad for the compact disc. Bjorn’s also gave the first public demos of Dolby Digital, dual-layer DVD, HDTV and first U.S. consumer demos of Blu-ray.

Despite Bjorn’s enduring commitment to the in-store demo, Dybdahl said the company has been studying entering the e-commerce side of the business for years. “We go to the [PRO Group] e-commerce meetings and listen to everybody and finally started working on it more seriously late last year,” he said. Dybdahl’s son, Kris, who handles marketing and IT for the store, is leading the effort, which went live a week and a half ago, Dybdahl said. Why now? “Just to be there,” he said. “It’s going to be a really slow process,” he said. There have been a few sales to date -- “nothing to get excited about yet, but from a customer standpoint we're there, and we'll be competitive,” Dybdahl said. “We have a lot to learn though.”

Dybdahl commended PRO Group’s guidance in the effort and for helping to manage expectations “which aren’t big at all.” Modest plans for 2014 call for the business to account for low single-digit percentages of the year’s revenue as the store “learns the process.” Bjorn’s will use existing warehouse space, Dybdahl said, and the company began speaking to manufacturers more than a year ago to learn “what we could and could not do,” he said.

TVs won’t be part of the Bjorn’s e-commerce initiative because “you lose money on every one,” Dybdahl said. The Bjorn’s website shows TVs on sale but says they're available in store only. Smaller electronics, including headphones, were available for shipping, we found in a survey of the site Monday. A pair of Sennheiser RS220 wireless headphones was selling for $499 and the store gave customers who put the phones in their virtual cart the option to buy a two-year warranty for $89 or a three-year warranty for $149. The company advertises free ground shipping or local pickup on all orders.

When we clicked on automation, we were told to contact the store for further assistance, while a BDI Braden AV cabinet was available as a “special order” for $1,749. Product information was the same as what we found at the BDI website and neither included the weight for what looked like a hefty (and expensive-to-ship) piece of furniture at 27 (h) x 68.75 (w) x 20.75 (d) inches. A Sony STR-DA5800ES AV receiver ($2,099) was available through the website and selling for the same price at Crutchfield, we found.

Bjorn’s website lists a 15-day return window, and a 15 percent restocking charge for merchandise returned with incomplete packaging materials, manual, accessories and warranty card. Clearance items can’t be returned, and consumers are responsible for return shipping fees, it said.