Updated: Kicker predicts car or truck-specific car audio systems designed to drop-in to certain car models will win about 20 percent of its aftermarket autosound business in 2 or 3 years.
“We really see this a big part of the future of the car stereo aftermarket,” said Kevin Campbell, Director of Marketing.
Kicker calls the segment, “Performance car audio for adults,” as the systems take up less trunk space, leaving room for strollers and hockey gear.
Other companies see an opportunity in vehicle-specific systems, including Harman, Rockford, Elettromedia and Alpine, which announced entries in the category at CES last month. JL Audio has also offered its StealthMod line for years.
Kicker began selling the systems to aftermarket retailers a year ago, offering powered subwoofer kits with a DSP amplifier, which are molded to fit certain car models It also provides options for replacing the factory speakers.
Campbell says the company devotes a significant amount of its research and development to vehicle-specific systems and it has a commitment to offer them for the vehicles it targets within six months of a new model release.
The demographic for the systems is slightly older. “There are a lot of consumers out there who want an audio system that’s better than premium, but they are concerned about gas mileage and adding unnecessary weight to the vehicle or giving up cargo space. We developed these with that in mind,” said Campbell.
The newest Kicker kits work with the Ford 2009-2014 F-150 Super Crew and Super Cabs and install into factory-mount locations. They include a 10-inch subwoofer in a custom fit enclosure with brackets and wiring and an integrated bass amplifier at 200 watts. There is also a multi-channel DSP amp for the factory speakers.
The components are tuned to the vehicle and are TS16949-certified and manufactured to automotive specifications.
The full upgrade package called The PowerStage has a suggested retail price of $1,249.95. The bass-enhancement only package is called The SubStage at $699.95.
Kicker also sells audio kits for the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger and the Silverado, RAM, Jeep Wrangler and the Chevy Cruze and Sonic.
Source: CEoutlook
Get the news before your competitors do. CEoutlook is the daily brief read by over 6,500 dealers, reps and manufacturers across the mobile electronics industry. Subscribe free.
it has been attempted for the last twenty years and failed to meet sales volume expectations.
maybe with the current “lame” installation
capabilities it will work this fifth time around.
g
Good & Challenging…
GOOD because this category of product is much easier to install.
DISCLAIMER: My company in its past life was a pioneer in car specific loudspeaker systems. We will continue in this vein, no doubt.
CHALLENGING because it puts pressure on the “special” in specialty retailer by making it much easier for many more of your competitors to do the install which at one point in time was a lot more difficult. NOT to mention that some suppliers are including in the package, the “specialty” tools necessary for the DIY consumer to by-pass the retailer altogether.
This trend is not inherently good or bad BUT it is happening. This should cause the specialty retailer to review how he approaches his current and target consumers. Now might be a good time to pay very close attention to how you and your staff relates to consumers “face to face” and on the phone.
I am not surprised anymore, BUT, I am certainly not encouraged when I experience how many “specialty retailers” engage with consumers in face to face and telephone engagements. Face to face encounters, as often as not, do not include eye contact. A telephone interaction often begins with a COMPLETELY unintelligible response to the ringing phone. Then what follows in either case, is a staccato “yes and no” session not dissimilar to a text message back and forth.
If you found a glimmer of “yup, I have seen that and heard that in my store” I contend that you have identified the most important and most easy to address weakness you have.
As your consumer realizes and considers more choices, his buying decision becomes more difficult to affect with just brand, product and now, even installation. A specialty retailer has gotta be better at the art of the selling transaction.
Ray Windsor
German Maestro
The future? Some of us have been doing vehicle-specific for many years now. 🙂
The JL Audio StealthMod™ product line should also be mentioned as a complete system upgrade solution for specific vehicles.
http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-stealthmod
Sorry Manville. The story has been corrected!
Don’t worry, Amy… and thanks for the updated info.
It is difficult to get dealers who are accustomed to “brewing their own” solutions to accept a pre-packaged whole system solution.
Those who have tried Stealthmod systems are very happy with the results and especially with the ease of installation. An entire Stealthmod system can be installed in a few hours, very efficiently, because everything has been thought out and is included: pre-terminated and cut wiring, brackets to mount amps/crossovers, integration products, even the settings for tuning the system are included.
We are continuing to put effort into the category and are working on new models, but the jury is still out on whether the aftermarket audio channel is really ready to embrace this type of system approach, and at which price points. Time will tell.