TOP 12
Al & Ed’s Autosound
Beginning in 1954 as one of the first mobile electronics stores in the country, Al & Ed’s Autosound has grown into an 18-store chain with a powerful e-commerce presence. To say the shops are well-branded in Southern California would be an understatement, yet despite the Van Nuys, Calif.-based retailer’s whopping 45,000-customer mailing list, it didn’t use it to gain votes to place as a Top 12 re- tailer, said long-time product manager John Haynes. “We didn’t try to skew the voting by sending an email,” Haynes said. “All our votes came from interfacing with industry people and customers who were in our stores.” Cultivating loyal customers has been at the core of Al
& Ed’s business philosophy. It’s getting there by using its website, direct email blasts and presence at events, from industry to college shows. The retailer relies less on radio and TV advertising, because it is expensive in southern California, Haynes said. “Plus, in southern California very few people read the newspapers, so all our marketing efforts go with our website, which is basically a catalog of parts and cars we’ve done,” Haynes added. “We run promos there and also do direct email blasts like rebate offers or just new product information.” In the future, Haynes sees Al & Ed’s as an industry lead- er that “continues to assist the industry to grow and to find new and better mobile electronics to the end user.” He sees competition in not just between authorized dealers and unauthorized dealers, but in “every grey market vendor who is selling parts on the Internet.” Competing with them is a challenge, and although “our company doesn’t like to discount a penny, reality is, that’s not how it functions,” Haynes said. The solution, according to Haynes, is simple: “You’ve got to get them to the store.”
Car Tunz In Williston, North Dakota, Car Tunz is sort of a big deal.
When the news got out that the shop was voted into the Top 50 retailers, the city’s chamber of commerce got wind of it and the word spread throughout the business com- munity, said store owner Greg Fuchs, who has been in business since 1994.
With business steadily growing — an oil field is bringing thousands of workers into the area — Fuchs said he is looking to move the shop into a bigger location, from its current 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet. He is also contemplating getting into the home audio market. “My goal is to see the 25th anniversary for Car Tunz,” he said. “Just being 25 years in the car industry would be huge.” Employee continuity and customer loyalty are the key ingredients for Car Tunz having longevity in North Dakota’s small market. “I’ve seen a lot of dealers come and go and it’s because they’re not taking care of customers,” Fuchs said. “If a guy has a question, take care of it. If he has a question about Internet pricing, nine times out of 10, if they believe in you, you’ll get a sale.” The shop has very low turnover, with just 10 workers
over the years, six of whom are still employed at the shop. “Take care of your employees as family,” Fuchs said. “Even the sales people that I had to fire, I still had some sort of correspondence.”
32 Mobile Electronics June| July 2011
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