Canton, MA-based Tweeter is not the only retailer to choose Las Vegas as a home for a first retail concept. Liz Claiborne opened its first Lucky Couture store here at the Forum Shops at Caesars in 2004. Industry observers says that more could be on the horizon as new, high-profile centers are coming online in the market.

"It's got demographics that match our best customers," says Mark Richardson, corporate director of marketing and public relations, regarding the Summerlin section on the city's West side, where Tweeter opened early last year. "We had already been exploring Las Vegas for locations anyway."

The company does not plan to open new stores this year. It is concentrating on remodeling its current units into the new concept. But, this market could be a place of future expansion for the electronics retailer. One area executives could consider is the Strip. "It would make sense to have what you would consider a trophy store," Richardson says. "We would have to determine how far-reaching the Summerlin store is over time."

The Tweeter store has been designed to look less like a store and more like a consumer's home, giving shoppers an idea of how the products will translate into where they live. The new concept features a fully-integrated living room, kitchen, bedroom, sports bar and outdoor setting, allcontrolled by one master remote.

The company opened its second unit of the prototype in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook, IL in March. Management is currently looking at other sites for future openings.

In addition to being the right demographic fit for the new Tweeter Concept, is also met the company's goal of locating where there had not been a Tweeter presence. "Part of the reason we chose this city was to watch the new prototype and see how it launches in a market that doesn't know us," said Judy Quye, Tweeter's SVP of sales, operations and installation service, during a recent Q&A interview with GSR. "We're very pleased with both the prototype and the store. It gives us a lot of confidence that we could put this model anywhere we think we're a match in the country. We understand what it would take to get it up and running."

While most new retail concepts that come to Vegas will likely open their doors on the Strip, other areas of the market could also attract prototypes, according to Frank Volk, EVP at Robert K. Futterman & Associates. "We're a market that is inbound as far population goes," he says. "Las Vegas is a growth market whether it's the suburbs or the Strip."