rancid240

I need anyone in the industry to answer these questions for me. It is much appreciated, the paper is due on monday. thanks


I am a USC student doing a research report on the mobile entertainment industry. I am an avid fan of car audio/video and do all of my own installs. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about where the industry is now and where it is going in the future. This is an entrepreneurial class here at USC so the questions are focused that way. I only have a few questions really, so I figure I would just shoot right here.

How big is the mobile entertainment industry? (I cant find any solid info on this, e.g. "the mobile entertainment industry is a X.Xmillion dollar industry). Is it still growing?

What is the structure and competitive dynamics of this industry? (i.e. big players such as Alpine and large Sellers such as Circuit City, and also the little stereo shops)

How has this affected and how will it affect entrepreneurial companies?

Also do you know of any good entrepreneurial companies in this industry? So far a good example we have found is Phatnoise.org. Do you know of any others?

nightwalker

I've been away from the industry for a good 6 months, but I'll help just in case you wanted it

-I don't know exactly how BIG, in numbers the mobile audoi/video industry is, and you will get different numbers depending on who you ask. (I've asked the Alpine and Sony rep and got different numbers myself) The industry itself is not growing much lately. The focus has moved to mibole video, but it's stuck between costing too much, and ease of installation right now. Look for Pioneer's new N1, (I think it's out already) all in one cd/dvd/nav head unit to change things a bit. The control box is also less than half the size of what previous indash monitor units use to be too.

-Circuit City and Best buy are extemely competitive with their prices. You may think they have the bottom dollar, but they lose out to the small guy in price all the time. Manufacturers know this, so they make sure the big retailers don't go too soon below a bottom price. There are also some models that the manufacturer won't sell the certain big retail stores. When I worked at Good Guys, we had models that Circuit and Best didn't get. The same goes for the small shops. If you want really nice high end, you have to go to a small shop. The other big thing is install. If you haven't heard that a stereo system is only as good as the install, then hear it here first and believe it. If you take your car to Best Buy, be prepared to go back for a fix. Circuit City, actually is smart about this and really only hires people who have worked for small shops. They are great if you want a deck, speakers, amp and sub installed, but that's about it. Good Guys also hires from small mom and pop shops, and are the closest to a small shop. The installers there are treated better than Circuit and will produce a great product if you pay them. I've seen really nice stuff come out of Good Guys. With a small shop, it's hit and miss. Best thing to do is ask around. Good Guys is a small west coast only retailer btw. They only have stores in California, Nevada, and Washinton.

Small entrepreneurial companies have a really hard time coming up in this industry. If you haven't noticed, everybody only buys, Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Sony when they look for headunits. Sub and speaker brands aren't that big of a deal. People don't care that much. Infinity, Diamond audio, Pyramid, Rockford, Pyle, etc. etc. ....it's almost all the same. Once a customer gets to hear a speaker versus another, they make their own choices. Then you get the guys who come in and don't want anything BUT ALPINE, ALPINE, ALPINE. They'll buy everything that has an Alpine logo on it.

Don't really have a good answer for your last question. Best thing to do it attend a show. CES or something. That's where you'll see the new companies trying to grab the industry. Oh yeah, Audiovox WAS a small no name company coming up, now they're not so small. They actually lead the mobile video industry. They signed with some big car manufacturers and the majority of headrest, and pull down moitors are all made by Audiovox.

Hope that helps.

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rancid240

thnks ......................v//////////