Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of audio products grew to more than $579 million during April 2002, an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2001, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Increased dollar sales of systems and aftermarket auto-sound products were largely responsible for the overall increase, according to CEA; aftermarket auto-sound products increased by more than 21% to $201 million and dollar sales of systems increased by 18% to $145 million. Year-to-date sales of aftermarket auto-sound also increased to nearly 9% over 2001 to $783 million.
“Overall, the conversion to CD in the car is continuing to drive the aftermarket audio category and the audio category as a whole,” said Sean Wargo, senior industry analyst for CEA. “With manufacturer-to-dealer sales reaching $109.6 million during April, in-dash CD players are the largest audio category in terms of revenue. With it, healthy interest in better sound through speaker upgrades and amps is growing the aftermarket sector.”
In fact, sales of power amps increased during Apriil by nearly 20% to $31 million, according to CEA, and manufacturer-to-dealer sales of flushmount speakers increaseed by 25% to $19 million; the biggest push seemed to come from 6 1/2-inch speakers. Separate bass speaker sales also were on the rise during April, posting gains of 44% to $13.5 million, due predominately to sales of 12-inch woofers, according to CEA.
Wargo said, “Despite an overall drop in year-to-date audio sales, the long-term outlook for the audio industry remains optimistic as consumers enjoy all of the benefits digital audio has to offer.”
All the data cited is available for purchase through CEA’s Market Activity Reports and Analysis (MARA) program.
Visit CEA online at www.CE.org.
