Lexington Vacuum
By Molly Belmont
Martin Brix says that since taking over Lexington Vacuum in February, he hasn't had any sleepless nights over business, only potential business. The transition has been seamless, he says, and it's only new opportunities for the store that keep him awake at night now.
"I've never lost a second of sleep over a problem, but over an opportunity, I have," Brix says. Currently, he's excited about a new product called the Vaporetto, a dry vapor cleaning machine that has commercial, residential, and institutional uses. He hopes to launch Vaporetto at Lexington in August.
"We just had the president of their North American demonstrations here on Saturday doing demonstrations with it," Brix says. "It is just amazing." The machine can clean everything from floors to sidewalks, showers to toaster ovens, surgical tools to garden tools, all with little or no use of chemicals, he says. The dry vapor technology has been a staple in Europe for decades, where people use it to clean hospitals and cafeterias as well as homes, and Brix believes the Vaporetto is poised for a boom in the United States, a boom he hopes to help usher in.
Martin Brix and his wife, Kim bought Lexington last year. The 65 year-old vacuum cleaning retail and repair business has proven itself to be technology-proof, a key selling point for Brix, who saw the internet take big bites out of his advertising business.
"We really felt that the print advertising industry was going down and going away, so my wife and I decided about three years ago that we were going to look for a small business to buy," says Brix.
The Brix say they were fortunate enough to keep the store's three employees, giving them a knowledgeable staff with 40 years of combined service at Lexington Vacuum. Since arriving, they have installed a more corporate structure, which they believe will give their employees more autonomy and independence. "We're empowering our employees now to do more and act independently and to offer ideas about how we can make our company better," Brix says.
They have also added one additional employee, their son Pierce Brix. He will serve as chief technical officer, overseeing the implementation of the new point-of-sales system. This new system will revolutionize the store's business, making business faster and more efficient. "When we took over operations here we found two pieces of technology...about a 12-year old Apple computer, and a microfiche machine," Brix says. Work orders and sales orders were handwritten, and inventory was done by hand, he says. Once the new point-of-sales system is in place, sales and inventory will be tracked via computer, giving employees more time to manage the day-to-day business of the store.
The store, which is also the main warranty service center in the region for all major brands of vacuum with the exception of Dyson, will also use computers to help track and report its warranty-related fixes, Brix says. When he arrived, Brix recalls that he supplied the shop manager and general manager with computers and instructions, "See if this can help you with our business." In one month's time, without any training, the employees went from processing zero warranty repairs online, to processing 95 percent of warranty claims online, Brix says, saving the company mountains of paperwork and loads of time.
The store's new owners say business has been good since they took over, and the transition has been smooth. They report that they are already months ahead of schedule in meeting an ambitious list of goals, including implementing the POS-system and creating an e-commerce website, where customers can order parts and supplies online.
Lexington Vacuum is located at 997 Central Avenue in Albany. For more information, visit their website www.lexingtonvacuumcleaners.com or call the store at 482-4427.
