Tempe, Ariz. – Rockford has
shifted the focus of the Lightning Audio car audio brand from mass retail
chains to independent dealers, prohibited Internet sales, and eliminated manufacturer’s
suggested retails, the company announced.
The intent is to help independent
dealers improve their profitability and differentiate their lines, the company
said.
“Smaller volumes and increased
pressure on margins have made it difficult for 12-volt dealers to succeed today,”
said Lightning director Al Congdon in citing the reasons for the changes.
In mid-2010, Rockford
launched
its first new Lightning Audio
autosound products
in several years with the rollout of 23 new amplifiers,
speakers and subwoofers, all targeted to consumers looking for value, high-end
looks and high performance, the company said at the time.
The Lightning Audio product line
includes subwoofers, speakers and amplifiers starting at $49.95, but to give
dealers margin opportunity, the products offer what Lightning calls an “enhanced
feature and performance set,” including dual spiders on woofers, die-cast
frames on co-axial speakers, and one-band parametric EQs on the class D
mono-block amplifiers. The features are designed to boost performance and deliver
higher perceived product value, Lightning said.
Such features, said Congdon, deliver
on the brand’s “combination of power and features at a reasonable price.”
