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RAF seems to be betting that Lieblein can-somewhat ironically-continue to expand sales of his analog products through digital channels. 'We aim to partner with talented, driven and passionate entrepreneurs leading high-growth companies that have differentiated products or services and meaningful brands. 'The decision to do a deal with Corey was a no-brainer,' says Rick Horrowitz, RAF's president. So he sold a majority stake-he won't say exactly how much or what he got but notes that he still owns 'a significant portion.' With RAF on board, Lieblein was able to undertake pricey projects like revamping his inventory management systems. RAF tends to hold positions in portfolio companies for 15 years instead of gutting and flipping them, which Lieblein liked. Two years ago RAF Industries, a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm, came calling. 'At that point, what I wanted to do was find a financial partner.'

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'I said, 'This is sheer insanity-I should be focusing on how to grow my business, not how to finance the business,' ' he says. In the ramp-up to the holidays one year, he had $6 million in the bank and $7.9 million in payables, necessitating some acrobatic short-term borrowing. Still, by 2015 he found himself limited by the constraints of being an independent small business.

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Two years ago he came up with Bright Tunes, which called for tiny Bluetooth speakers to be mounted on strings of decorative lights, enabling users to turn a Christmas tree into a boom box, but he says customers were reluctant to pay more than $10 for tree lights. Five years ago he launched Golden Solutions, a line of electronics marketed to senior citizens (telephone amplifiers, high-frequency headphones) but couldn't find a way to market them. He promised his retailers the brand shift wouldn't result in higher prices-just greater demand, which is what happened. As sales increased, he started to think about the old Victrola his father had owned, and he tracked down the brand's patent holder.Īfter the acquisition, Lieblein began slapping the long-dormant name on his turntables, imbuing them with a vintage feel but making no changes to the components. Enamored of the old-school look of its wooden cabinet, he began carrying the item in 2004, later adding a vinyl-to-CD transfer feature at the request of a customer. He began selling record players after he chanced upon a turntable-CD-cassette combo unit while walking through a trade show in China. 'I started the company,' he says, 'with one client and one item, sitting in a room by myself having no idea what the hell I was doing.' 'You've got to have IT.') He rented a 5-by-12-foot office in his father's Port Washington building for $1,000 a month. Lieblein picked the name mostly because he liked the abbreviation. When Corey Lieblein, shown in his Port Washington, New York, headquarters, added the Victrola brand, “the market went absolutely crazy.” Jamel Toppin When the sale went through, Lieblein decided he'd found his calling and jetted off to Hong Kong, where he discovered a supply-chain-management company that helped him source electronics from Chinese factories. He got out of it by lining up a deal to flip 50,000 wholesale DVD players to a friend at a big-box retailer. One month, two customers filed for bankruptcy, leaving him $60,000 in the hole. Then he moved back to Long Island and started a company called Residue Worldwide that traded in raw plastic. Lieblein's résumé includes a gig as a retail analyst with Saks Fifth Avenue right out of college and a stint selling women's private label sportswear in New York's Garment District. 'As kids go out of college dorms and they're buying their first homes or renting, I see more of those things becoming a part of the house,' says Caren Kelleher, founder of pressing plant Gold Rush Vinyl in Austin, Texas. Though audiophiles may prefer high-end European options that can run north of $100,000 per unit, Lieblein has more room to run with casual listeners at his lower price point. According to the research outfit NPD Group, that makes Lieblein's company the world's top seller of record players. And it's been profitable for 15 straight years.

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Privately held Innovative Technology, which employs about 50 full-time plus another 50 or so sales contractors, now does $100 million in annual revenue, roughly 80% of which comes from Victrola-branded units.