About 20 industry members turned out for a meeting in Oahu,Hawaii to decide whether to join MERA (the Mobile Electronics Retailers Assoc.) or form their own Hawaii action committee to fight state legislation that would ban car audio. But no decision made as there were more questions than answers, said rep Karl Kawachi of Pro Line Hawaii.
There will be more meetings between local industry members on four state bills, one which was already postponed indefinitely.
A letter was presented from MERA offering to set up a special committee that would serve the interests of Hawaii dealers including tracking local legislation and fighting any bills that are threatening to the industry. That way Hawaii dealers and reps would also get the benefits of MERA programs such as insurance discounts, business software and timely vehicle fit info. There was no mention in the letter on dues and fees.
MERA would also consider a regional Knowledgefest in the area.
Carmina Ahmed of Car Audio Express, said on a Facebook post, that the group is “now exploring mainland organizations that want to help the cause. Once more information is gathered a vote will be taken to decide what is best for local businesses.” She also said the group agreed they must be pro-active and launch a PR campaign about the industry.
Hey, maybe Hawaii will give the rest of the industry a local model for organizing and mounting a 12 volt awareness campaign. Sound familiar?
Ahmed said, “This was the first of more meetings to come.”
Hawaii is sleeping right now, and that’s all we were able to get late last night but we’ll post updates today if appropriate.
In attendance were:
Dealers:
Beyond Limits
Security & Sound Systems
Professional Auto Sound
Car Stereo Express
Windward Audio
Elite Electronics
Extreme Audio Systems
The Discount Store
Product Reps:
Pride of Hawaii
Pro Line Hawaii
W&W Marketing
Pacific Rim Marketing
Foresight Industries
Manufactures:
Alumapro (president Ken Meyer)
Also in attendance were the administrators of Hawaii Car Audio Forums—a site with about 2,500 members.
Thanks Karl and Carmina.
Source: CEoutlook
Photo via Karl Kawachi
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