Osprey Wireless Inc. is the only car retail store in New England
that has been nominated FOUR times for "Retailer of the
Year" by K40 Electronics, the premier designer and
manufacturer of mobile electronic products, and Directed
Electronics.
MOBILE
ELECTRONICS 2003 - VIEWPOINTS
Satellite Television Makes Impression on 12-volt Retailer
Publisher Joni Reilly sat down with Jeffrey Maron, 18-year
industry veteran, to talk about his experience at this year's
Consumer Electronics Show. The CEO of Osprey Wireless, one of
Mobile Electronics' Top 10 Retailers of 2002, began installing
car phones from his garage back in 1985. Today, Osprey is
located in Norwood, Mass., which puts the business squarely in
the midst of the car buying capital of Boston's south shore
community.
Reilly: How
many CES events have you attended? How does this one compare to
the previous shows?
Maron:
At least 10. I thought the attendance was perfect. I liked a lot
of the displays and a lot of the things that were going on. I
felt there were a lot of things missing, but I thought the show
was very well done this year, especially with the logistics
-having all the similar products in one building and just a few
things in other areas. The thing that was missing most for us
was wireless. Motorola didn't display, Nokia didn't display, and
Ericsson didn't display.
Reilly:
Did you get an opportunity to visit the wireless pavilion that
CES had set up?
Maron:
Yes, I did get a chance to visit and I was not impressed.
Reilly:
What did impress you in terms of product at CES?
Maron:
We were bombarded this year with video. Video has been a very
big part of our business, but I think that this year we were
able to make valued decisions and valid choices of products that
we felt were going to be the best products for our store and
customers. There were a lot of custom headrests, custom
installations of overheads. One of the things that really
impressed us was (the KVH) satellite television, because we do
deal with a higher-end customer and high-end market, and I think
satellite television will be an incredible boom for us in 2003
and beyond.
Reilly:
Are you considering new vendors or adding new categories this
year?
Maron:
We are considering one very important key player, which I can't
really disclose at this point in time. We are probably making
that decision in the next 10 days and that was a very important
meeting for us. We also really wanted to just solidify ourselves
with the manufacturers that we do business with - I mean from
breakfast lunch and dinner meetings - not just to have food, but
to really discuss who we are for them and who they are for us.
Reilly:
A lot of vendors at CES are reorganizing to be able to be single
sources for retailers. Will this affect how you do business or
who you buy certain product categories from?
Maron:
Well, I think that Directed is moving in that direction with
many of the products that they have, from alarms and remote
starts to video, to amplifiers and speakers with their concept
of one choice or" Power of One. " I think that will be key for
us because we are a very large and dedicated Directed dealer.
One of our other main suppliers is Audiovox, which is also
moving in that direction. We are not a line grabber. We don't
just have products in our store to say we carry X, Y or Z
products. If we dedicate ourselves to a line, we really play. We
want to be important to that manufacturer and we want them to be
important to us.
Reilly:
What are the largest obstacles for you at your store right now?
Maron:
Space.
Reilly:
How do you feel about being named one of the Top 10 Retailers in
the country?
Maron:
We are very excited about it. We feel we step up to the plate
regarding customer service and customer satisfaction. I think so
many stores have the same products to sell, and without having
customer service and referrals and people talking about you in a
positive way, they may as well go to Circuit City and buy it. Reilly:
How will you use your award to help your business?
Maron: I
think we had already been doing it since the award was announced
- take a look at our Website, automilecartoys.com. I think we
are already marketing that award. Our competition is very fierce
on the Automile and in the Boston area. I think we are a shining
star, and being awarded as a Top 10 retailer is just going to
make our business grow even more. |
