CE Pro May 2021 - 28

INDUSTRY
CE Pro 100

Industry Veterans
1. ADT 146 years

2. Abt Electronics 85 years

3. Nebraska Furniture Mart 84 years

4. All Systems Audio & Video 73 years
5. Guardian Protection 70 years
6. TVS Pro 68 years

7. Jamiesons Audio/Video 67 years
8. Peak Audio & Video 50 years

9. (tie) Audio Breakthroughs 46 years
9. (tie) Audiotronics 46 years

9. (tie) Audio Concepts 46 years

The median age of a CE Pro 100 company is 20 years.

Old-School Aces
Top Traditional Residential Integrators
1. Bravas $65.2 million

2. Audio Command Systems $21.2 million
3. Audio Interiors $16 million

4. TriPhase Technologies $11.7 million
5. AAMI $11 million

6. ETC Palm Beach $10.7 million

7. Procom Enterprises $9.7 million

8. Audio Video Systems $9.6 million
9. Audio Video Crafts $9.2 million
10. Sound Concepts $8.8 million

These traditional AV specialists have the time-tested business
model of doing a smaller number of residential projects with
higher price points that entails working closely with homeowners, architects, interior designers and custom builders to
fashion sophisticated integrated systems - one at a time.
They earn only a small portion of their revenues from commercial projects, RMR, or over-the-counter and online sales.

Retail Giants
Top Custom Retailers/etailers
1. Just One Touch / Video & Audio Center $123.5 million
2. Abt Electronics $78 million

3. World Wide Stereo $50.3 million

4. Nebraska Furniture Mart $19.9 million
5. HiFi Buys $9.1 million

counter. Those slowdowns
at the retail level did not just
occur during the lockdowns,
but the trend continues
even today. Certainly, in
some cases hybrid retail/
custom dealers were able to
successfully pivot to online
sales to generate new business, but competing against
mega etailers is a difficult
proposition.
So with all those factors at
play, it does seem remarkable
that the median revenues
only fell 2.4% last year for the
CE Pro 100. In terms of total
revenues, the companies on
the list did a whopping $7.8
billion in revenues in 2020.
The CE Pro 100 list itself,
now in its 22nd year, is
also unique and constantly
evolving. For many years,
the qualifying revenues were
solely based on income
derived during the installation process of various
subsystems (see sidebar for
a partial list of subsystems).
Now the list of the top custom installation companies
in the United States includes
all their revenue sources.
That is why for the first
time ever in the charts
(starting on page 32), CE
Pro is delineating out for
each company not only the
number of residential and
commercial installations, but

also the percentage of revenue derived from recurring
monthly revenue (RMR),
online equipment sales, and
over-the-counter equipment
sales. All of those sources now contribute as the
custom integration industry
evolves from a niche that
served only elite clientele
to one that serves the mass
market with smart home
solutions.
That growing diverse client
base is why the list itself is
an amalgamation of high-volume mass market players,
security companies, retailers
with installation divisions,
and commercial integration
companies have migrated
into the residential market.
The list also includes several
national rollup players such
as Bravas and AVDG that
are focused on the high-end
custom installation market.
Median Number of
Projects Rises
The pandemic has put the
brakes somewhat on the
trend of residential-based
integrators moving into the
commercial market. Offices,
bars, restaurants, hotels,
entertainment venues, houses of worship, schools, and
even retail were all hit hard
by the forced shutdowns.
With no clients, that means
no money for upgrades to
control, AV, lighting or even
security systems. With office
buildings basically void of
employees, there is lower

6. Bjorn's Audio Video $8.0 million

These integrators earn a strong portion of their revenue from
selling equipment over-the-counter and online in addition
to custom installation. Many of those over-the-counter sales
form relationships with customers that lead to installing the
equipment.

28 | CE Pro May 2021

C2105 pp26-36 CEP100.indd 28

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4/6/21 10:40 AM

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CE Pro May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro May 2021