For Immediate Release
Revitalized Home Entertainment Seating Brand RowOne Gains Momentum in the CEDIA Channel
With ample inventory during COVID-19, just-in-time delivery, a new home theater configurator tool, participation in the upcoming AVB/BrandSource virtual tradeshow and more, RowOne is on the move.
Ann Arbor, MI – August 27, 2020 – Home theater and home entertainment seating company RowOne® — which relaunched February under the new ownership/direction of former Director of Sales and Marketing Todd Girdis — is showing significant momentum in the CEDIA channel. In fact, Girdis even credits the pandemic as helping give the company “a push out of the gate.”
Ample Inventory of Home Entertainment Seating / Launch of RowOne Last-Mile Service
True to Girdis’ statement in the company’s May 2020 relaunch press release, RowOne, unlike most other entertainment seating brands in the custom residential channel, will stock inventory and an ample supply at that. Girdis (now CEO) had targeted late summer for the first lot of production delivered to the company’s new warehouse located just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is happy to report that the chairs have arrived and are ready for immediate delivery to authorized RowOne dealers.
RowOne pledges to reach any dealer or job site in the Continental US within 7-10 business days and offers an optional exclusive RowOne Last Mile Service – a convenient, scheduled delivery to a room of choice within a customer’s residence. “The ability to deliver within such a short timeframe is unusual as most seating companies don’t deliver until 8-10 weeks after receiving a purchase order. Further to this, pandemic-related supply chain issues have made those waits even longer,” says Girdis. Girdis is betting that the inventory and just-in-time delivery are key differentiators for the brand, and it seems to be paying off. RowOne and the company’s growing independent sales rep force in conjunction with HTSA, BrandSource, and AiN buying groups capitalized on dealer downtime during the earlier months of the pandemic. They presented the benefits of the brand — reconnecting with past dealers and signing new ones — with many committing to display in their showrooms and stocking the seating themselves.
Dealer Success Story – Audio Advice
North
Carolina-based Audio Advice is a prime example of this. Over recent years this established home theater retailer/AV integration company has gradually increased its relationship with RowOne from that of a small display dealer to a full gallery dealer to purchasing large inventories of RowOne seating. According to Girdis, Audio Advice has taken delivery on more than hundreds of RowOne chairs in 2020 alone and both companies are very optimistic about the future, especially given the fact that much of the country will soon be heading into winter season where home theater sales really start to heat-up again.
Home Theater Designer™ Tool
RowOne is adding Audio Advice’s just-released Home Theater Designer™ to its soon-to-be-released mobile-optimized website. This free interactive 3D tool enables users to spec-in AV gear, loudspeakers, select between rows or standalone seating and even change room dimensions. “Proper selection and placement of audio and video components, as well as dedicated home theater seating, make the difference between simply a good entertainment experience and a truly great one,” said Girdis. “The folks at Audio Advice have this figured out. Their Home Theater Designer™ is so easy-to-use and is responsive in real-time; it is the ultimate tool to bring all of this together.”
AVB / BrandSource Virtual Tradeshow
RowOne is currently the only seating brand participating in the AVB / BrandSource Virtual Tradeshow taking place August 30 – September 1. “We are so very excited to share with members the unique benefits of the RowOne line and launch of our Last Mile Service,” said Girdis.
RowOne Seating Line: 4 Styles of Home Entertainment Seating: Galaxy II, Plaza II, Prestige and Revolution Galaxy II is the market-competitive entry-level value that allows the dealer to compete hand-in-hand with the furniture retailer. Covered in black polyurethane fabric for the look and feel of leather, each chair with arms comes with power recline and a USB charging port.
Plaza II is one of RowOne’s best-selling chairs for style and comfort, fitting any décor or lifestyle whether in a family room or a dedicated theater room. Covered in black polyurethane fabric for the look and feel of leather, each chair with arms comes with USB charging, power recline, and deep storage arms that can hold a multitude of items such as gaming and remote controls, books, and a tray table. Plush backs with pocketed coil spring seats, fully padded arms, and sides provide for hours of seating comfort.
Prestige is already a market leader, with styling that fits any decor or lifestyle. Prestige includes all the same standard features highlighted in Plaza II. Prestige upgrades include premium black top grain leather/vinyl match covering and attractive base rail lighting.
Revolution Sofa is a motion sofa, a workstation, and an entertainment hub. Recline to a favorite position, then adjust the headrest for ultimate comfort. Revolution melds quality and comfort with an abundance of features. This includes a pull-down center sofa seat to reveal a tray table with cupholders, USB charging ports, and 110-volt power strip. Deep storage arms with lighted cupholders emit a soft blue light that romances the room. RowOne’s exclusive zipped-in ‘crumb catcher’ lining catches coins, popcorn, and more for easy cleanup without moving the seat.
Revolution is the ultimate in quality and comfort with an abundance of features including all the standard features highlighted above in Plaza II and Prestige. Revolution upgrades include premium black leatheraire covering, motorized headrest, base rail lighting, and memory button seating settings. Dealers and sales rep firms interested in learning more about selling RowOne can contact Todd Girdis by emailing todd@rowoneht.com or calling him at 734.395.3534.
About RowOne
Based near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and beginning February 2020 under the leadership and ownership of CEO Todd Girdis (formerly Director of Sales and Marketing), RowOne offers a unique line of home entertainment seating. The company’s products represent tremendous performance-to-value ratios based upon style, build-quality, feature sets, competitive pricing, and 7-10 business day delivery anywhere in the Continental US. In 2018, RowOne was cited a top 5 home theater seating company by CEPro Magazine CEPro 100 dealers. The company’s products are available for sale by authorized dealers. For information on how to purchase, please contact RowOne via email at todd@rowoneht.com or call 734.395.3534. www.rowoneht.com
RowOne Media Contact
Paul Muto, Muto Communications
Direct: 631.849.4301
iPhone: 516.662.5374
Twitter: @MutoCommPR
Home Entertainment Seating Company RowOne Changes Ownership
‘Keeping it in the family’ so to speak, former company sales and marketing director Todd Girdis acquires the brand, readies for late summer deliveries
Ann Arbor, MI – May 12, 2020 – Home theater seating company RowOne has relaunched with its former Director of Sales and Marketing Todd Girdis leading the charge as new owner and CEO. Since acquiring the company from founder Robert Cribbs in February of this year, Todd and team are busy supporting dealers, making some refinements to existing models, expanding the independent manufacturer sales representative network, and readying for late summer product deliveries.
Todd is already well-known by the company’s dealer base, many of whom are members of the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) and Authorized Integrators Network (AiN) buying groups, both of which RowOne is a participating manufacturer, an effort led by Todd during his tenure as the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing from 2017 – 2019.
A former AV integrator himself, Todd played an integral role in significantly growing RowOne to the point of achieving a top 5 home theater seating company ranking in CE Pro Magazine’s 2018 CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis. This is quite a feat given the nearly two dozen brands that serve the custom residential category, many of them highly recognized name brands that have occupied the space for decades.
“I’m energized to continue the positive momentum,” says Todd. “We are open for business, actively catching dealers up on the new RowOne, supporting customer service, and specifying designs and configurations for customers’ theaters. Many of the RowOne Direct Collection seating styles that dealers and homeowners have come to love over the years will remain, and will be available for fulfillment as soon as late summer, and we are making some exciting enhancements to several models that are sure to make RowOne even that much more ‘the talk of the town’”.
RowOne will be stocking ample inventory near Ann Arbor, Michigan where the company is now based, making it possible to reach any dealer in the Continental US within 7 business days. If the dealer prefers, RowOne’s White Glove Delivery Service direct to customer’s homes will also be offered to all dealers.
According to Todd, the ability to deliver seating within such a short timeframe is a prime example of how RowOne differentiates from competitors who traditionally don’t deliver until 8-10 weeks after receiving an order. This investment required to stock such a substantial inventory is literally unheard of.
“Todd now owning and steering RowOne is a such great news,” says Stan Matysiak, president of the Authorized Integrators Network Group (AiN) whose dealers are focused on the security and home builder markets. “AiN and RowOne have a history of successful collaboration in developing and implementing programs that help dealers’ grow their businesses. We are excited about all the possibilities that working with new-and-improved RowOne brings to our network.”
HTSA executive director Jon Robbins said, “In the Residential Custom Integration space, we have an exclusive partnership between RowOne and HTSA and are looking forward to the future.”
Part of the relaunch also includes RowOne engaging the network of CEDIA channel dealers and expanding upon the number of authorized dealers offering the company’s seating. Interested dealers can contact Todd Girdis by emailing todd@rowoneht.com or calling him at 734.395.3534.
“People are spending more time at home cocooning and wanting to upgrade their entertainment room or install a dedicated theater yet are mindful of costs,” said Todd. “We passionately design every seat with much emphasis placed on aesthetics, conveniences, build quality and price. Each RowOne chair is as wonderful to look at as it is to spend hours in. All are available as a sofa, loveseat or in rows for a dedicated theater room.”
RowOne – 4 Styles of Home Entertainment Seating: Plaza II, Prestige, Revolution and Galaxy II
RowOne Prestige Seats
Plaza II is one of RowOne’s best-selling chairs for style and comfort, fitting any décor or lifestyle whether in a family room or a dedicated theater room. Covered in leatheraire for the look and feel of leather, each chair with arms comes with USB charging, power recline, and deep storage arms that can hold a multitude of items such as gaming and remote controls, books, and a tray table. Plush backs with pocketed coil spring seats, fully padded arms, and sides provide for hours of seating comfort.
Prestige is already a market leader, with styling that fits any decor or lifestyle. Prestige includes all the same standard features highlighted in Plaza II. Prestige upgrades include premium leather/vinyl match covering and attractive base rail lighting.
Revolution Sofa is a motion sofa, a workstation, and an entertainment hub. Recline to a favorite position, then adjust the headrest for ultimate comfort. Revolution melds quality and comfort with an abundance of features. This includes a pull-down center sofa seat to reveal a tray table with cupholders, USB charging ports and 110-volt power strip. Deep storage arms with lighted cupholders emit a soft blue light that romances the room. RowOne’s exclusive zipped-in ‘crumb catcher’ lining catches coins, popcorn, and more for easy cleanup without moving the seat.
Revolution is the ultimate in quality and comfort with an abundance of features including all the standard features highlighted above in Plaza II and Prestige. Revolution upgrades include premium leatheraire covering, motorized headrest, base rail lighting, and memory button seating settings.
Galaxy II is the market-competitive entry-level value that allows the dealer to compete hand-in-hand with the furniture retailer. Covered in dura-gel for the look and feel of leather, each chair with arms comes with power recline and a USB charging port.
Another part of RowOne’s relaunch is filling out a network of independent manufacturer sales rep firms to work directly with the AV integrators/home theater installation companies. Interested firms can contact Todd Girdis by emailing todd@rowoneht.com or calling 734.395.3534.
About RowOne
Based near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and beginning February 2020 under the leadership and ownership of CEO Todd Girdis (formerly Director of Sales and Marketing), RowOne offers a unique line of home entertainment seating. The company’s products represent tremendous performance-to-value ratios based upon style, build-quality, feature sets, competitive pricing and 7 business day delivery anywhere in the Continental US. In 2018, RowOne was cited a top 5 home theater seating company by CEPro Magazine CEPro 100 dealers. The company’s products are available for sale by authorized dealers. For information on how to purchase, please contact RowOne via email at todd@rowoneht.com or call 734.395.3534. www.rowoneht.com
RowOne Media Contact
Paul Muto, Muto Communications
Direct: 631.849.4301
iPhone: 516.662.5374
Twitter: @MutoCommPR
Audio Advice: Home Theater Seating
READ OUR REVIEW: https://bit.ly/2OU2Qow
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RowOne Evolution Home Theater Seating: https://bit.ly/2NHXIr2
Within months of putting them in our showrooms in Raleigh and Charlotte, the Row One Evolution had quickly become the best-selling theater chair in the history of Audio Advice.
First, let’s talk about comfort. Whether you’re watching a blockbuster film, cheering for your favorite sports team, or binging Netflix, you’re probably going to spend hours at a time in your theater chair. When you look at less expensive seating options, usually the level of support is the first thing to go.
The RowOne Evolution, however, finds the perfect balance. It allows you to sink in but also provides good support so that you can enjoy the space for hours without any fidgeting or back pain. To make the chair even more comfortable, Row One uses a material that they call Leatheraire. It looks and feels just like leather, but is completely breathable, so you don’t have to worry about getting hot or sweaty the way you sometimes can from leather.
The Evolution allows you to fully recline using buttons inside the cupholder. The chair is completely motorized and it’s smooth and quiet, so you won’t disturb your friends and family if you have to make adjustments during a movie.
While some footrests leave a gap between the edge of the seat and the footrest, the Evolution extends edge to edge. Not only is this more comfortable because it supports your entire leg, but we also think it’s probably safer for pets and small children. Once you are reclined, you can fully adjust the headrest, again using buttons inside the cupholder, and find the perfect position to comfortably look at screen. This is a feature you usually only find in much more expensive seats.
In addition to the four buttons we’ve discussed so far, you’ll also find a fifth button that lights up the cupholder with a soft blue glow. It’s great for finding your way back to your seat after a bathroom break, or to make sure your cup makes it safely into the cupholder without a mess. The cup holders even include a USB charging port!
If you lift the armrests, you’ll see that each one has a large storage compartment. You can easily fit a stack of magazines, video game controllers, remotes, and even snacks inside!
The last feature we want to mention may seem a bit trivial at first, but we think it’s brilliant and it really highlights the thought that Row One has put into these chairs. Each Evolution chair has a zippered section that the Row One team lovingly calls the “crumb catcher.” If you drop popcorn or candy, it will get caught in the crumb catcher instead of winding up on the floor beneath the seat. That may not seem like a big deal at first — that is, until it’s time to slide a bunch of 115 pound chairs around the room to vacuum!
The Row One Evolution only comes in two colors — black and brown. This allows them to ship the chairs within 2 weeks, which is an incredibly fast turnaround for furniture like this.
If you’re considering them for your room, there are a few different configuration options that you can choose from. Of course, you can get individual seats but you can also build a row of them. There is no curved row option, but we find that in 99% of our home theater rooms, straight rows work best anyway.
There is even a sofa option, which is essentially three seats without armrests for the center seat. In this configuration, the center seats back can be pulled down to reveal a console, much like you may have seen in the backseat of a family SUV. The console features a large work surface and two additional cupholders.
As we mentioned earlier, we have decades of experience building high-end custom theaters in luxury homes. We carry chairs that cost four to five times as much per seat as the Row One Evolution. Is the Evolution better than these chairs? Of course not. But for right around $1,000 per chair, we’ve simply never seen anything that comes close to the quality, comfort, and feature set of the Evolution.
If you’re in the market for home theater or media room seating, you have to check these out. Even if you have already budgeted for more expensive chairs, the RowOne Evolution is worth considering. It could help you save some money on your room — or you could take the savings and get more high-performance home theater equipment. Our customers love these seats and we highly recommend them.
MUSIC – Ryan Little: https://bit.ly/2OU9X06
