I get Crutchfield magazines it seems every other week. Well this magazine I got today has MB Quart speakers for sale.
What's next, Best Buy selling Focal speakers??
The big companies continue to try and squeeze out the privately owned install shops

 

Rockford Fosgate owns MB Quart...we all know what happened with RF.

 

Whats it matter if they are selling these speakers or any others? It only helps the makers of the speakers of which you are talking about. The more market share they get, the more $$$ they make.

 

they do? Or do they own distribution rights?

 

They own MB Quart. No Rice..there are a few problems with places like Best Buy selling RF. For one they kill the profit margin for the small shops because of their buying power. That also inturn often slows when the smaller shops get their product. RF has said for years that they stand behind their dealers and would never go to the chain stores..well we all see how that worked out. Also notice quality has gone down in RF. I can only assume that is because of more mass production. Another item is the lack of overall experience in chain stores. As a whole chain stores do not have a high level of experience in sales or installation. Now before this is debated I am talking about all chain stores added up and averaged. I know there are plenty of good experienced installers in chain stores. But for every one of them there are four that are not. Now with the lack of experience comes a product that does not perform like it should. When a consumer walks into a retail store to purchase a high end product like MB Quart they expect a certain level of performance. When the product is not installed properly the lack of performance is often attributed to the product and not the installation. This brings down the products reputation. There are alot of variables. Personally I do not think MB Quart should be sold at a mass merchandiser like Best Buy or Crutchfield.

 

I have not seen that yet. MB quart has the R, P, and Q series. I'd be really suprised to see shoppers at Crutchfield or Best Buy paying $1,000 retail price for some MB Q series components. Its not the same market segment.

 

ugh. RF are ****** in the audio biz... they are CONSTANTLY causing small shops to go at each other... just wrong.

 

I was surprised to see Klipsch at Best Buy...

 

Best Buy does sell Focal. They just call the stores "Magnolia Hi Fi"

 

I am all for the cheapest place I can get something. Its the same scenario with the Walmarts, Home Depots, Lowes and so on. Everybody likes the idea of them except the small bus. owners when they end up going out of business because they can't compete with the box store prices. I am for the bigger companies and their lower prices, even with me being a small business owner. It just makes me adapt to the changing climate to succede in my business. I assume everyone knows to get a good install/sounding high end system you buy from the smaller specialized shops, unless you are going to install yourself like me. I can't say a shop could have installed my system any better than I did. I personally feel that like alot of things you have 3 levels of performance, first is the cheap route, second middle of the road and third the high end stuff. I can't tell the dif. between the 2nd and 3rd, so I stick with the 2nd level stuff, Alpine, Infinity, Polk and so on, stuff I can buy at BB, CC, Ultimate, Crutchfield and so on.

 

and that is what I was getting at when I posted this thread.
It was if Randy could read my mind....that is scary
In the Crutchfield magazine, they only had the "R" series.

 

I agree with EatRice on this, huge chain and Ebay have taken it's toll on the once profitable car audio scene. Sure some competition will help you adapt, but lately it's had a strong choke-hold on the market.

 

The internet is an awesome tool that is too often used as scripture. It is has almost killed the retail market for many industries not just car audio. But it has opened doors for people to find new products and services they may have never found. Personally I changed my business also. I no longer own a retail car audio shop but a fabrication business. I install what is brought to me when it comes to car audio. I also shop on the internet but do more of my purchasing from local shops even if I pay higher prices. I prefer to pay a little more and get great customer service than to save a few bucks on the internet. I know the places I shop I can walk in with a broken tool and walk out with a new one...little to no down time. That can not be said for the internet. Ofcourse this is more aimed at internet sales than big chain stores.

Jay....great minds think alike..lol.

 

Klipsch has been in the big box stores for awhile now. But you won't find the Reference line their.

EatRice, Amen brother.....