After 40 years PowerLine Electronics is turning down the dial so the co-owners can retire.
Cousins Tim Huck and Brad Madigan opened what was then known as Base Electronics in 1984 at 672 Woolwich St. N. Within months it outgrew the 700 square foot location and moved down the street.
In 1987, it moved again to 214 Speedvale Ave. since it needed more space for a car bay where car stereos could be installed.
Huck and Madigan were at a point where they felt like they could do it on their own and moved away from being a franchisee of Base Electronics. In 1992, it changed its name to PowerLine Electronics and moved to 409 Woodlawn Rd. W. where the business has been ever since.
They saw the evolution of technology from reel-to-reel tape recorders, cassette decks, TV consoles, DVD players and high-end TVs. “When you sold a $1,000 console, you were doing good back then,” said Madigan.
A lot of the new technology they saw coming especially before the general public had any idea it existed. With artificial intelligence (AI) changes will be happening even quicker and it will be a big adjustment, said Madigan. He things AI is going to take a lot of things away.
There are people who come in and say their parents bought their first stereo here and now they are stopped in to buy theirs.
During the night before the opening day of the first store, a man came knocking at the door eager to buy a VCR and they sold it to him. Back then a VCR was about $500, basically the equivalent to today’s $3,000 TVs.
In the heyday of home electronics there were about five or six independent electronics stores in Guelph. PowerLine is “the last one standing,” said Huck.
He said it’s been able to last as long as it has because it's been able to keep up with the big box stores.
There was a time where installing a good quality stereo system in a car was popular. They used to joke that they would put $5,000 systems in $50 cars. Now PowerLine installs Apple CarPlay, back-up cameras and in-vehicle alcohol breath test machines.
The store has a section with dart boards, pool tables and Foosball tables. Every so often people will come in with their cues in hand ready to play since they think the Power Play sign with a billiard ball in the middle means it's a pool hall. The tables are for sale and not to be played on.
“We were in no rush to retire,” said Madigan. The property isn’t listed for sale but Huck would often get inquiries to see if he would like to give up the place. They started to take the inquiries more seriously and decided it was time. “It won’t be an electronic store anymore,” said Huck.
Madigan’s sister told him she couldn’t believe there wouldn’t be a PowerLine anymore.
The cousins haven't figured out exactly what they want to do when they retire but are looking forward to spending more time with their grandchildren.
The retirement sign was only put up outside the store on Tuesday morning and before the afternoon Huck already received emails from people who didn’t want to believe what they read on the sign because now the news is real.
“It's been nice to be able to put that kind of a landmark in the city for that amount of time. So that's gratifying,” said Madigan.
PowerLine’s anticipated final day is March 31.