About Us: A Main Hobbies.com
by Jay Smith
Origin
Business success stories of companies that literally started out of a garage are few and far between these days, but A Main Hobbies is one of them. Kendall Bennett and his wife Kelly started the company from the garage of their California home in May 2004.
Kendall, who started flying RC airplanes at age 10 and running RC cars at 15, was looking for an incubator project to learn more about e-commerce software since his full-time job was running a software company. He had previously sold parts for Kyosho RC cars on eBay and decided to turn it into a side company.
His new online venture was to be called RC Nation—that is, until another company, RC-Nation, popped up on the web and caused confusion for customers of both companies. Because Kendall’s company’s focus at that time was solely on RC car parts, the name was changed to A Main Hobbies. The name comes from heats called “mains” in RC car racing: the best drivers compete in the A Main, with the next best group in the B Main, and so on.
Kendall realized early on that having software with real-time inventory and stocking every available part for the products the company supported were vital to his success.
Early growth
Less than a year later, in January 2005, it was apparent that the business was viable and a larger space was required to house all of the products A Main Hobbies carried. A 1,000-square-foot storefront next door to Kendall’s software company became the new location of A Main Hobbies. Not only was the company expanding in floor space, but it was also time to add employees to help maintain a high level of customer service.
By the end of 2005, A Main Hobbies had taken over most of the software company’s space and it was again time to move to a larger facility. Tripling in size, a 9,000-square-foot facility became the new home for A Main and the product line was expanded to include helicopters and, soon afterward, RC aircraft.
Kendall was aware that, given the way the company was growing, even the new facility wouldn’t be large enough to satisfy its needs for very long.
Expansion to Chico facility
In August 2008, after searching multiple locations in the Chico area, a 52,000-square-foot facility that housed offices and a large warehouse became their new home. The location even provided an area for an indoor RC car track. Initially it was a carpet track that has since been turned into an RC dirt track.
Today
- Carries 42,000 products
- Has a separate full-service hobby shop
- Employs 65 people
- Winner of the BizRate Circle of Excellence award for online retailers for four years straight
- Recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. 5000
- Sponsors and supports more than 100 events each year, from local fun-flys to large events such as the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree
I was amazed by A Main’s success story and shared that with everyone on our conference call, including Kendall, Marketing Manager John Taylor, CFO Kevin Kiser, and PR Director Aaron Waldron. It was apparent that everyone on the call was not only familiar with the hobby but also active participants. Between them they had 63.5 years of experience.
Company approach and culture
The hobby business can be a tough market. More online and brick-and-mortar stores go out of business than make it, so I was curious about what Kendall felt contributed to their success. He shared that there was no single focus such as price or customer service. A Main Hobbies has focused on all aspects and has worked to continuously improve.
If they were made aware that they didn’t carry a product, it was stocked. The website features real-time inventory so the customer is not left guessing if an order can be filled. Customers are taken care of and supported, building a customer-trust relationship that is important to Kendall and everyone at A Main Hobbies.
What they're proud of
“We managed to do this by ourselves,” Kendall said. “We have done well because I am an entrepreneur and I approach a problem from a practical perspective. Having zero experience in certain areas has allowed us to develop solutions ourselves and think outside the box.”
Future plans
When asked about goals going forward, Kendall replied, “We have strong growth plans. We want to continue to grow the online presence and refine the customer experience while integrating social media. Build a team website and allow people to interact with team members. We need to get our hobby out in front of people who have never experienced it.”
John added that it is very important to Kendall to give back to the RC industry by sponsoring team members and events. There are even plans for a 1/8-scale outdoor racetrack at the local fairgrounds for RC off-road car racing.
ProTek R/C
We also discussed A Main Hobbies’ proprietary brand: ProTek R/C. Since its inception in 2007, power supplies, chargers, and batteries have been extensively tested in-house prior to receiving the ProTek R/C name, and the company stands behind them 100%.
My experience has been with the ProTek power supplies that have been powering the charging stations at the National Electric Fly-In, trouble-free, for the last two years.
After spending nearly two hours on the phone with Kendall, John, Kevin, and Aaron, it was apparent that they are as passionate about the hobby as we are here at MA, and I look forward to seeing what they can do in the next seven years.
Sources
- A Main Hobbies
424 Otterson Drive, Suite 160 Chico, CA 95928 (800) 705-2215 www.amainhobbies.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
