Sales Decline In 2nd Quarter For More MERA Members

INDIANAPOLIS— Confirming reports of a slowdown in car stereo growth, the Mobile Electronics Retailers Association (MERA), said that 52 percent of its members showed a decrease in sales for the second quarter, according to a recent survey.

Rick Mathies, operations director for the 600-member organization of independent 12-volt specialists, said the average decrease for members was 13 percent with declines ranging from 1.5 to 26 percent. Forty percent of members responding to the survey said sales increased by an average of 24 percent and eight percent said sales were flat for the second quarter compared to the same period last year.

Ironically, despite the fact that the majority of MERA dealers reported decreased sales, most said profits were up. A full 50 percent of MERA respondents said profits increased an average of 29 percent for the second quarter while 38 percent said profits were down by an average of 13 percent. Thirteen percent of MERA respondents said profits stayed the same as the same period last year.

Said Mathies, "There's nothing wrong with having less sales and more profit. It shows we're becoming better business folks and that's a positive out of a negative." He noted, however, "There's a significant difference in sales and profits which is pretty weird."

In MERA's first quarter survey only 35.1 percent of members showed an average decline of 10.4 of percent and 56.8 percent reported a sales increase.