CE Pro 100: Brand Name Dropping

The video categories, such as front projectors, rear projection, direct view and flat-panel televisions, are laden with big name brands, such as Sony, Runco, Panasonic and Fujitsu. Consumers are less likely to shell out money for a product that they are not familiar with, especially when it is something like a television that is a focal point of a media room.

"If the name carries good recognition, that's attractive," says Bruce Fordyce, creative director for Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based Audio/Video Entertainment. "Selecting a brand is much more subjective than selecting a product. A product is tangible whereas brand is emotional," says Shawn Smith, the vice president of Oldsmar, Fla.-based S&S Electric Co., Inc.

But the recognizable names are not the only reason these brands ranked highly -- a lot of them are protected distribution products, which many of the CE Pro 100 value.

"There is nothing worse than manufacturers that make no effort to protect and control the distribution of their product," says Dave Hartfelder, president of Yorba Linda, Calif.-based Diamond Case Designs, Inc. "Un-policed Internet sales and excessive superstore/warehouse store distribution devalues product and erodes margin."

Smith believes that as a product's distribution and popularity increase, its quality decreases. "When big manufacturers gain a large market share, they often get complacent and stop being innovative," he says.

Panasonic leads the telecommunications market among the CE Pro 100, appearing 79 times in our survey, compared to five times for Elan, the closest competitor.

But the market for shelf speakers is much more diverse, with 51 different brands making the list and the most used (Triad) tallying only 17 companies.

Beyond the Hardware

What kind of attitude are the top integrators looking for when selecting a manufacturer? Many of them say that a company's customer service plays a huge role.

"One of the potential turnoffs from a product or brand is the level of customer service provided by the manufacturer or manufacturer's representative," says Brian Lipscomb, executive director of Los Angeles-based RIMI Systems Integration.
Manufacturers who excel in one category seem to be spilling over into related product categories, showing a loyalty among integrators. Lutron, who dominates the lighting brands, also makes the most used window covering system. Crestron, the most-used multiroom amp brand, has extended from its strength in control systems.

Reliable and consistent manufacturers seem to win over integrators, and those that are not seem to lose business.

"We recently had a manufacturer," recounts John Gilmore, president of Montclair, Calif.-based Elite Custom Audio Video, "where 90 percent of the product we received was either defective as a D.O.A. or after a month or two, the product would finally fail. We had to make so many service calls that it wasn't profitable to even sell the product, so we threw it out of our store."

So the CE Pro 100 use brands that they can count on to be reliable as well as big names that consumers recognize and will feel comfortable spending money on. Is this your company's philosophy?

If you aren't in the CE Pro 100 this year, get ready for next year. If the Boston Red Sox proved anything, it's that next year might be your year.