Tint World, arguably the fastest growing chain in car audio, expects to sell more than $10 million in car audio & electronics sales this year.
It hopes to further boost its 12 volt sales by at least 25 percent each year for the next few years, said Chief Operating Officer Robert Garza.
The one-stop auto chain opened 6 new franchises in the first 5 months of this year. It will open another 4 stores in the next 2 months. Plus an additional 23 locations are in development.
“If we continue to get these stores open without delays, we believe we can exceed $10 million in sales for 2012,” he said.
Tint World’s merchandising model helps bring non-traditional car audio customers through the door, where they may be introduced to car audio. The chain sells a mix of window tinting, car detailing, dent repair and 12 volt services. It also sells marine audio and styling; home and commercial window tinting and wheels and tires.
Until recently, about 60 percent of Tint World customers were non-traditional car audio buyers, but in the newer stores, the figure is closer to 35 percent. Garza believes the stores are converting over 20 percent of their non-traditional 12 volt clients to car audio buyers.
The stores are modeled to reflect the luxury of servicing a car at a BMW or Audi dealership.
“It’s like going to a Starbucks. The stores have really nice wooden floors, we spend $50,000 on displays and $30,000 to $50,000 on signage,” said Garza. “We have really nice, tiled rest rooms. The bays have epoxy floors and we paint the walls. It’s a nice place to go; like bringing a car to a Mercedes, Audi or BMW service center.”
The aim is to create a place where the customer can “hang out.” When he’s waiting to have his car detailed, it gives salesmen a chance to cross sell.
Tint World expects to operate 30 franchise locations by the end of this year.
It stocks brands (depending on the location) including Rockford, Alpine, Kenwood, Kicker, Clifford, Viper, Audiovox, Parrot, Focal, Memphis, NAV-TV, Aamp of America and Got2bWireless.
Source: CEoutlook
