The History of Ken Cranes
Ken Crane’s Legacy Lives On With The Next Generation
Family owned and operated, the Ken Crane’s Home Entertainment retail chain today extends to 6 stores in Southern California. However, it began in 1948 with a single location in Los Angeles on 46th Street and Crenshaw. It was there that Ken Crane began a 56-year career using a $3,500 loan from his parents to buy a radio store from his brother-in-law. Even though radio was in its prime, his intuition drove him to become an early adopter of the television, which he predicted would become even more popular for home entertainment. Based on gut intuition and with no formal business education, he would grow his business to become one of the largest Magnavox dealers in the United States.
Standing the test of time for over 60 years, today Ken Cranes Home Entertainment is run by founder Ken Crane’s children; son Casey is President, daughter Pam is Vice President and another son, Kenny, serves on the Board of Directors. Each of Ken Crane’s children admits to learning valuable lessons from their father. Those core values along with some of their own ideas-like their lowest price guarantee-provide customers with the confidence of knowing where to get the best service in the industry, along with the best price.
President Casey Crane feels strongly that his father’s philosophy was key to the continued success of Ken Crane’s stores —“My father taught me that relationships are the most important assets of a business. Whether it is customer relationships, employee relations or vendors, if there isn’t trust, you won’t be truly successful.” In fact, the entire Ken Crane’s team embraces that philosophy. Ken Crane’s sales team is much more experienced than the competition and they take the time to educate the public on new technology. “Our sales staff is a wealth of information in an industry that is extremely high tech and complex,” says Pam Crane. “Our clients count on our expertise to deliver the best performing system within their budget. They realize that a relationship with our company delivers far more value than shopping their system piece meal. Of course it doesn’t hurt that they are guaranteed the lowest price on top of that great service.”
Ken Crane’s original vision was to provide customers with knowledge about complex technologies in a positive, relaxed and comfortable environment. He felt that making customers feel at home would allow them to truly experience systems on display and hopefully envision it in their own home. This unique, unrushed and comfortable Ken Crane’s shopping experience today continues to set Ken Crane’s Home Entertainment stores far above their competition. In fact, it couldn’t be farther from visiting a big box store.
The Ken Crane’s Advantage: Sales Product Expertise & Superior Presentation
Pam touts their longevity, “We treat our customers like family with the security of knowing we will still be there for them if something goes wrong. Our only real challenge is trying to get our voices heard among these big box stores who have huge advertising budgets that shout louder than we can. However our customer loyalty tells a story that no other store can boast, and with our low price guarantee, customers who have experienced our service simply won’t settle for any other home entertainment store.”
Ken Crane Brings Midwestern Values To Los Angeles
The original Ken Crane was born Charles Kenneth Crane on June 10, 1918, in Loogootee, Indiana. After receiving a journalism degree from the University of Indiana in 1940, he planned to enter the service in 1944 to work in Armed Forces Radio. However his plans were derailed when doctors advised the asthmatic Crane to move to the drier climate of Southern California.
According to Pam Crane, her father’s business was built on Midwestern values, “When you grow up in a small Indiana town, you learn first how to take care of your neighbors. He was the only one in his family to get a college degree. But he never forgot those cornfields. They became his own field of dreams.” Casey Crane also recalls that his father was small town creative, “with a limited advertising budget, my father put a TV in the store window right next to the town movie lines which drove customers inside. Once inside, they found this folksy farm boy who’d sell them a TV with just his integrity”.
Over 60 years ago, Ken Crane began a legacy of giving back to his community as he helped fund-raising efforts for many non-profit organizations in Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. Today, his daughter Pam sits on the board at Torrance Memorial Hospital, along with many other non-profit committees and has even created her own non-profit animal rescue program. Pam declares, “It is our privilege to give back to a community that has meant so much to our family.” Chances are good that the Cranes will still be building their communities for another generation and another 60 years.
