Automotive News - October 17, 2016 - Supplement - S13

OCTOBER 17, 2016 ❙ 13 HUFFINES CHRYSLER-JEEP-DODGE-RAM LEWISVILLE, LEWISVILLE, TEXAS Tuning into aftermarket audio Store upsells buyers on Alpine system, turns up the volume on profits Printed in Automotive News Feb. 8, 2016 Larry P. Vellequette lvellequette@crain.com uffines Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram Lewisville in suburban Dallas last year took a shot at selling specialized aftermarket audio accessories and has amped up profits as a result. A first-of-its-kind agreement with Alpine Electronics Ⅲ Aftermarket audio of America enables the dealaccessories ership to upsell audio accesfor buyers of sories to new-vehicle buyers, new vehicles who can finance the equipment as part of the purchase. The result: "We're routinely installing $7,500 to $8,000 systems in people's vehicles," said Ray Burgess, Huffines' accessories director. "It's the most profitable thing we do right now." For decades, aftermarket audio suppliers such as Alpine have looked past dealers and focused marketing efforts directly at consumers and electronics retailers. But in early 2015, Alpine produced a new category of vehicle-specific replacement dash systems under the name Alpine Restyle. The first product was an infotainment unit for the most accessorized SUV on the planet, the Jeep Wrangler. The unit features a 9-inch touch screen that is 50 percent bigger than the largest screen available from the factory. H Customizing customers The $3,500 plug-and-play system, with integrated navigation, fits seamlessly into the 2011-16 Wrangler's dash and retains all of the functionality of the Wrangler's existing Uconnect system. That means all of the control buttons on the steering wheel and voice commands continue to work. "Normally, we'd be selling through our normal channels," said Steve Crawford, general manager of aftermarket at Alpine. "But because it's just a vehicle-specific solution, we saw a lot of attention resonating with a lot of new-vehicle drivers." That meant reaching out to dealers. Louis Osuna, left, parts director at Huffines Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram Lewisville, demonstrates Alpine audio equipment in the showroom. Crawford, who owns a Wrangler, said the typical Wrangler customer's openness to accessories made the vehicle a perfect guinea pig for the company's swing into dealership-sold accessories. "The Wrangler customer likes to do a lot of customization to that vehicle." This month, said Crawford, Alpine will introduce a similar aftermarket system for newer-model Chevrolet and GMC pickups that also will be integrated with those vehicles' existing audio and voice-control systems. The Huffines store in Lewisville, Texas, was the first dealership to sign up with Alpine, and it's now been joined by about 100 other Jeep dealerships nationwide, said Crawford. The Lewisville store averages about 175 new and 150 used sales a month. The familyowned Huffines chain owns nine dealerships in Texas, representing Fiat Chrysler, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia and Subaru brands. Burgess said the Lewisville dealership created a subsidiary called Huffines Designs that focuses on marketing and installing the Alpine accessories, primarily for the Wrangler and Ram 1500. He said Alpine has provided assistance with training staff in service and sales. 'Cool factor' "It's been a 'zero heat' situation," said Burgess. "And there's a cool factor. It's not uncommon to see four or five salespeople stuffed into a Wrangler in the parking lot with the volume wide open. We're all just sitting there grinning like 12-year-olds." One of the keys to selling the systems is a free-standing showroom display that features a working model of the Wrangler infotainment system, said Burgess. "It looks and acts exactly like it will look in their dash," he said. "It sells itself when people get a chance to touch and feel and smell it." Installation takes a "couple of hours" for experienced technicians, said Burgess. The dealership is averaging 12 to 24 installations a month and an extra $150,000 per month in accessory sales since the partnership began last year. "For customers buying these Wranglers right now, cost really isn't an issue," Burgess said, adding that many of the 25 to 50 Wranglers the dealership sells in a month have $10,000 to $30,000 in accessories on them. And because they're installed at the dealership, consumers usually can roll those costs into their financing. "There's very few people who will write a check for $8,000" for an audio system, said Burgess, "but when they see how little it adds to their payment, they usually go ahead." c

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