Keyboard becomes player in piano biz.

Ludwig van Beethoven would have had a field day were he alive to browse through Keyboard Concepts, an 11,000-square-foot store in Van Nuys that sells upright pianos, electric pianos, and has an entire room filled with the finest of them all - grand pianos.

Keyboard Concepts also sells everything related to pianos. It sells 3,100 sheet music titles and gives lessons to 113 students each week. And it sells logo apparel to those who have a desire to be a walking advertisement for Yamaha, Kurzweil or other piano manufacturers.

There's no doubt the company is growing rapidly. Its revenues have surged from $1.9 million in 1993 to $5 million during 1995. But there was a trick to that.

See, in October 1993 Keyboard Concepts became the exclusive seller of Yamaha Corp. of America pianos for the entire San Fernando Valley, says Jeff Falgien, Keyboard Concepts vice president and part owner.

Now 70 percent of the company's business comes from sales of Yamaha instruments, Falgien says.

Why did Keyboard Concepts become the chosen one? Falgien says it's because of its aggressive sales techniques that get a lot of instruments out the door.

At many piano stores, the owner stays in the back office, says Dick Cruise, district manager for Yamaha in Southern California. But Falgien and his partner, Dennis Hagerty, are "right out there talking to the people."

Piano whizzes

They also know their stuff when it comes to pianos, so customers are speaking to very knowledgeable salespeople, Cruise says.

But Keyboard Concepts was also chosen because its owners are well-connected with technicians, as well as music departments at nearby schools and churches, Cruise says.

Falgien and Hagerty had wanted the exclusive Yamaha contract for at least five years before they actually got it. But they didn't do anything special to court the manufacturer other than to run their store in the best way they could, Falgien says.

The store's Yamaha pride and joy is the Disklavier, a state-of-the-art version of yesteryear's player piano. It can act just like a conventional piano. But pop in a computer diskette, and it will play a favorite tune using fiber optics, keys bobbing up and down and all.

In fact, the Disklavier can play 128 sounds, so it can play a symphony with the sounds of an entire orchestra. Or, for different tastes, it can emulate a jazz band.

The instruments run $7,000 apiece and up. A third of Keyboard Concept's business comes from selling them, Falgien says.

Keyboard Concepts also scores by taking very good care of all the instruments it sells, he says.

Elaborate preparation

Many stores just take a new piano out of the box and stick it directly into their showroom, he says.

But every instrument sold by Keyboard Concepts "goes through a 27-step preparation before it is shown to the customer," he says.

An out-of-tune piano can't be found in the store, he adds.

Not only do the store's employees take good care of their instruments, they also know how to match customers with the pianos that are best for them, Falgien says.

"They don't try to sell you something you don't want or need," says Frances Zolnikov, who drives from Diamond Bar to shop at the store.

The company, which operates its only store in Van Nuys, was founded in 1983. At that time it had three employees, a 1,800-square-foot showroom and $800,000 in annual revenues.

During the next several years it expanded several times, taking space where adjacent stores used to be. It expanded to 3,500 square feet in 1985, to 6,000 square feet in 1988 and to 7,500 square feet in 1991.

Last year was a big one for growth. Keyboard Concepts added seven employees, and in November 1995 expanded its space from 7,500 square feet to 11,000 square feet. Revenues increased from $3.9 million in 1994 to $5 million.

But growth causes growing pains, Falgien says.

Last year the company also had to formulate a hierarchy of management where it had never had one before. The owners also had to write employee handbooks, devise vacation schedules and pay attention to other management formalities for the first time, he said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Keyboard Concepts

Year founded: 1983 No. of employees then: three No. of employees now: 18 Revenues then: $800,000 Revenues now: $5 million