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Dealers See Gains In SiriusXM 2.0 Products

NEW YORK –

Select retailers describe sales of dockand-
play and installed satellite-radio 2.0 tuners as “good”
or “strong,” with sales of the installed SXV200V1 tuner
driven by the growing number of head units compatible
with the black-box add-on.

A $50 mail-in rebate available from SiriusXM from July
through September is also helping promote SXV200V1
sales by bringing the product’s price down to $29 from
a suggested $79, excluding installation. The $50 rebate
is the highest quarterly rebate offered by SiriusXM for
the SXV200V1 or its predecessor, the SXV100V1, which
lacked 2.0 service. The rebate in the previous
quarter was $30.

Future 2.0 sales gains for dock-andplay
and installed tuners will be driven in
part by growing consumer awareness of
2.0 service as well as by expanding the
selection of low-priced head units compatible
with the add-on, some dealers
said.

Alpine, Clarion, Dual, Sony, JVC and
Kenwood offer head units compatible
with the SXV200V1. For its part, Pioneer
is “closely studying” the addition of a
SVX200V1-compatible port for its head
units, said car marketing VP Ted Cardenas.
Sales of the SXV200V1 “must be
doing well if they [dealers] want it from
us,” he said.

Satellite-radio 2.0 service, launched
last October, currently adds 22 channels to the SiriusXM
lineup, including more commercial-free music offerings,
additional comedy channels, and more Hispanic-oriented
channels. More channels are promised.

The SXV200V1 became available in April, and the
$139-suggested 2.0-compatible Edge dock-and-play
unit became available last October. The 2.0-compatible
$249 Lynx dock-and-play tuner became available the last
week of December 2011.

The SXV200V1 black-box reduces the cost of adding
satellite-radio service to a satellite-ready head unit to
$80, excluding installation, down from a previous $100
to $140, excluding installation, SiriusXM has said. More
important, it allows for a standardized one-cable connection
to head units from multiple suppliers, eliminating
the need to stock different add-on adapters for different
brands of heads. As a result, dealers are more likely
to have all the components they need in stock to sell a
black-box tuner to a particular customer.

Among retailers, Car Toys senior merchandising VP
Jim Warren is happy with 2.0 sales to
date. “Based on sales alone, both installers
and customers took to the new 2.0
service very quickly,” he said. “Installed
units have especially been strong. Within
weeks of introduction, the SXV200V1
overtook all other tuners due to its ease
of install and the 2.0 service.”

The Seattle-based chain also sells the
Edge dock-and-play unit, and the Lynx
dock-and-play is just now hitting the
chain’s shelves.

At Best Buy, a spokesperson told
TWICE: “Overall, we have seen good
success in satellite radio 2.0 but believe
there is still greater potential as awareness
improves around advantages of
2.0.”

“While retail sales on satellite radio
continue to decline,” the spokesperson admitted, “we
anticipate 2.0 will change the trajectory in the future. It
is fairly new to the marketplace, and SiriusXM needs to
continue building awareness.”

As for sales of the SCV200V1 black-box tuner, the
company said, “The predecessor has performed very
well to date while the new 2.0 black box has not caught on as quickly as we have hoped.” Nonetheless, the
chain said, “We see big opportunity in the new box,
and this is an area we are focusing on as we continue
to improve our overall SiriusXM business.”

For his part, Robert Elliott, executive director of the
In Car Experts buying group, said the 2.0 black-box
tuner has been “well-received” by his specialty dealer
members and “made for a re-engagement with satellite
radio.” He attributed that reengagement to the expanded
channel lineup, smaller size for easier placement in
small vehicles, and universal connectivity without worrying
whether adapters for particular brands of head
units are in stock. “Specialists are now incorporating it
in their add-one sales process whereas before it was
too big of a hurdle,” he said, also attributing that to the
lower price points of the SVX100V1, SXV200V1 and
SCC-1 black-box tuners compared to previous models.
The lower prices make it easier to recommend
as an add-on to head units whose prices have fallen
markedly in recent years, he said.

At Crutchfield, the SXV100V1 and SVX200V1 tuners
have “boosted” the company’s overall black-box
satellite-tuner sales, which also includes the SCC-1,
said Carl Mathews, mobile merchandising senior director.
Sales of the two universal tuners have risen in tandem
with the number of compatible head units, he said.

The Charlottesville, Va.-based direct-to-consumer
retailers sold the SXV100V1 since April 2011, when
only Alpine had compatible heads, then in December
of last year and March of this year, the number of
compatible heads grew again.

The company has been selling the SXV200V1
since May, and “it looks like it started doing nicely in
June,” he added.

As for 2.0 dock-and-play units, he said the more expensive
Lynx is selling better than the Edge. Overall,
however, dock-and-play sales are shrinking because
of the growing OEM installed base and consumer’s
lack of interest in hanging devices from the dash.

Rick Cofield, president of the Texas-based Custom
Sounds 12-volt chain, said the SXV200 is selling
well and that his overall black-box tuner sales are up,
but he attributed that solely to rising head unit sales
at his stores, not to a growing desire from consumers
for satellite radio.

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