editorial
Does The Industry Face an Identity Crises?
Chris Cook President
It really depends upon who you ask. For instance, if you take an informal poll at the grocery store or coffee shop and simply ask people, “What do the words ‘mobile electronics’ mean to you?” the an- swer more times than not will be related to the cellphone. Should you try the same question at a consumer electronics event, you may also hear answers like, “mobile eCommerce” or even “GPS Navigation,” but most likely you will hear the same as at the grocery store. Now if you take the direct approach and ask someone in the mobile electron- ics industry, you would think that only one answer would apply. Nope. You will hear stuff like, “it’s all about car audio,” “safety and security,” or, my fa- vorite, “OEM integration.” All good answers, and for the most part correct.
So I ask you: Mobile electronics — what do these words mean to you? Are they just a description of what our industry used to be? Do they really tell the story of what we put up for sale and what we are all about? Or, do they resonate as words that somehow no longer relate to what we do or who we are? Ask around and you will find even those within our industry will have various answers. Even then, few have any substantive answers that articulately reveal what we could call a stake in the ground to describe our true identity. If we as an industry are not completely sure of our identity, then how can we communicate a message to consumers? Maybe we don’t have to. Regardless of what we
want consumers to think, perception unfortunately is reality. As the mobile electronics industry, we will have little effect with any mission for changing con- sumers’ perceptions. However, you may ask, “Is all this mobile awareness something we can capitalize on?” Great question! But first, let’s look back a bit and see how all this got started. Mobile electronics, as we know it, is the industry that started making things from the home, mobile. Mobile at the time really referred to using it in the car. Home audio or Hi-Fidelity (HiFi) birthed out of a love for great sound and soon translated into con- sumers wanting that great sound experience in the their cars. Having a home telephone was nice, but having a phone in the car was great. The cellular phone was aptly name the “car phone” in its be- ginnings, and for the most part was sold at stores
62 Mobile Electronics August 2012
that also sold and installed car audio products. But soon that phone lost its connection with the car and started to follow the individual. And that HiFi thing soon became a Walkman. Thus, mobile electronics began to take on new meaning. With a new meaning came new challenges. Great sound was no longer the desire from consumers as they embraced MP3s and lived to love their iPods. This new mobile lifestyle soon turned back the car from which it came and the OEM integration product category was born. Well, it had been around for a while but now had a new purpose. Connect the mobile device back to the car. With all this change, at times it may feel as if we have lost our way. Sure, there are still great success stories, but nothing widespread that would state we have it all figured out. But figure it out we must! If you are looking for a great way to figure it out,
learn some new ways to approach your business. Many of these techniques will be taught at this year’s KnowledgeFest. But if you didn’t make it this year, then getting involved in some of the progres- sive things MERA is doing may help. As a specialty retailer channel, we are the leaders of the mobile electronics industry. What those words mean to you is as important as what they mean to the consumer. Maybe I am naïve but I still believe that given a clear choice, consumers would opt for a better sounding system to listen to their favorite mu- sic collection. If this was not the case, then why have high-end headphones become in such demand? I also believe that specialty retailers must find
a way to have a national presence with a local footprint. Just think about it. If the specialty retail channel somehow came together, it would be the largest mobile electronics entity in the nation. It could be promoted nationally but still keep the iden- tity of a local business. Don’t read anything into that, I am just saying. Other national chains and online stores would be second to what the channel actually is — specialty mobile electronics retailers that number in the thousands. I leave you with this: If our identify is ever in ques-
tion, remember, we created it, we own it and all we have to do now is continue to drive it with the in- novation and passion that only comes from being a mobile electronics specialty retailer! ■
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