New technology and old-fashioned service

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

TERRY SEMACH OFTEN THINKS about opening a new television and appliance store on U.S. Route 224 in Canfield.

He can’t help himself. Canfield residents are the fastest-growing part of the customer base for his store at 864 Youngstown-Poland Road, Struthers. And as Semach says, “There is no easy way to get here from Canfield.”

But so far, he’s decided against opening a second location for his store, Semach’s Northside TV and Appliance, which still carries the name from its original location on Youngstown’s North Side.

“That would raise our overhead dramatically,” Semach said.

But as an independent businessman competing against national chains, he knows he can never rest. He is continually working to keep the business up-to-date and still compete with the prices of the national retailers.

John Semach, 84, who founded the store in 1951, said his son, Terry, has found the right balance.

“The one reason we’ve survived is that we have kept our overhead down. We own this building,” John Semach said.

Besides owning the building, Semach’s has held prices down by participating in Associated Volume Buyers, a group of 4,000 independent store owners.

It’s not that the elder Semach is opposed to change. After all, he once moved the store himself. In 1964, he noticed that many of his customers were moving from the North Side of Youngstown, so he relocated the store from Belmont Avenue to its current spot in Struthers.

The store itself isn’t fancy. Its housed in a small, brick building that’s squeezed in an old retail plaza with limited parking. There aren’t any bright lights or glitzy displays. The tiny office area that’s tucked into one corner has metal desks and brown plywood that look decades old.

But appearances can be deceiving. Inside the bland store building are the latest in TV and appliance technology.

Terry Semach said that electronics companies turn to the smaller stores when they want to introduce new technology. Independent stores have knowledgeable sales staffs and are able to switch quickly into new product lines, he said. That happened recently with the switch to high-definition televisions that feature LCD and plasma screens.

“If you told us three years ago that we wouldn’t have a picture tube in the store, we would have laughed at you,” Terry Semach said.

While televisions have undergone major changes recently, change now is coming with some appliances. Terry Semach said front-loading washing machines, for example, are gaining in popularity despite their higher cost because they save on energy and water use.

About half of the store’s sales are in TVs, while 35 percent is appliances and 15 percent is furniture and bedding.

Terry Semach said independent businesses like his can survive if it can blend the new technology with old-fashioned service. His store, for example, provides delivery, set-up and removal service without charge.

The store’s sales manager has been with the store for 10 years, and the two delivery workers have a combined 50 years with the company.

“Our delivery guys are the biggest asset we have,” Terry Semach said. “Everyone in town knows them by name.”

One area where the store owner remains steadfastly old-fashioned is the store’s operating hours. The store closes at 5 p.m. three days a week and at 3 p.m. Saturdays. It doesn’t open on Sundays.

Terry Semach said he could sell more products if he extended the operating hours, but he wants his employees to be able to spend time with their families.

He said one customer called and asked about hours for New Year’s Day. Semach said she was shocked when he said the store was closed.

“I asked her if she was off on New Year’s,” he said. “When she said she was, I said, ‘Don’t my employees deserve the day off, too?’”

The one guy that’s been around the longest is his father. John Semach is happy to let his son take all the credit for the business’ longevity, however.

“I’m just the janitor now,” he said.

Terry Semach said he and his four siblings grew up in the business, driving delivery trucks and working in the back warehouse. It was just assumed that his oldest brother, John, was going to take over the business. But in 1985, he moved to Florida to build condominiums.

Terry Semach, who earned a business degree from Youngstown State University in 1981, stepped in.

“I had two parents who were ready to retire, and there was no one to take over. I didn’t want to see my parents working the rest of their lives,” he said.

His father summed it up: “Terry saved the business.”

They both credited John’s late wife, Betty, for being the driving force behind the business for the first 30 years. She handled the sales and the bookkeeping, while John focused on repair work.

“She was the heart and soul of the business,” Terry Semach said.

As for the future, the younger Semach has some years to go at age 50. But he’s leaving open the possibility of passing the store down to a third generation. His three children are between the ages of 13 and 16 and he hopes they will all receive a college degree.

“Then if they want to come back here, fine,” he said.

shilling@vindy.com