of course, this is unofficial, unverified and unknown if accurate. it was found on a FB group for a ham club.
(OT but related) Probably the worst kept secret.... HRO ... Florida
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MSS-Dave
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It's not inaccurate. It's just a rumor (apparently started by HRO themselves on Facebook) that's gaining speed. YMMV, check is in the mail, etc...etc.
Winter Springs? Lol.....
900mhz
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Rumors are just that. As we presently speak, negative on a FL location.
well, that 800 number seems to go to the Atlanta store.
perhaps just a very decently done photoshop
(personally, if it were up to me, I don't see how you could possibly pass up a store in the tourist corridor of Orlando / Central Florida)
anyway, I will add that all my experiences with HRO have been positive. Even stopping in both the Atlanta and Denver locations - the staff has always been friendly and very knowledgeable on radio stuff. In some ways, I hope their location isn't near me. It will save my credit card.
;-)
doug
perhaps just a very decently done photoshop
(personally, if it were up to me, I don't see how you could possibly pass up a store in the tourist corridor of Orlando / Central Florida)
anyway, I will add that all my experiences with HRO have been positive. Even stopping in both the Atlanta and Denver locations - the staff has always been friendly and very knowledgeable on radio stuff. In some ways, I hope their location isn't near me. It will save my credit card.
;-)
doug
900mhz
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agreed. Been to the Salem NH and San Diego CA stores. However, in this day and age, brick and mortar, while cool, has taken a back seat to on line ordering. One would have to really consider the business model of opening a physical store.well, that 800 number seems to go to the Atlanta store.
perhaps just a very decently done photoshop
(personally, if it were up to me, I don't see how you could possibly pass up a store in the tourist corridor of Orlando / Central Florida)
anyway, I will add that all my experiences with HRO have been positive. Even stopping in both the Atlanta and Denver locations - the staff has always been friendly and very knowledgeable on radio stuff. In some ways, I hope their location isn't near me. It will save my credit card.
;-)
doug
i agree. however, as a long time visitor to AES Orlando in the 1990s... wow, did they ALWAYS have a full house of tourists / guests from south america buying stuff by the boatload to take home with them.... and when i say boat load - i am talking full dollies of hardware being stuffed into cars.
of course, I am assuming they were hams and not cartel members.
d
900mhz
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I bet. But, as you stated, that was the 90"s . As long as Atlanta can provide next day UPS delivery via ground, it would be foolish to open another location.i agree. however, as a long time visitor to AES Orlando in the 1990s... wow, did they ALWAYS have a full house of tourists / guests from south america buying stuff by the boatload to take home with them.... and when i say boat load - i am talking full dollies of hardware being stuffed into cars.
of course, I am assuming they were hams and not cartel members.
d
MSS-Dave
Member
HRO owns that 800 number from when they acquired AES a few years back, that was the Orlando store 800 number. HRO's Milwaukee store still has the 800-558-0411 number that AES had from way back in the day.
Now that HRO (or DXE or any other dealer) now has to charge FL sales tax on anything shipped into the state, the 6.5 % plus advantage has gone away. The only way you're going to stay in business with a brick and mortar store is volume, putting it in a non-traffic area like a way out suburb of one of the Metro areas will pretty much seal its fate before the doors open. Travelers can't / won't find it and the locals will want to treat it like a radio club.
Miami area would be very unique in the huge amount of traffic from South America coming through there. Not sure what Tampa would have to offer, when AES was open in Clearwater they did not have a lot of walk in traffic from foreigners there. Kissimmee would not be a too far of a stretch but US 192 is its own special kind of hell in that area. Orlando would be the most logical place, near the tourist corridor but not in it with all the T-shirt shops, seashell shops and amusement parks. So when the fam is staying down near the theme parks they can have a day at the pool while Dad sneaks into the minivan rental and runs over to the ham store. Hell of a lot more convenient to that area than the old AES Orlando store was. As Doug historically pointed out, South Americans by the van load especially in our summer time because it's winter below the equator. Here's a thought, put it next to Skycraft Surplus. Every ham in the United States probably has heard of it and a large majority of them knows where that place is. And it's technically in Winter Park so......
But hey, they say NOT O-Town so guess we'll wait and see what their marketing research folks says the best location is to place it. 😆
Now that HRO (or DXE or any other dealer) now has to charge FL sales tax on anything shipped into the state, the 6.5 % plus advantage has gone away. The only way you're going to stay in business with a brick and mortar store is volume, putting it in a non-traffic area like a way out suburb of one of the Metro areas will pretty much seal its fate before the doors open. Travelers can't / won't find it and the locals will want to treat it like a radio club.
Miami area would be very unique in the huge amount of traffic from South America coming through there. Not sure what Tampa would have to offer, when AES was open in Clearwater they did not have a lot of walk in traffic from foreigners there. Kissimmee would not be a too far of a stretch but US 192 is its own special kind of hell in that area. Orlando would be the most logical place, near the tourist corridor but not in it with all the T-shirt shops, seashell shops and amusement parks. So when the fam is staying down near the theme parks they can have a day at the pool while Dad sneaks into the minivan rental and runs over to the ham store. Hell of a lot more convenient to that area than the old AES Orlando store was. As Doug historically pointed out, South Americans by the van load especially in our summer time because it's winter below the equator. Here's a thought, put it next to Skycraft Surplus. Every ham in the United States probably has heard of it and a large majority of them knows where that place is. And it's technically in Winter Park so......
But hey, they say NOT O-Town so guess we'll wait and see what their marketing research folks says the best location is to place it. 😆
LOL, my thoughts exactly. Good news is that there are plenty of empty retail stores over that way because of the pandemic. The bad part would be any kind of lease will increase significantly over time as the tourism faucet is back on full bore. As pointed out by @900mhz, brick and mortar is a tough call these days - but isolating yourself from thousands of out-of-country buyers by building outside of Orlando/Miami doesn't make much sense to me either.
then again, I'm not in marketing or an attorney. But I am at a Hampton Inn at the moment.
;-)
doug
MSS-Dave
Member
"then again, I'm not in marketing or an attorney. But I am at a Hampton Inn at the moment.
;-)
If you would have stayed at Holiday inn Express you probably could have played marketing or an attorney today. Since you stayed at Hampton Inn, you just get to be moderator here. 🤣
;-)
If you would have stayed at Holiday inn Express you probably could have played marketing or an attorney today. Since you stayed at Hampton Inn, you just get to be moderator here. 🤣
N4KVE
Member
Years ago in the 80’s, & 90’s there were two HUGE ham radio stores not far from the Miami Airport. International Radio, & N&G. At least 50% of their business was catering to rich South Americans who would fly into town, rent a van, & drive to the store to load up the truck with Yaesu equipment. I saw this several times, & money was no object to these people. But yet both stores are long gone.
Grant didn't care if they were hams or cartel members. As long as the credit card was good.
N4KVE
Member
I was at the Orlando store a few times towards the end of their run. Every time, I was the only customer in the store, & I remember saying to myself “how can this place afford to stay open? There’s nobody here“. I still have a photo of the store after it closed with a sign on the door thanking everyone for the business.
In the early 90s worked at radio shack's in Tampa bay, and the tourists from Europe staying at clearwater beach would come into my stores and buy stacks of high end radar detectors. they explained that they were not legal in places like Germany, I made some good commission off those people. Interestingly, those European tourists paid with credit cards that had chips, like the common cards being issued in the last few years in the USA, so the Credit card Chip technology was around as far back as the mid 90s.
MSS-Dave
Member
After some super Google-Fu searching and looking in public records, it appears that HRO will be locating in Winter Springs as reported, click the link below for details ....
SCPA Parcel View: 34-20-30-5AW-0000-048C
Drive around it this AM. It's a nice area. Convenient to 17/92 and State Road 417 to the east. Straight shot from I-4 and 434 exit East for 5 to 6 MI. There are several suites in this building, apparently one is occupied with a florist. Robert Jr. and his wife own the entire property which is a bit over an acre including parking. There is nothing here that would scream warehouse like roll up doors or a truck loading dock.
Looking forward to them getting up and running. When I buy, I buy from HRO or DXE anyway so it'll be great to have a Florida presence for somebody, especially since buying tax free from an out-of-state vendor is now a thing of history.
SCPA Parcel View: 34-20-30-5AW-0000-048C
Drive around it this AM. It's a nice area. Convenient to 17/92 and State Road 417 to the east. Straight shot from I-4 and 434 exit East for 5 to 6 MI. There are several suites in this building, apparently one is occupied with a florist. Robert Jr. and his wife own the entire property which is a bit over an acre including parking. There is nothing here that would scream warehouse like roll up doors or a truck loading dock.
Looking forward to them getting up and running. When I buy, I buy from HRO or DXE anyway so it'll be great to have a Florida presence for somebody, especially since buying tax free from an out-of-state vendor is now a thing of history.
Glad I scrolled to the bottom! I was about to engage my Google-fu as well...
MSS-Dave
Member
I tried to attach some pictures but I have to resize them for them to work here. The interactive website from the property appraiser's office you can click on buttons and see maps and may be able to get a Google Street view from it.
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