16-store franchise chain Al & Ed’s of Van Nuys, CA has sold driver safety products in the past but it is now emphasizing the category with new in-store displays, sales training and an effort to educate consumers about products ranging from crash warning devices to day running headlights.
“We’re no longer looking at back up cameras as an attachment to a AV deck sale, we’re looking at driver safety as a category as important as audio,” said Purchasing Manager John Haynes.
The store is putting a focus on Mobileye crash warning system, blind spot detection, car DVR cameras, back up sensors, forward facing cameras and even running lights and improved headlights.
“What we’ve identified, according to research, is that this is something that consumers care about. But we find sometimes there’s a disconnect between the corporate office that sees the research and provides the category and the sales floor that doesn’t bring the message to the customer.”
So Al & Ed’s is creating in-store displays, support materials, and sales training. “We’re going to talk about it all the time,” and keep the category front and center on the sales floor, said Haynes.
“We began to formulate this strategy well over five years ago,” he said, “But it was last year that we really put all the pieces together. These types of products have always been looked at as an ‘accessory’ or ‘add-on’ product. Once there were enough products covering different needs, we were able to create an entire product catalog for our stores. Drive Safe! Is a simple message, but conveys the idea instantly to end users.”
“Studies show that consumers want these products” said Gabi Mashal, President of Al & Ed’s. “The challenge was getting the sales floor up to speed and get the message out that we can add the same solutions that consumers were seeing on television commercials for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Volvo and more. We needed to become a destination for safety solutions.”
The chain created a DriveSafe! graphics board with interchangeable panels for each store. More panels will be added for other growth products as well, said Haynes.
Source: Al & Ed’s
Perhaps they should work on the English language first. It should read Drive Safely, not Drive Safe. Ugh!
How much would it cost to purchase and install a six camera 360 degree view system with dvr in a Hummer H2 complete? How long would you need the truck to do the job? Thanks! Tom