Twenty members of the Memphis sales and management team were in the U.S. Virgin Islands recently for the company's annual sales and marketing meeting. At the meeting Memphis Car Audio President Arthur Fulmer III announced that sales in 2000 were up a whopping 49 percent over the previous year. It marked the fourth consecutive year of double-digit sales growth.Memphis Car Audio sales have shown an average increase of 30 percent per year since 1996. In 1997 sales jumped 24 percent, followed by a 13 percent increase in 1998. In 1999 sales rose by 36 percent, then leaped 49 percent last year. Meanwhile, the aftermarket autosound industry has averaged a modest 3.5 percent increase per year over the same period.
"We've been in the car audio business for nearly 35 years, and we've been in the automotive products business for more than 80 years, but we've never experienced this type of sales growth over such an extended period," states Fulmer.
Fulmer credits the company's astounding growth to three factors: people, program, and products.
"It all starts with our sales team; we have the best sales force in the industry," adds Fulmer. "And that's not just us saying it; our retailers tell us that all the time."
"Dealers also recognize the value of our dealer exclusivity program. We sell only to independent car audio retailers, no mass merchants and no Internet sales. This protects our retailers from being undersold."
"In addition to our people and our program, we've also developed a great reputation for product quality," he adds. "It's the combination of these things that has fueled our growth."
Four years of accelerated growth raises the question, has Memphis reached a plateau? The company's management doesn't think so.
"We're really just reaching a point where we have widespread visibility," explains Tom McElhaney, Memphis's national sales manager. "We haven't even come close to reaching our potential in many markets."
McElhaney states retailers are responding because the Memphis message is unique in the industry.
"Because we sell only to independent retailers, our product is not just a commodity item," explains McElhaney. "Dealers have ownership of our product in their market. We have a true partnership with our retailers."
The current year is certainly off to a good start for Memphis. The company reports that January sales were up 73 percent over the previous January.
"We're certainly not projecting a slowdown," states Fulmer. "We recently introduced some exciting new products and we get inquiries from new retailers every day. Everyone in the company is optimistic about another double-digit sales increase this year."
Link for more info: www.memphiscaraudio.com
