It Runs In The Family
A single piece of electronic equipment determined the course of Tracy Hart's life: an RCA laser disc player, pre-VCR, large home movie machines that played huge plastic covered discs. The year was 1980.
His dad Don, a hard working truck driver, wanted to buy his sons a special Christmas gift, and decided on the laser disc player. He bought it from The T.V. Store in Surrey, then began to spend his free time at the shop, befriending the staff and communicating his enthusiasm for sales and electronics. Soon Don was hired at the store.
Burdened by debt and lagging in television sales ( then the store's main focus), The TV Store was in trouble. One day in 1982, Don bought the inventory along with the debt for one dollar.
Don had some news for the family, "By the way, I bought the store today", was essentially how Don delivered the news. Initially, Tracy's Mom Marti almost hit the roof. Skilled in bookeeping and budgeting, she was soon as devoted to the success of the business as her husband.
Tracy attributes the store's salvation to his parent's passion and tenacity. "My mom won the creditors over one by one and my dad's dedication to service built our customer base," says the proud son.
Still selling, repairing and servicing televisions and other electronics, and also branching into the satellite and video markets. Don saw another entertainment trend on the horizon: Karaoke. The family business caught the wave at its start and now is the largest karaoke supplier in B.C.
In 1989, as a wedding gift, Don and Marti gave Tracy & Teresa, a one-third share in the business. Don and Marti have since retired and travel down south where they run Karaoke shows for the snowbirds.
In 2007, Tracy & Teresa have taken over the business and moved to the Kamloops area to run the business from their home, allowing the price of the equipment to decrease since the expense of a store front has been eliminated.
In 2009, we have moved a little further north, to Clearwater. We are enjoying the cooler
temperatures and the greener vistas. Business is better than ever.