By Mr Retail
Several years ago, if you wanted an enclosure that fit underneath or behind the rear seat of a pickup truck, you had only a few choices. Most of these “custom” enclosures came in charcoal-colored trunk liner, bedliner spray, or they were simply unfinished. The prices were reasonable and you had an ability to add bass to a truck with a lot more options than a pre-made universal enclosure. The downside was the boxes didn’t look like a custom made enclosure that you might build in your shop, the kind that might cost $1,000 or more.
Well, now there are options for us retailers that give us next-level quality enclosures and don’t tie up an installer for hours or days to build them.
Now, to be fair, there are plenty of you out there that build beautiful custom enclosures and sell them at a proper profit. And then there are shops that don’t have the skill set, manpower, or a facility to build them. And finally, there is a new breed of retailer that is recognizing it is okay to pay someone else to make the enclosure if it increases their efficiency. Let me explain:
If you buy an enclosure from someone like MTi Acoustics or Net Audio (who both make beautiful enclosures by the way), instead of tying up an installer for 8-12 hours to build it, you simply click “buy now” and then make the profit dollars on the enclosure. Your particular employee saves the 8-12 hours he would have spent building that enclosure, so the net result is more profit dollars per hours in that bay. In short, it swings the product to labor percentage towards more product, increasing your net profit on the job AND allowing you to install more product each week.
Finally, if your shop is like mine, you are dealing with an installer shortage and a constant backlog of work. So, imagine if you could buy just 12 of these enclosures per year and save 120 total hours of labor (10 hrs x 12). If you can now do 12 more medium sized installs per year, think about that over a 4 year span? You have 48 more clients, sold 48 more jobs in the same total amount of hours, and of course you made more money. It is at this point in my typing that I figure these custom subwoofer enclosure companies will want to send me free Xmas gifts…lol, but that is not my intention at all. As COVID has changed things for everyone; I just want you to continue thinking outside the box. And to be more profitable.
About Mr Retail
Mr Retail offers opinions and information on car audio retailing for CEoutlook. He wishes to remain anonymous. He has owned a retail store in this country for over 20 years now. Mr Retail loves what he does and loves the 12 volt industry and is happy to share his hard won expertise.
Photo: MTi Acoustics subwoofer enclosure
Good analysis of this clearly growing upscale category. Its ‘axiomatic’ that “Time IS money…” So to echo this tactic, its an improved scenario to offer bass customers both a “Better” and a “Best” upgrade solution, to the traditional loaded’ prefab (“Good”) ‘drop-in’ enclosures, as its a terrific and more profitable option. This strategy potentially also offers the additional benefits of one selling specific drivers — depending on available stock situation, to custom tailor the price-point, power-handling and or optimal impedance desired. So its a ‘Win-Win’ that also can offer solutions for SUV and other popular platforms, plus mitigates any GP ‘hit’ — which is the downside reality that typical loaded / carpeted boxes require.
WORDS OF WISDOM WHICH WE APPLIED WELL OVER A YEAR .5 AGO. ONE OF THE FEW REASONS THAT AND NEW PROTOCOLS HAD OUR SALES DOUBLE OVER THAT PERIOD. WORK SMART PEOPLE, THAT WAS THEN, IN A DIFFERENT ERA, YEARS AGO.