I saw Kicker amps,subs,Mids,and highs for sale at Pep Boys recently, kinda odd for a car parts store chain to sell Kicker products I saw some Pioneer decks on display there also. Lightning audio products have been on there shelves for awhile too. Maybe they will start to sell more main stream car audio brands/products!!! I noticed that Pep Boys has more atfermarket stuff than other car parts stores i have been 2. Any1 have any input on this?

Chain stores are taking all the customers from the stero shops ! Two shops went out of business around here! One of their best installers went in to business for him self doing installs out of his truck ! The mobil service thing is working out for him ! But I think it sucks ! Now I have no place to hang out and bs about all the new stuff coming out!

actually is it written somehwre that stored like best buy/furniture mart/pep boy's cant buy into kicker and sell it like other busisness do (car audio shops) I mean this is probly a smart thing for them tod o actually and the one making out in the long run is the MANU by selling to as many as they can so its harsh to elarnt hey really dont care about you but they do love that green

I heard that Best Buy has decided to drop Rockford Fosgate and will be carrying Kicker now. No idea when this is gonna take place, but RF and Best Buy made the announcement over a week ago.

Wow,its rough out there!

well as long as kicker isnt giving best buy or whoever else better deals than the car audio shops, then there should be no problem! I will still buy my products from my stereo guy, cause they know whats going on!

Yeah, thats what some are saying but I don't know if anyone really knows for sure. I can't see Rockford willingly cutting ties with their biggest customer. If it's true then it's a good move, I'd rather see local shops getting more attention from manufacturers than those big chain stores like Best Buy.

I can't even think of a shop around me that sells Kicker, all the ones that used to sell them have dropped them, same with Rockford. Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood and Boston Acoustics have a few shops carrying their product, but it seems like most shops around me are focused more on Alarms, remote starts and navigation than car audio. The internet stores and chain stores have killed car audio for the real shops. Some of the local shops have had to agree to install gear kids buy online, just to make ends meet. Several shops that used to be pretty big have closed down.

well we cut our first quarter down to 15,000 this year and in prior years our first order is always 30,000 plus... We decided to cut it in half on purchasing instead of just telling them to go to hell like i voted..... We will see what happens i vote and will vote later for us to just kick them to the curb its in every online bs and all the flea markets here... fkcn kicker

That's sad,these multi-million dollar companys are taking food out of the mouths of shop and small buisness owners. Another case of the rich get richer as the middle class gets poor. Well there are a couple of shops I would love to see go out of buisness lol but it is bs!

I think it's a matter of these big companies focusing more on their shareholders and doing everything possible to make a profit for them, without any concern for the small shops that got them to where they are today. One more reason not to buy from stores like Best Buy and Pep Boys.

I never really understood why the Kicker Fosgate Alpine some of the few that slutted out on the internet all they did was kill the market for stereo/tint shops. The only reason some stay afloat is because of doing tint truck assc other things. I've found that you can't hardly make money any more on stereo sales and installation. Big box stores like circuit and best buy didnt help this issue either. Smaller shops that cant have a ton of overhead are closing because of this and the internet, I always hear I can get it cheaper on the net Buy the Dung Pile then whos gna replace it when your year old crap breaks not me. I'm lucky to have the customer base that I do and I can and sometimes will choose not to do a build. If I can tell the customer doesnt care about how their stuff is installed or just want it thrown in and doesnt want to pay what its worth they can go down the street I dont do half ass work here

They all eventually get so big they move from the specialty retailers to the Big Box. Rockford, Orion, Audiobahn, and the lsit goes on. Where are they now? Like so many before them they will eventually pay the price. All your eggs in one basket is a bad corporate decision for any company. Lots of strings come with the big box guys.

actually i think you guy frget the bottom line to al of this, and it is to make money because if you ait making money its just not worth it

Its always been about the money, never said it wasnt but when you as a company make a buy one get one free sub for a big box store and a mom and pop that have been selling your product for 10 years thats 2 miles down the road and they close who did you help weigh it out all im saying where is ecliipse where is audiobahn where is sony today? might as well be n pep boys. I saw kenwood in Autozone the other day made me want to puke. When I was 16 I had a $400.00 Kenwood pre amp only cd player I thought I was king Dung Pile with kicker and polk but now everyones grandmas selling it no profit $20.00 on a pioneer cd player isnt profit chalk it up as a loss

I rather sell Treo thats not on the internet and make a $100.00 and its badass equipment opinions only

so your pissed because they showed no loyalty to you, and you actually thoughtn they cared for you?????

Rockford used to be some of the baddest product on the planet, you get it below 2 ohm n poof, Hell dbdrive has an entry level amplifier that is 1 ohm stable beat it you cant

Good thing the shop does lots of custom work

exactly limiting yourself to the sell of audio and or the install of it well isnt all that lucrative you have to have some other skillz going on.

Around here if you don't do remote starters and Nav systems then you'll never make it. The really good shops are also getting into performance mods and body kits and such. Car Audio alone won't make ends meet anymore.

I'm not talking about me, I've worked in this industry for 18 years now and Ive seen it all, still learn a little every now and then but there is no loyalty any more and that is sad is what it is

Sanman I could give a Dung Pile less if any one cares for me, cuz half the time I dont but thats me. I definately would've liked to have seen this industry take a different direction besides the path that its on. Some of its great, but most of its in the crapper. I'm glad I have usaci to get away and go compete and leave all that crap here at the shop. Again these are my thoughts on it

I have a friend that has a 3 store chain and he buys Kicker cheaper from the wholesale house than from Kicker even with his discounts.

Thats exactly why Dung Pile is goin down hill^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THATS WHY WE STICK WITH THE STUFF THATS NOT ALL OVER THE INTERNET......MEMPHIS HAS MADE ME ALOT OF MONEY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS....