Crutchfield Enters Custom Car Accessories
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 5/13/2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — Demonstrating yet again the overlapping of autosound and sport compact accessories retailing, Crutchfield announced it is entering the custom car accessories market due to the segment's growing popularity and to Crutchfield's recent success in test marketing the products.
Crutchfield, which reportedly sells $100 million in car audio/video merchandise annually, will feature the accessories in a 16-page supplement in its summer catalog that began shipping late last month. Crutchfield's retail store here and in Harrisonburg will also stock the products.
Crutchfield marketing VP Alan Rimm-Kaufman said the company is stocking over 1,000 SKUs in both truck and sport compact accessories and is focusing on mainly cosmetic products, such as lights, pedals and shift knobs, which do not require expert installation. "We're not doing cams, carburetors or nitrous oxide. We have a muffler that lights up, but it's really for show," said Rimm-Kaufman.
The company has offered respectively a half page and full page of sport compact accessories in its last two catalogs. It has not yet decided whether it will include the accessories inside the catalog or as a separate insert in the future.
Crutchfield said its warehouse will stock a wide assortment of products to allow quick delivery. Among the custom car accessories brands offered are American Products, Toucan Industries, Ichibahn, Varad and StreetGlow.
The Summer 2002 catalog also marks the first time Crutchfield has offered the Alpine brand of car A/V products, said Rimm-Kaufman.
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