as usual, with mobile electronics wares – but many had already scoped out what they wanted, keeping their current and future clients in mind. In all, there are several diversification options moving forward into 2012 and beyond.


DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITY #1: SELL A SERVICE WITH MULTIPLE USES. While Ketchikan, Alaska’s BobWires is a shop that specializes in mobile electronics, its owner Nelson Hays is thinking more outside the box – literally – when he decided to invest into a Vor- tex Sprayliners machine. Foothill Ranch, California-based Vortex makes the ma- chines, which can be used to spray paint truck beds. But Hays is betting that the machine, which costs thousands of dol- lars and is being toutedby Vortex as “being truly portable,” can be used for much more. “I looked to have my shop floor coat-


Top: Technologically advanced headphones are competing head-on with celebrity-endorsed versions, but will you offer them in your store?


Right: Barriers to entry into ignition interlock business are high, but once you get in with the manufacturer under contract with courts, it can become a steady revenue stream.


ed and there is literally no one offering durable floor coating here,” Hays told Mobile Electronics during SEMA, coincidentally while visiting the 2011 Installer of the Year Jon Webb’s Performance Audio Las Vegas.


While it is unknown how many 12-volt retailers actually


have a Vortex machine inside their shop, Vortex’ marketing pitch could in fact make it widespread to more stores. On its website, Vortex Sprayliners showcases the various uses for its products, from farm equipment to boat decks to carports. Elsewhere on the website, Vortex marketing copy reads: “If you already have a shop but don’t have an additional 2,000 square feet required to offer spray-on truck bedliners to your customers, then the Vortex system is for you.”


DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITY #2: SELL LESSER-KNOWN BRANDS OF COMMODITY PRODUCTS. Car stereo shops usually have two rules for the products


they sell: they’ve got to be unique and they’ve got to be in- stalled. But when the companies that typically sell car stereo products start to step outside the box, it creates an opportu- nity for retailers. As of late, celebrity-endorsed headphones have been all the rage with the vaunted 18-34 male demographic, a mar- ket created by the convergence of veteran music producer Dr. Dre, Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine and Monster Cable founder Noel Lee. Beats by Dre have proved to be suc- cessful despite their seemingly prohibitive price, to the point that HTC – the Taiwan-based smartphone manufacturer – has forged a $300 million partnership with Beats by Dre to inte- grate the software into its phones, augmenting Beats by Dre’s integration with Chrysler vehicles and HP laptops.


While Beats by Dre lines may not make sense for 12-volt


retailers, headphones from Scosche may just be. Scosche, for instance, surprisingly debuted headphones at SEMA, in a glass-enclosed display to boot. In the fourth quarter, to con- tinue the music industry trend, actor/producer/rapper Robert “RZA” Diggs lended his name to WeSC out of Sweden to push his headphones, which are currently at select retailers in the U.S. The infamous Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, has also launched his own line of headphones, via SMS Audio. The question of whether there are advantages or not to car-


ry headphones at a 12-volt shop isn’t an easy one to answer. Retailers must consider whether they will be able to market the product to their customers, who can easily buy online or at their local Big-Box. Also, an existing relationship with the distributor, for headphones from the likes of Sony, Pioneer and Scosche will likely be a determining factor.


DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITY #3: GET IN WITH THE GOVERNMENT. In the larger sense, getting a government contract immedi- ately brings up visions of illegal campaign contributions and back-alley deals. But technology, in this case, is moving faster than politics. City municipalities had an immediate need for professionals to install interlock devices—vehicle ignition control systems that measure a driver’s alcohol level before allowing him or her to start the car—and many offered up ter- ritorial contracts without the bid process. At Blueprint Audio Solutions in the north Los Angeles Coun- ty city of Hesperia, Marcos Duran has been installing ignition interlocks since June of this year. Although the individuals he


www.me-mag.com 39


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