Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2015 54 Dave Workman Consumer Electronics Trends Dave Workman is CEO/President of the ProSource Buying Group. RO T here's no doubt about it, Home Audio is a hot category. Last year the Consumer Electronics Association reported that nearly one in five consumers (that's 16 percent) owns a portable wireless speaker. The study, Consumer Perspectives on Wireless Multi-Room and Portable Audio Solutions, went on to say that one in 10 consumers own a multi-room audio product, but nearly half of those who didn't said that they were interest in obtaining one. Other pertinent findings were that consumers rely heavily on word of mouth and hands-on experience when researching and buying these new products and that the most common place of purchase is the "general electronics store" with 43 percent buying multi-room audio products at such an outlet. BrandSource aims to change all that not only by continuing our steady competition with the big box stores via our network of independent electronics retailer members, but with our new initiative to roll-out multiroom wireless audio products to many of our member appliance retailers. To begin with, BrandSource will be focusing on the Denon HEOS and Bose SoundTouch systems, both of which are available through BrandSource's Expert Warehouse, which services most of these dealers' electronics needs. Of course, this may expand moving forward as we evaluate more brands and options for this channel of dealer. Denon HEOS is a wireless music system that allows you to control all your music effortlessly from anywhere in your home. All you need is one or more HEOS speakers and the free app to get started. From there, you can build your system modularly. For home cinema, Denon also recently introduced its awesome- sounding wireless soundbar product ($799), which incorporates its wireless multi-room capabilities and operates as a HEOS zone for music listening. Users can also distribute TV sound throughout the HEOS home ecosystem. Likewise, the Bose SoundTouch WiFi speaker system lets you enjoy all your favorite music services—like Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and Deezer—via one speaker or several. You simply add SoundTouch speakers to different rooms or outdoors, and control it all with the free app. The speakers feature a rich, powerful sound that fills the large areas of any home, and sound great on the retail floor. The beauty of these and other wireless multi-room home audio systems is that they are modular in the sense that customers can start with one speaker and expand as they like—whether it's to one room or many. It's like a Trojan horse to get the multi-room capability into the customer's home, which will then pay huge dividends as consumers look to add music to other rooms in the house. This model has been proven by the experience of our electronics-focused retailer members who have been selling multi-room audio for many years. Appliance retailers can create very sticky customers if they explain and sell these wireless multi-room audio systems correctly, resulting in many return purchases as customers expand their systems. By creating an ongoing relationship with these clients who might happen into an appliance retailer for a refrigerator or washing machine, you create repeat business and foot traffic. Better yet, if you follow the purchase with incredible service, you'll create a very happy customer who will generate more business for you and your store via what the Consumer Electronics Association named as a top factor in purchasing multi-room wireless systems—word of mouth. M ULTI-ROOM WIRELESS AUDIO COMES TO APPLIANCE RETAILERS BrandSource to push hot home audio products to appliance retailer members

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