We told you in April that Best Buy partnered with Car Toy of Seattle, WA to test market selling car stereo through car dealerships in a practice known as expediting. The tests were to occur in Boise, ID and Minn.
Five months later, we’ve followed up for you and confirmed that a trial has been running in Boise, ID for several months and that it has been expanded to Minneapolis, MN, and includes a wide range of car electronics products, according to several industry sources.
Three car dealerships in Boise confirmed the Best Buy program and two said the program includes products from Pioneer, Kenwood and Rosen. It includes overhead video monitors and headrest monitors and in-dash navigation/DVD models that range from $1,299 to $2,299. Security systems, remote starters, and Bluetooth kits from Parrot are also available in the Best Buy/Car Toys program. Two dealers said Kenwood CD players are available and one cited a Kenwood CD player/speaker package for $499. Also included is a MoGo GPS vehicle tracking system.
We were told the margins offered dealerships were lower than the margins offered by other local expeditors but two of the dealers told us they were happy with the margins.
A mystery shopper call to the Boise, ID Best Buy also confirmed that the store has been selling car radios through local car dealers.
A local car stereo retailer that performs expeditor work in the area said its business has not been hurt by the program. He noted that local car stereo expeditors offer better service and that Best Buy will not work on certain cars. “They won’t work on overheads [monitors] with a sunroof or remote start with manual transmission. Car dealers sometimes bring you a mess with cut harnesses and they won’t work on that,” said a store employee.
We placed an inquiry with Best Buy which was not immediately returned.
Source: CEoutlook (exclusive)
I would like to know what there program is and how it works with the dealerships they are trying the program with. Maybe a local expeditor can use the outline of there(cartoys and best buy) program to go into dealerships in other areas and do more buisness.
Travis