Huppins Hi-Fi Photo & Video Inc., a longtime family-owned consumer electronics business, has evolved over the last century into a multimillion-dollar enterprise with a thriving online division. Despite its presence in an industry defined by innovation, Murray Huppin says part of the secret behind the Spokane companys survival lies in the adage that some things just dont change.


While Huppins has had to anticipate and adapt to changes in the marketplace over the years, it has clung tightly to the values Huppin says have served the company well, namely, honesty and a commitment to customer service.


I learned from the seniors in my family that it was very important to always conduct the business with integrity with customers, employees, and suppliers, Huppin says.


On that foundation, the Huppin family has built its enterprise from a second-hand store and pawn shop to a company with 100 employees and $86 million in revenue as of last year. A majority of the companys sales now come from its mail-order and Internet division, which the family launched in 1994 after considering the future of the industry here.


None of those things were guarantees of success, but keeping open to different possibilities and constantly making improvements has really allowed us to expand and grow, Huppin says.


Murray Huppin, the companys president, represents the fourth generation of Huppins who have headed the business. He has made some bold moves while guiding the company through the ever-changing world of consumer electronics, and says he has been able to do so by standing on the shoulders of his predecessors.


The companys founder, a Russian immigrant named Sam Huppin, opened the store in 1908 in a space located about a block east of where the store currently operates, at 419 W. Main. Sam died in 1922, and his sons, Abraham, or Abe, and Sam I., or Big Sam took over the business, and oversaw its transition into military-related items during World War II and then mens clothing in the late 1940s. The company also sold luggage for a time.


Abes son, Sam M., or Little Sam, joined the company in the 1950s, and helped guide its transformation into a camera and stereo equipment retailer. The store stopped selling clothing altogether in about the mid 1970s and stopped pawnbroking about five years later.


Murray Huppin, who was born in 1960 and is Little Sams son, knew early on that he would someday take over the company.


Since I was very young, it was always the plan that I would come back to the business, he says.


Huppin graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in business administration and concentration in marketing in 1982, and worked for a time as a salesman for Procter & Gamble Co. in Los Angeles before returning to Spokane in 1984. He quickly took over marketing, buying, and management responsibilities for the company, and became general manager within a year. In 1997, he became an owner of the company. His cousin, Joel Huppin, also is an owner.


Thats pretty unusual in a family business, because the older generation usually holds on, but they passed the reins on pretty quickly, although always with guidance, he says, adding that Big Sam still visits the store several days a week. I worked six days a week, and couldnt wait to get back to the store on Monday.


By the mid 1990s, Huppin was looking for a way to grow the business, and figured the only solution would be to open more stores in Spokane or in other cities, or find another way to reach more customers. Additionally, national retailers clearly were planning to enter Spokane at that point, and the company had to come up with a way to remain important to suppliers when competition heated up.


To address those issues, Huppin decided to start the companys mail-order business, called One Call, in 1994, and its Web site shortly thereafter. In the beginning, he says, educating vendors and customers about the value of e-commerce proved to be a challenge. Fairly quickly, though, the idea really took off, and now Huppins is the longest-standing audio-video dealer on the Internet, he claims. Mail-order and Internet sales make up 85 percent of the companys revenue, with the balance coming from storefront sales and the service department.


I think sometimes people dont realize that were more than just this one local store, Huppin says. Were online competing with some of the toughest retailers in the country.


Huppins offers the same prices for its products online as it does in the store, partly because its a member of a buying organization, called PRO Group, that includes 20 specialty audio-video dealers nationwide, he says. The company also maintains good relationships with its manufacturers, which helps keep prices down, he asserts.


In 2005, Huppins launched a division that designs and installs audio-video systems for customers. The company had been referring customers to other providers for those services, and saw that it was a growing business that we absolutely needed to be a part of, he says.


It was a huge investment, and its a growing and exciting part of our business, Huppin says.


About a year ago, Huppins extensively remodeled the interior of its downtown outlet to open up the sight lines and make the once-crowded store feel more spacious, he says. The company also remodeled the store to highlight what have become its primary productsTVs, home-theater systems, and digital cameras, he says.


If you havent been to the store in awhile, you wouldnt recognize it, he says.


Henry Hill, who is vice president of purchasing at Huppins and has been with the company for 18 years, says Murray Huppin has been able to elevate the business to the next level by taking the solid foundation created by his grandfather, father, and great uncle and improving on it.


The family has always been conservative in the way that they manage, but also willing to look at new opportunities and different ways to be somewhat plastic and change with the times, Hill says.


Hill calls Huppin a true merchant, meaning that like his predecessors, he knows how to buy and sell goods correctly and understands the dynamics of the marketplace, taking into account the perspectives of vendors, customers, and employees. Huppin also has a knack for finding managers and employees with the skills necessary to help the company grow, he says.


The familys driving philosophy has always been toward making sure the customer is taken care of, Hill says. There are new tools to use, but the basic principles havent changed, and the fact is that if youre not a good merchant, you wont be in business very long.


When hes not greeting customers at the store or hatching new ideas for the business, Huppin enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife, Leslie, and daughters, Melissa and Kaitlin. Hes a member of the Downtown Spokane Rotary Club, sits on the board of directors of PRO Group, and has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Northwest. He also is past president of his synagogue, Temple Beth Shalom.


Looking ahead, Huppin says he expects the family enterprise will continue its strong, steady growth pace, although he declines to disclose any revenue projections for this year.


He says he appreciates the loyalty of the stores longtime customers, but cant rely on that alone without making continual improvements and keeping prices competitive.


We have very loyal customers, but we have to earn that loyalty every day, Huppins says. We have to get better and better.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.