Proactive 12Volt Retailers Prepare to Make Waves

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12VOLT CENTRAL STUDIOS (01.29.2020) – It is still winter and cold across the U.S. However, the 2020 marine season is heating up in convention centers across the U.S. In recent weeks four proactive retailers spotlighted below set up booths in conventions centers: VIP AUTOSPORTS in Cleveland, Jackie Cooper Electronics in Oklahoma City OK, ABF Creations in Minneapolis plus sister companies Proline Car Stereo and Brooklyn Car Audio in New York City.

The VIP AUTOWORKS corner booth set up perfectly for the display, table and Wet Sounds cooler.

VIP AUTOWORKS Car & Marine set up at the Cleveland Boat Show and Fishing Expo on Wednesday January15th just 24 miles from the company’s Mentor OH store. Chris Simpson related to 12voltnews.com “We had a great 10×10 corner booth that was perfect for a table, our marine display and the Wet Sounds cooler. The Wet Sounds SHIVR-55 cooler really grabbed attention. We closed the shop during the days of the show but in the long run we will generate weeks worth of business from visibility and contacts from the show. While at the show we made contacts with boating enthusiasts plus local marinas and boat dealers. The Saturday following the show in fact I was out looking at a big boat job.”

Tristen Osborne working with a customer in the Jackie Cooper Electronics booth at the OKC Boat Show.

Jackie Cooper Electronics was on site at the OKC Boat/RV/Outdoor Show at the State Fair Park in Oklahoma City January 24th-26th. Donnie Chaffin stated “This was our 4th year to have a booth at the event. Once again we generated a ton of leads and the phone was ringing on Monday morning following the event. Attendees at the show get excited and start thinking about the boating season. Many will bring their boats to the store from storage to prepare to hit the lake. For us that is great because when the season kicks in we are slammed with marine work. Also at the show we see customers who want to upgrade an installation we may have done previously. Some of these boat jobs can run $6000 or more.”

Jackie Cooper Electronics offered a promo on social media to courage attendees to stop by the booth to register for the Kenwood Marine System giveaway at the Boat Show.

Jackie Cooper’s Jill Splitt also created a social media campaign offering a Kenwood Marine System giveaway for attendees stopping at the booth to register during the show.

ABF CREATIONS was setup at the Minneapolis Boat Show to highlight marine audio plus boat flooring and upholstery.

ABF Creations, Excelsior MN, had a booth at the Minneapolis Boat Show the weekend of January 24th. Owner Adam Frickie commented “The Minneapolis Boat Show gets boating enthusiast in the boat mode to start thinking about getting the boating season kicked off. We had a 10×10 that was just right for our display counter and JL Audio Marine display. In addition to marine audio, and some car audio, we do a lot of marine flooring and upholstery. Our booth at the show lets attendees know the broad selection of services we offer to boaters. We generated a ton of leads that we will be following up on while it was 18 degrees outside the day after the show.”

Attendees gathered at the Proline Car Stereo and Brooklyn Car Audio Booth in the Javits Center to see the latest in marine audio.

Frickie has been installing electronics for over 20 years and has owned his business for the last 9 years. Today his business is marine focused.
Proline Car Stereo and Brooklyn Car Audio exhibited at the New York Boat Show, January 22nd-26th for the 7th year in a row at the famous Javits Convention Center. Will Sullivan and Shef Sadik, along with staff from both stores, worked with a steady stream of attendees throughout the 5 days of the show. Sullivan stated “There were thousands of people at the show every day and we set records for business generated at the show. We have days and weeks ahead to follow up on leads too. JL Audio Marine is strong at our stores and area JL Audio representative Kevin Stelling did a terrific job at the show.”

Members of the Proline Car Stereo and Brooklyn Car Audio teams are pictured in the booth that highlighted JL Audio.

In the case of VIP AUTOWORKS, Jackie Cooper Electronics and ABF Creations exhibiting at a local boat show can be an out of pocket expense of $1000-$1500. Employees time and extras can add to the total expense. But, if 3 or 4 days at a show can bring in $20,000. in sales over the next several weeks that is a great ROI. 

Mike Cullers, area Wet Sounds Sales Representative talking with a customer in the Jackie Cooper booth at the OKC Boat/RV/Outdoor Show.

Cigarettes are $14. a pack in New York… so the New York Boat Show was certainly a large investment. That said, with record sales, the ROI for Proline Car Stereo and Brooklyn Car Audio was still very substantial!

As an industry let’s make some waves in 2020.

AudioControl Announces 2019 Rep of the Year Awards for Mobile Electronics

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Team Paragon with AudioControl’s Chris Bennett.

SEATTLE, WA (01.29.2020) – AudioControl has recognized ten of their sales rep firms for outstanding performance in the mobile electronics market for 2019. Each of these organizations helped to bring AudioControl’s 12-volt solutions to the finest specialists and increase brand visibility in their respective territories. The awards were presented at company’s national sales meeting during the 2020 CES show in Las Vegas.

“Pretty amazing 2019 for AudioControl and our Representative partners, that did a commendable job of embracing our brand strategy, bringing our newest solutions to dealers and generating success across the US,” stated Chris Bennett, National Sales Director – Mobile at AudioControl. “We’ve never had so many rep firms exceed sales goals, grow our dealer base and promote the AudioControl brand like our current team—we appreciate their efforts.”

The Rep of the Year awards acknowledge firms that embrace AudioControl’s commitment to delivering innovative new products that enable 12-volt specialists to satisfy customer demand for high-performance mobile entertainment systems, including the growing market for OEM system upgrades. Winning rep firms provide energy and enthusiasm behind new product introductions along with critical training initiatives offered to dealers leading to successful sales and service campaigns within those regions.

Among the fine organizations recognized were:

Paragon Sales & Marketing
Mobile Electronics Rep Firm of the Year

ADF Electronics
International Distributor of the Year, Mobile Electronics

Visit audiocontrol.com for more.

Reese Helms on the Shiflet & Dickson Team

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Reese Helms (R) pictured with Richard Burgner in front of the car audio display at Audio Acoustics in Durham, NC.

GASTONIA, NC (01.29.2020) – Reese Helms is the newest member of the Shiflet & Dickson Team. Helms is the new Territory Manager for eastern North and South Carolina.

David Holland, Shiflet & Dickson GM, stated “Reese is an industry veteran with over 15 years at the retail store level. That experience will serve him well as he works with our friends and customers in the territory. Living near the coast will allow us to have greater coverage with dealers that focus on the golf cart, ATV, motorcycle and marine categories.”

“I am excited to be on the Shiflet & Dickson Team and am already seeing dealers in the area. Right after joining Shiflet & Dickson there was an AudioControl training I attended. Matt Palumbo did a great job and I learned how dealers in the territory can utilize AudioControl products to grow their business. There were over 30 dealers at the meeting and it was also a great networking opportunity for me” Helms related to 12voltnews.com.

Helms was on the road on Monday, January 27th and made a sales call at Audio Acoustics in Durham North Carolina. Richard Burgner stated “ Good to see Reece in our store. We are celebrating 30 years in business and have been buying from Shiflet and Dickson for a very long time. We look forward to working with Reece.”

Concluding, Holland stated “Having Reece on the road will definitely create opportunities and drive business.”

Visit shiflet-dickson.com for more.

AIS Releases High-End Factory Replacement Lighting Products

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MARIETTA, GA (01.28.2020) – AIS has just announced the introduction of their new line of automotive lighting solutions. AIS released five different series of headlight bulbs and mini-bulbs that are specifically designed with direct fitment and performance in mind.

Cris Sharp, the AIS National Sales Manager stated, “We are so confident in the quality of our lighting products, AIS is setting the highest industry standard with our warranties. The Pro-Series and Pro-Series Projectors have a lifetime warranty and the Tech-Series, Tech-Series Plus and Pro-Series Mini have a three year warranty when installed by an authorized dealer. We want the consumers to have safer, brighter headlights with performance significantly better than factory. And, at the same time, drive them to our authorized AIS dealers so they can reap profitable labor dollars.”

Marc Vickers holding a new AIS PRO Series Projector LED Lighting Kit countertop display at Sound Sensations in Marietta, GA.

Since many of the vehicles today have CAN systems, all of the AIS headlight replacement bulbs are equipped with CAN decoding chips. These chips eliminate bulb failure, such as flickering and erratic

power fluctuations. The Tech-Series bulbs are targeted for vehicles that require a smaller space to be installed and they are 15% shorter than other LED headlight bulbs on the market. They also have been engineered not to interfere with radio reception. The brightest bulbs are the Pro-Series at an incredible 6000 lumens per bulb.

AIS not only offers an exact fitment for the bulbs, but they have a full line of installation accessories: DLR decoders, intelligent smart decoders, plug and play universal resistors, vehicle specific bulb locking rings.

AIS CEO, Kelley Vickers added,  “AIS products are not sold to internet retailers or sold on the internet, thereby allowing our valued network of nationwide dealers the most profitable line of safety and convenience products available today. In addition to providing the best and most innovative products, our number one goal is to protect the profit of our dealers and this is why they are fiercely loyal to the AIS brand.”

Check out the AIS website’s application guide to determine which lighting parts you need for each vehicle at www.aislights.com.

Alpine Names the 2019 Rep Firm of the Year

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Pictured above in the Alpine booth at CES 2020 following the award presentations are (R to L) Mike Anderson-Vice President and General Manager-Brand Business Unit-Alpine Electronics of America Inc., Jimmy Chaufee-Alpine Direct Rep of the Year, Doug Hanson from Echo Sales & Marketing and Marco Bregenzer-Senior Regional Sales Manager Region 2.

AUBURN HILLS, MI (01.28.2020) – Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. named their 2019 Rep Firm of the Year for the Brand (aftermarket) Business Unit during the 2020 International CES held Tuesday, January 7 – Friday, January 10 in Las Vegas.

During the event, Alpine recognized the independent and direct reps who have exceeded expectations in sales, marketing, customer service, and communication.

Doug Hanson from Echo Sales & Marketing was named the 2019 Independent Rep of the Year for his strong commitment to his dealers through on-site support and events, adding four new specialty dealers in 2019. His territory sales grew by 53%, with a 26% growth in sound system business with a focus on Alpine’s PowerStack system (the iLX-W650 and KTA-450), the CES innovation award-winning product launched in 2018.

Jimmy Chauffe was named the 2019 Direct Rep of the Year for building trusted dealer relationships through sales and marketing support. Chauffe led his region with 19 X-Perience events and provided excellent customer service by promoting Alpine’s 2019 strategy of Direct Consumer Marketing (DCM). His territory sales grew by 35%, with a 45% growth in sound system business.

“Every year we look forward to recognizing the amazing talent from our independent and direct reps,” said Mike Anderson, Vice President and General Manager, Brand Business Unit, Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. “Their commitment to Alpine’s business strategy, along with their professionalism and enthusiasm for the brand, is unmatched in the mobile electronics industry.”

Visit alpine-usa.com for more.

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Wins FOUR WHEELER’S 2020 Pickup Truck of the Year Award

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LOS ANGELES, CA (01.28.2020) – FOUR WHEELER, the world’s leading 4×4 authority since 1962, has selected the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon as the winner of its 31st annual Pickup Truck of the Year award.

FOUR WHEELER’s Pickup Truck of the Year award event is an invitation-only competition that is only open to all-new or significantly revised pickup trucks for the upcoming model year. For 2020, the field of vehicles included the Chevrolet Silverado Z71 1500 3.0L Duramax, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 6.6L, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Z71 6.6L Duramax, GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 3.0L Duramax, GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax, GMC Sierra 3500 6.6L Duramax, Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, and Ram 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel.

“The new Jeep Gladiator is the truck many buyers have been waiting years for,” said FOUR WHEELER Editor Ken Brubaker. “After a week of testing in a variety of challenging environments the Gladiator proved that it is all truck and all Jeep, which is a formidable combination. Mix in the impressive Rubicon package that includes Tru-Lok differential lockers, Rock-Trac transfer case with 4:1 low range, front disconnecting stabilizer bar, and full skidplating, and it’s clear the Gladiator is at the front of the class.”

The competition began in the Los Angeles area with ramp travel index (RTI) testing to gauge each vehicle’s suspension articulation. Following RTI testing, the trucks were driven to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, for track testing, including 0-60 and quarter-mile acceleration times, as well as 60-0 braking distance. Following track testing, the vehicles were driven to the Southern California desert on paved roads. Judges included staff from various 4×4 brands including FOUR WHEELER, 4-WHEEL & OFF-ROAD, and JP MAGAZINE.

The next three days were spent primarily in a variety of off-road conditions, including sand, rocky trails, loose-surface trails, and snow. Testing included a loose-dirt hillclimb and water crossings. Night driving was also integrated into the competition to gauge each vehicle’s lighting equipment.

The final day of testing included a long highway test section returning to the Los Angeles area, during which additional important highway data was gathered, including fuel economy, interior comfort, and on-road handling. The weeklong testing covered approximately 1,000 miles.

“When the Gladiator was first announced there was concern that it would be too much truck and not enough Jeep, or too much Jeep and not enough truck,” said MOTORTREND GROUP Content Director Sean P. Holman. “If anything, our testing has proven that Jeep has hit the sweet spot with the Gladiator, giving customers one of the finest off-road-capable midsize trucks on the market.”

Off-road, the Gladiator scored high marks due to its surefooted abilities. Judges appreciated the seamless way the off-road-centric features of the Rubicon package integrated with the truck’s inherent off-road capabilities, which culminated in a vehicle that excelled off-road. The Gladiator also impressed with its approach and departure angles, as well as the vast amount of underbody and exterior protection and ease of use and function of the locking differentials. The Gladiator’s suspension was tuned for on-road driving without compromising its outstanding off-road performance. Suspension flex on the trail helped the mud-terrain tires keep in contact with the trail when the going got tough.

Judges praised the 3.6L V-6 engine, noting that it provided ample power to propel the Gladiator over the toughest terrain or confidently up a long mountain grade. High marks were given to the Gladiator’s cargo bed, with judges noting that its design and function puts it on par with any pickup truck on the market. What’s not on par with any other pickup truck on the market was the Gladiator’s unique, specific features like the fun retractable soft top, which is a segment exclusive, that judges enjoyed both on- and off-road.

Scoring for the award included five weighted categories with 30 percent Trail Performance, 20 percent Empirical (RTI, acceleration, braking, price, and so on), 20 percent On Pavement (handling, ride quality, steering feel), 15 percent Interior (instrumentation, ingress and egress, seat comfort, storage), and 10 percent Exterior (appearance, stance, body protection).

Visit fourwheeler.com for more.

Kicker Team Members Myers and Glasgow with PlanetWorld in Johannesburg

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (01.27.2020) – Kicker’s John Myers and Dave Glasgow are returning to Kicker HQ in Stillwater, OK from Johannesburg South Africa. Meetings and Trainings with Kicker Distributor PlanetWorld got 2020 off to a fast start. The return trip covers over 10,000 miles. During the 10-Day trip to South Africa Myers and Glasgow worked with the PlanetWorld staff and spent time making stops at Kicker dealers in the Johannesburg area. Myers is Kicker’s Sr Global Trainer and Glasgow is the International Sales Manager.

The PlanetWorld lobby sets the stage for the amazing facility.
John Myers conducting a training session for a very attentive audience.
Quen Webb, PlanetWorld National Sales Manager with Kicker’s John Myers and Dave Glasgow (LtoR) outside a meeting room.

“It was terrific to spend time with, and work with, the PlanetWorld staff. The company’s facility is amazing. The setup for John’s trainings was first rate and members of the audience were definitely there to learn everything they could about Kicker’s 2020 lineup. We had 2 full days of meetings at the PlanetWorld HQ plus spent time with 8 local dealers during the trip. PlanetWorld is a family owned business and we could tell their dealers are definitely considered to be family members,” Glasgow stated.

In this image, Myers gets into the technical aspects during the training.
This group just completed a training session and gathered outside the PlanetWorld HQ.
AutoBeat was one of the dealers Myers and Glasgow visited with the PlanetWorld staff.

PlanetWorld Auto Sales related “We certainly thank John and Dave for putting together and delivering a valuable and in depth 2-Day top to bottom training session for us. It was world class. We can’t wait to get out and share what we have learned with all our dealers.”

Myers and Glasgow, front row left, are pictured with members of the AutoBeat staff.
Glasgow and Myers pictured in the Johannesburg International Airport at 8PM on Sunday evening, January 26th, as they are set to start their trip back to Stillwater OK USA. Johannesburg is 8 hours ahead on the clock!

Myers stated “We had 2 super days of dealer visits plus 2 days of training for PlanetWorld employees and key dealers. We started with the basics of car audio, Kicker products, integration, testing and tuning. This was a ton of fun for me. Normally I get an hour or two for my seminars. PlanetWorld graciously provided 2 days so we started from ground zero with watts, volts, Amos and ohms law.”

The population of Johannesburg is shown to be over 5 million. With the surrounding area included the population swells to 13 million.

Visit kicker.com for more.

Nakamichi Announces Appointments of Domestic Rep Firms

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MIAMI, FL (01.27.2020) – Following a very busy CES, Nakamichi Car Audio has forged some new domestic partnerships.  Robin McNeal, National Sales Manager, reported the company had an excellent showing.  “From the start of our National Sales Meeting on Monday through the show’s end on Friday afternoon, the 2020 CES was very successful for Nakamichi.”

Nakamichi showcased a number of new items slated for delivery early this year including a couple of 9-inch and 10.1-inch touch screen AV receivers with floating screens.

Robin McNeal, Nakamichi National Sales Manager, pictured in the CES North Hall booth holding the new attention grabbing NA3605M9 receiver featuring 9-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Excitement around the Nakamichi relaunch continued as several new appointments were made for manufacturer representatives in key territories.  “Our sales force has really come together nicely with a  great group of manufacturers reps”, stated McNeal.

New Nakamichi reps include:

End Result (covering Ohio, West Virginia and Eastern Pennsylvania)

Contact: Ed Dalesandro ed@endesultonline.com or End Result’s office at (724) 260-0179

Foresight Industries Sales (covering Hawaii)

Contact: Edric Taira 808fsi@gmail.com

Vision Motorsports Marketing (covering Indiana and Kentucky)

Contact: Jef Fry jeffry@msn.com

Additionally, M.C. Marketing  has been awarded an expanded territory beyond the traditional Southeast states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Carolinas to now include Florida.  Contact: Michael Colundjia mcmarkets@att.net

In other news Angel Distributing is officially on board to assist dealers in Alabama, Mississippi, Western Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.  Nakamichi will be present for the annual Angel Distributing Dealer Appreciation Show on Sunday, February 9th at the companies Birmingham facility.  For more information contact Chad Seekers, Angel’s General Manager at (205) 988-2006.

For additional information visit the Nakamichi global website at www.nakamichicaraudio.com or contact Robin McNeal at robin@usa-nakamichi.com

Cadence Announces New Website

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INDUSTRY, CA (01.27.2020) – Cadence has been working the last few months on refining its brand image. A huge part of this was to redesign its entire website. Go to CadenceSound.com and start exploring. You will find it much easier to navigate through the website on a laptop / tablet / smartphone, find what you need, and research product.

As you explore, you will see that we have pages for all uses of the company’s products- Car, Pro, Marine, Powersports, Motorcycle, and Competition.

  • There is an About page that gives the history of Cadence and its mission in the industry.
  • Keep up with what’s happening on the News page. Press Releases, announcements and more can be found in Cadence News.
  • Have questions? Check out the FAQs page.
  • If you need to find the nearest dealer, check out the dealer locator.
  • If you’re interested in becoming a dealer, you can do so here.
  • If you have products that you would like to register, now you can.
    If you need to get in touch, but you do not know who to contact, see our Contact page.
  • There are Cadence Product on the website, and more will be coming soon. In just a few weeks, you will even be able to purchase product from the Cadence website.

“A big thanks to Dot Matrix Design Group for taking the lead in designing the new Cadence website!”

Visit cadencesound.com to see the new site in action.

CLASSIFIEDS: Main St. Stereo Seeking Mechanic / 12 Volt Installer – Sayville, NY

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Location: Sayville, NY

Main St Stereo is seeking a highly motivated and experienced mechanic/12 volt installer to help expand our range of installation services. This will be a full time, Monday through Friday position responsible for all aspects of the shop’s requirements. The mechanic/12 volt installer will work and assist our existing installer team in providing installation, troubleshooting and solutions in accordance with Main St. Stereo’s commitment to 5 Star client service and satisfaction. In addition to a strong mechanical and 12 volt background employees must be knowledgeable of updated data solutions and install techniques for a wide range of products including, but not limited to audio, remote starters, wheel mounting and balancing, suspension, brakes and accessories.

Job Requirements:

Minimum of five (5) years of mechanical experience and fluency in mobile electronics is required.

Self-motivated, possess great attention to detail and be able to complete jobs in a timely manner Coordinate with the sales department to go over jobs thoroughly and suggest additional work Ability to diagnose and troubleshoot issues and solve them Have the know hot to utilize all available resources to efficiently complete tasks Use of knowledge and hands on expertise to help push Main St. Stereo forward in all aspects of mechanical and 12 volt areas.

Excellent communication skills Bilingual (Spanish) preferred, but not required

Salary & Benefits:

Salary, compensation, and other benefits will directly reflect and be based on expertise, experience, and other relevant factors. These matters will be subjective to each respective applicant.

Main St. Stereo

5520 Sunrise Hwy, Sayville, NY 11782

Tel: 631-589-7750

Email: yeswedo@mainststereo.com