Minneapolis Retailers Slow, Seek Vendor Leeway

Several car audio dealers in Minneapolis said sales are down by 40 to 80 percent due to the immigration crack down in that city.

Sales have been slow over the past 1-2 months, leaving some dealers unable to plan product buy-ins for the coming year.  Many leading vendors require dealer program commitments by the end of this month or next month in order to receive discounts or to ensure product availability.

Owner of Mach 1, MN Michael Brogan said of the immigration crack down, “It definitely affects us. Traffic is down because people are not going out. We’re taking a noticeable hit…I don’t feel there’s anything we can do about it. I’m hoping the vendors have some sympathy.  It’s hard to place orders when you don’t know what the future will be like. I’m hoping this is short term.”

Brogan said the shop’s sales over the past month are down by double digits. It is committed to serving customers, especially alcohol ignition interlock customers.  The devices must be calibrated about every 60 days in order for the car owner to be able to drive.

Another shop in Southern Minneapolis said its business was down 70 to 80 percent over the past two months and a third shop said sales are down 40 to 50 percent. It asked to keep its name out of the story. The store manager said, “The door is locked. We are always in fear for the safety of our clients.”

Still another store that wished to remain anonymous said the shop is typically booked out 3 weeks in advance during a prolonged cold snap like the current one, as consumers buy remote start, heated seats and other weather related accessories, but it is currently only booked 3 or 4 days in advance.

Echo Sales, a rep firm for the Minneapolis area said many of the city’s inner city car audio dealers are down in sales by 50 to 75 percent as some residents are afraid to go out on the street.

Doug Hanson of Echo Sales, which represents brands including Alpine, Elettromedia, VOXX, and BOSS, said the impact is limited to those shops directly in Minneapolis, as shops in the suburbs are unaffected.   

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