Paul’s TV & Video in La Habra sold nearly 100 big-screen TVs at about $3,000 a pop for Super Bowl Sunday.
That’s about 25 more than last Super Bowl for the self-proclaimed “King of Big Screens.”
“A lot of people like to have Super Bowl parties,” said owner Paul Goldenberg. “All of a sudden on a Friday or Saturday, they look at their old TV.”
Starting at 6 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Paul’s TV’s 30 trucks and four rented ones headed out to various Southern Californian homes awaiting big screens.
Everybody got his or her TVs on time, according to Goldenberg. Delivery service is key to the business, he said. Several big-screen makers have distribution centers in Southern California, including Irvine-based Mitsubishi Digital Elec-tronics America Inc.
Super Bowl Sunday is Paul’s TV’s biggest sales day. Even so, February is turning into a big sales month, Goldenberg said.
Some folks splurge on a big TV for the Grammys and Oscars, he said.
“This is a year-round business,” he said.
Last year, the Olympics prompted some people to run out and get a bigger and better TV, according to Goldenberg.
Goldenberg has turned an 8,000-square-foot store into a goldmine, largely through a catchphrase: “I am the king.”
King of big screens, that is. Southern Californians have seen and heard Goldenberg’s ads for more than 20 years, he said.
Goldenberg’s claim to royalty is that he’s been the top seller of Mitsubishi big-screen TVs for about 20 years now.
He said he has no plans to add stores.
“You have too many stores, you can’t take care of your customers,” Goldenberg said.
The business also has afforded him the ability to give back to charities, such as the City of Hope and an Alzheimer’s care center. He’s also been a big Democratic supporter. But, like many Democrats, he backed Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Lucy Doubles Down on OC
Lucy Activewear Inc., the Portland, Ore.-based seller of women’s sports clothes, recently opened its second Orange County store at The Shops at Mission Viejo. The retailer’s other store here is at Corona del Mar Shopping Center.
Lucy got its start as an online retailer but stumbled when the Internet bubble burst in 2000. Last year, Lucy,and its venture capital backers,set out on a national expansion focused on stores.
Docking in Newport
Clearwater, Fla.-based boat retailer MarineMax Inc. opened a new store on Newport Bay.
The store sells luxury brands such as Ferretti, Pershing and Bertram. MarineMax also offers yacht brokerage services. The company’s other Southern California store is in San Diego. MarineMax has 68 stores in 16 states.
Auto Brew
In the continual pursuit of the ultimate customer amenity, Santa Ana-based Crevier BMW is serving up Diedrich Coffee,as a franchisee of Irvine-based Diedrich Coffee Inc.
The dealership has turned about 190 square feet of space in its showroom into a Diedrich coffeehouse.
Alexis Eldridge, senior director of marketing for Diedrich Coffee, said this is Diedrich’s first coffeehouse inside a dealership. The company said it will look at other dealership franchises on a case-by-case basis.
Diedrich has plans to open three to four new coffee shops in OC this year, according to Eldridge.
In other Diedrich news, the coffee shop finished the sale of its international Gloria Jean’s franchise to Jireh International Pty. Ltd., formerly the Gloria Jean’s master franchisee for Australia, for $16 million cash. Diedrich is set to get $7 million in the next six years for licensing and consulting on the operation.
Another CarMax
Richmond, Va.-based CarMax Inc., which runs used-car “superstores,” plans to open a dealership in Irvine in April.
Last year, CarMax opened a 50,000 square-foot superstore on dealer row in Buena Park.
CarMax is hiring about 114 people for the Irvine dealership.
The company buys late-model used cars from consumers and at auctions. It then spruces them up and sells them for the price marked with no haggling.
The Buena Park store is set to supply cars to Irvine, which plans to sell more upscale autos.
CarMax plans to open four more stores in OC in the next few years.
