Meeting a Genius

1973: The Birth of The Good Guys

One day in 1973, while sitting in the Sony office, I received a phone call from a man named Ron Unkefer, who I didn’t know at the time. He told me he had just rented an empty storefront in the Marina on Chestnut Street. He was opening a new business called "The Good Guys," and he wanted to meet with me to discuss becoming a Sony dealer.

The Marina District was—and still is—noted for its incredible demographics. The area was packed with young professionals in their twenties and thirties, making up more than half the local population. 

Living there was very expensive, boasting wonderful apartment buildings, luxurious homes, and some of the city's trendiest shops and restaurants. The views from the Marina are iconic: looking west to the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, north across the San Francisco Bay to Marin County, and out to Alcatraz Island, the former high-security prison turned popular tourist attraction. Then and now, the Marina is one of San Francisco's most desirable places to live, work, and visit.

I didn’t have a strong dealer in the Marina at the time, so I agreed to meet with Ron on my way home that afternoon. He picked a coffee shop in Sausalito, just across the bridge, and that is where it all began.

Ron and I were about the same age and hit it off right from the start. He explained that he had already put an agreement together with Magnavox to sell their massive console televisions, but he specifically wanted Sony to anchor his lineup of smaller, portable products. I had him fill out the dealer application and the credit paperwork right there, and we agreed to meet at his store the next morning on my way into the office.

Chestnut Street has a vibrant variety of high-quality shops and restaurants catering to every palate. But when I walked into The Good Guys store that morning, it was empty. And I mean empty. There were no products, no displays, not even a single chair to sit on. Still, Ron and I managed to put together a modest initial order to go along with the paperwork I already had. The store itself had a great location with plenty of windows—it was definitely not just some hole in the wall—and Ron did a fantastic job pitching me his merchandising ideas.

The Weekend Hustle: Securing the Credit

Getting that credit approved wasn't going to be easy. When I got back to the office, I immediately met with Dave, our credit manager. I pitched him hard, explaining Ron's background as a highly successful salesperson at a thriving electronics store back in Ohio. Dave wasn't buying it. The application was just too weak.

So, I made him a completely unorthodox offer. I looked at Dave and said, "I will personally deliver the products to the store on Friday. I will work with Ron on Saturday and Sunday to sell the products myself, and I will bring you the check on Monday." Dave was absolutely shocked by the proposal, but to my amazement, he said okay.

Needless to say, Ron and I had an absolute blast selling on that floor all weekend. Come Monday morning, I walked right back into Dave's office, handed him a cleared check, and slammed down a brand new order for the next weekend. We kept that exact routine going for a few weeks. From then on, Ron easily kept his credit line growing, and his business with Sony completely boomed.

Google Report: Ron began his string of successes in 1973, when he founded consumer electronics retailer THE GOOD GUYS in San Francisco. Ron took that company public and established it as the leading electronics retailer in Northern California. Ron resigned as chief executive officer of GOOD GUYS, INC., in 1993 after delivering twenty straight years of profitability and an average compound sales growth rate of 40 percent.

Ron has served on the boards of more than a dozen companies in the public, private and non-profit sectors.   He is a board member of Girls, Inc. in Dallas and also serves as chairman of the Unkefer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping needy children and improving health care in Texas.

The 1973 World Series: A "Trip" to Oakland

That year, the World Series featured the New York Mets against the Oakland Athletics. Right around that time, Sony held a massive sales contest, and I won. Georgia and I were absolutely thrilled! Because the Mets were in the series, we immediately assumed the prize was a free trip to New York for the game, giving us the perfect excuse to visit our relatives back East. Not!

It turned out the specific game I won tickets for was being held right in our backyard in Oakland. So, instead of a glamorous cross-country flight, we simply hopped in the car and drove over the Bay Bridge.

Despite the change in travel plans, it was an unbelievable experience. Sony had bought a luxury suite for the game, and we were treated like royalty. To top it all off, Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry—famous for being the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues—was hanging out in our suite. He actually served us coffee and spent time chatting with us! He was a fantastic guy, and it was an honor to rub shoulders with a truly world-class pitcher.