NEW YORK — Fueled by the surge in portable GPS, the TWICE Top 25 car Electronics Retailers saw a collective 12.1 percent gain in sales in 2007 to $5.3 billion.
Due to portable GPS sales of non-traditional car electronics retailers took off — Tiger Direct appears on this year’s list at No. 16 with a sales gain of 271.8 percent; Staples rose to No. 13 (up from 20 in 2006) with a sales gain of 129 percent; and QVC, the TV shopping channel, appeared out of nowhere to take the No. 11 position with a sales gain of 140.4 percent.
But retailers continue to see weakness in the core product category of the segment — car stereo and all its entertainment offshoots. The traditional core demographic of car electronics — males between 18 and 30 years old — continue to be distracted by MP3 players, video games and other CE technology. And more OEM carmakers are becoming more competitive in features and price vs. aftermarket systems. For the complete report, turn to p. 55.
