Q: How are you positioning your product lines to compete in the market?
A: We’re actually doing a couple of things. We’ve had a number of OEM partnerships for quite some time and we’re continuing to work with our partners in that space to improve the quality of the systems that are being put in at the factory level. On the aftermarket side, we’re coming out with more integration products; processors that make it easier for a customer to add premium sound to their existing system. Most customers would like to just plug in things and go — they don’t necessarily want to splice in, install relays and do all kinds of crazy things in order to keep their factory stereo. So we’re coming out with some additional integration prod- ucts for which you’ll see announcements in January. On the amplifier side, we introduced two models of boosted rail technology amps in January 2011. Those amplifiers are really geared for people who are interested in adding ampli- fiers, speakers and subwoofers to their existing vehicles, but they don’t necessarily have a lot of space. Or, they are someone who purchased a smaller car such as a Prius or an electric vehicle. These particular amps draw only up to 8 amps of current, so they’re much more efficient than a typical amp. So, we’re transitioning in that way. Additionally on the amplifier
side, we have introduced two lines of full-range Class D amps, one in our Prime series and one in the Punch series. Both are smaller chassis, are extremely efficient and don’t require a lot of upgrades to the vehicle electrical system. On the subwoofer side, we have several lines of traditional subwoofers, but we’ve introduced an additional line of shal- low-mount subs. If a customer has a factory sub, he or she can easily upgrade it with a Rockford Fosgate shallow-mount sub. In a vehicle without a lot of space, you can install a shal- low subwoofer and take up less than 3 3/4 of an inch of depth in any particular part of the cabin. Finally, on the speaker side, we ship all of our Prime and Punch line speakers with what we call Flex Fit brackets. That bracket allows you to mount around speakers — or component set for that matter — in any oval location. That’s something we show- cased on the SEMA floor in the Mustang at the Ford booth. It’s a factory 6 by 8 location, but we upgraded that car to compo- nent speakers and dropped them into our flex mounting and put it in that location. We’re taking every category of product that we make and we’re expanding it so that we’re much more application-friendly.
Q: How has 2011 been for Rock- ford in terms of sales goals?
A: The year has actually been really good. We released our third-quarter earnings just about 10 days ago and through the close of business in Q3, the company is doing well. We are profitable. Our debt is at an all-time low, so if you care to read through the fine print and take a look at our balance sheet, you’ll find that we’re a very, very healthy organization. We’ve been pleased with sales in 2011.
Q: What does Rockford Corp. have in the
Q: With news about the economy and the unemployment rate being somewhat positive recently, do you feel that the economy is get- ting some traction moving into 2012? Is there a more positive attitude?
A: I would categorize it as cautiously optimistic. The media contin- ues to report on unemployment rates, and in my opinion, they are a bit of gloom and doom. But people have become so accustomed to it that, so they have for the most part gone back to their daily lives. I don’t think they are necessarily spending frivolously, but we do see people investing in their homes, investing in their cars, doing things that are going to make their everyday lives more com- fortable. In the 12-volt space, we’re finding that the retail partners that we have, who are being smart about their business, who are continuing to advertise, who are continuing to invest in their stores and in their infrastructure, are actually doing well. So I would say we as a company, based on what we’ve seen in 2011 and what we’re seeing today, we are fairly optimistic about 2012.
works as far as social media and e-commerce are concerned?
A: We have a number of social media initia- tives that we started in mid-year 2011 under way. Going into 2012, we are going to be bringing our retail partners into the fold. We really believe that social media through levers like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are all pieces of the puzzle that our retail partners should embrace to help them market their businesses. What Rockford plans to do is lay the groundwork and make it simple for our re- tail partners to get involved in those pieces of marketing. You’ll also find us making some announcements in January about events we’ll be doing in 2012 that will allow us to tie our social media piece to some national events and our retailers all together.
www.me-mag.com 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68