ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110086
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
The market has changed considerably since Roanoke's first discount appliance store opened Dec. 26, 1954.
Pete Moore Appliance was "the first to stay open after 6 p.m. and to be open on all holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas," said T. Kent Whitlock, who still manages the store 42 years later in a Williamson Road building that Pete Moore purchased from Ward TV.
Moore, the founder, died 10 years ago, and his daughter, Clarice Senter of Bristol, now owns the business.
Whitlock credits the store's longevity to several factors: adapting inventory to meet changing market demands, operating with as few employees as possible, and offering dependable and personal customer service.
"Customers appreciate sales personnel who do not use high pressure. They remember them and come back if they are treated well," he said. "We had one salesman, Jerry Vaughan, who was particularly loved. He died 23 years ago, but once or twice each week, someone will come in and say he bought something from Jerry Vaughan 30 years ago."
Whitlock spends little on advertising.
"We have gone the extra mile for customer satisfaction and are now getting the third generation," he said. "We don't use 'bait and switch' advertising or 'loss leaders,' although we may advertise 'one only' if something is banged up. Word of mouth from satisfied customers is the best kind of advertising."
In the late 1950s, Moore was influential in the repeal of the Fair Trade Laws, which forbade businesses to advertise merchandise at prices lower than those recommended by the manufacturer.
In a speech before the Virginia General Assembly, Moore said: "It is not fair that a woman should have to pay $49 for a mixer when I can sell it to her for $33."
The story made the front page of the Roanoke newspaper, Whitlock said, and customers poured into the store for the mixers. There were only six in stock.
"I called Pete and asked why he said what he did when the mixers cost us $37 each. 'I can't remember all the damn prices,' he said. 'Tell them we'll order more.' We sold 105 at $33 each, and lost over $400, but Pete said, 'Where can you get that much advertising for $400?'''
Whitlock estimates the store has sold approximately 140,000 appliances and televisions in Roanoke since opening. But the type of merchandise offered for sale has changed through the years. Today's inventory no longer includes small appliances or television sets. Larger businesses can buy in volume and sell at prices so low he cannot compete.
Whitlock said large appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators and freezers, which make up most of Pete Moore's inventory today, last 15 to 20 years, so the store can expect to sell only two or three to a family.
Although Pete Moore's home office is in Bristol and some stores have closed because of competition from discount houses, the Roanoke store continues to make a profit.
"We don't make a lot like we did in the beginning," Whitlock said, "but we make a living. Our 5 percent annual increase is about used up by inflation."
Young people can earn more money at the entry level in other businesses than he earns now after 42 years, he said.
Pete Moore Appliance
Center
2912 Williamson Road
563-9771
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB