CURRENT OPERATIONS
Distribution
With over 100 years of experience spanning four generations of ownership, Lieberman Companies (LCI) distributes amusement, vending, ATMs and other equipment. From our corporate headquarters, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, Lieberman offers a "one-stop-shop" with new and used equipment sales, service, and financing.
The amusement division (previously Lieberman Music Company) distributes video arcade games, ticket redemption games, prize merchandisers, coin pushers, claw crane machines, pinball machines, jukeboxes, photo booths, air hockey and pool tables. LCI represents the most popular game developers in the industry and features the latest technology including digital internet-downloading jukeboxes and on-line tournaments.
The vending division (previously Viking Vending) distributes full-line vending equipment including coffee, snack machines, cold beverage, combo food vendors, condiment stands, microwaves and change machines. The company is an exclusive distributor of brands such as Automatic Products, Crane, AMS, Dixie-Narco, SandenVendo, Panasonic, and more.
ATMs are the fastest growing sector. LCI distributes Nautilus Hyosung and Triton machines and handles processing for customers. Lieberman is an authorized ATM Independent Service Organization (ISO) with RBS WorldPay. In 2010 and 2011, Lieberman Companies was named a Top Ten Distributor of ATMs by Payment Alliance International (PAI), a provider of electronic payment processing solutions.
Route Operations
American Amusement Arcades (AAA) operates the largest amusement route in the Twin Cities Metro area. AAA services a wide variety of locations - traditional bars, restaurants, bowling centers, hotels, and arcades such as Valley Fair and the Minnesota State Fair. We optimize revenue in each location by carefully tailoring our equipment line-up, equipment rotation, and using the hottest prizes for our merchandising games.
AAA has been chosen as the operator for local and national chains such as Old Chicago, TGIFriday's, AMF Bowling Centers, Davanni's and more. See Links for more details.
HISTORY
Lieberman Companies’ 100-year history begins in 1907 when Samuel Lieberman, a Lithuanian immigrant to Minnesota, started Twin City Novelty, a small business servicing coin-operated machines in western Minnesota bars and restaurants. “He was new to the country so he went out and scraped it on his own,” says Chairman Steve Lieberman.
After Samuel died in 1938, his son Harold took the business to the next level forming Lieberman Music Company (LMC), a jukebox distributor. LMC also sold 78 and 45 rpm records to customers through an in-house record one-stop. An additional division, Viking Vending, distributed food and drink machines.
Harold’s sons David and Steve worked for their father during the summers but they had officially joined LMC with their brother-in-law Harold Okinow by the early ‘60s. The team began regional record distribution and continued on to sell records to small stores across the country. They also opened arcades in shopping malls featuring snack bars (one of which was in Southdale, the first indoor mall in America). The hotdogs were a hit and a chain of national mall-based restaurants called Carousel Snack Bars (CSB) was born. Harold Lieberman looked at the snack bars as a fluke. Says Steve: “My dad was modest. He said the things he tried always failed and the things he came upon accidentally succeeded.”
When stores across the United States started selling records, they turned the one-stop into a full-fledged “rack-jobber” that distributed records and cassettes to smaller operators in the region. This business was coined Lieberman Enterprises (LE). “One of the early records we distributed was Lawrence Welk,” recalls David. “And we eventually helped break Johnny Mathis.”
After Harold Lieberman’s unexpected death in 1967, the company moved from their downtown Plymouth Street location to a 75,000-square-foot space on Penn Ave in Bloomington. The brotherly camaraderie between David, Harold Okinow and Steve worked. “We never wrangled,” says David.
By the mid ‘80s, LMC was distributing to over 400 accounts, CSB boomed to 274 stores, and LE began operating record and tape departments in over 2000 stores including major outlets like Mass Merchants and Wal-Mart. LE eventually grew to be the second largest record merchandiser in the country and went public on NASDAQ in 1982. In 1991, at the height of its success, it was sold and David and Harold Okinow retired. Harold Okinow passed away in 2002.
Fourth generation Liebermans Dan and Hal (Steve and Sheila’s sons) stepped in. Dan, who is now President of Lieberman Investments, took over marketing and was eventually President of CSB. Dan also headed Mazzco, a parts division, and is now focusing on business development, targeting two areas – "green" businesses and distribution/service companies. “I have already eaten my lifetime quota of hotdogs,” Dan laughs.
Having worked for LMC since 1994, Hal is Lieberman Companies' President managing both the Bloomington office and the LMC/Viking Vending distribution office in Milwaukee, which handle 500 accounts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Michigan. Hal also oversees a 275-customer Twin Cities route, American Amusement Arcades.
From their vantage point, David and Steve are philosophical as they reflect on the past century. “It’s the style of doing business that makes me proud,” says David. “We treat our employees like a second family.” Steve agrees adding: “Most businesses don’t last beyond a second generation…I feel privileged that I’ve been part of this one.”
Just like their predecessors, Hal and Dan want the Lieberman Companies family to continue making history. Says Hal: “We have a great base to build on to write the next chapter in the history of LCI.”
