Just when I think that the subject is dead along comes the September 2004 issue of CE Pro with a "guest editorial" from Oxmoor CEO Lynn McCroskey defending the Crutchfield deal and entitled "Oxmoor Deal Boosts Distributed Audio Exposure".
Everyone really should read this article/advertisement. It's condescending to Oxmoor's dealers to the point where I nearly fell off of my chair.
Here's some of McCroskey's key points:
#1 (Paraphrasing) Consumers go to Home Depot to buy nails but while they're there, they see all of the cool roofing shingles and French doors. They're not going to buy the shingles from Home Depot, but instead they'll hire a qualified contractor to do the job.
He's trying to use this analogy to represent Oxmoor's deal with Crutchfield. Apparently, Crutchfield isn't really going to be selling very much of the product. It's basically just there to increase brand awareness
#2 "Yet when we announced that the ZON Whole House Audio System would be available as a do it yourself (DIY) kit from Crutchfield, some dealers were afraid the sky was falling"
Well Mr. McCroskey, when you take into consideration the fact that YOUR company policy states that "Qualified ZON dealers must maintain a showroom system in an environment regularly displayed to potential customers" (source: Oxmoors site
[Link: zonaudio.com]) , what in the world did you expect their reaction to be?
#3 "We have a simple, insidious plan: Make ZON a household word."
That IS an insidious plan
#4 We would never do anything to hurt that" (their dealer) "network."
Seems like you maybe just did
#5 Subheading "Wake up and Smell the Coffee"
That's a pretty insulting thing to say to your dealers
I finished reading this article and sat in utter amazement. My take is that apparently, there's more then just a few upset Zon dealers out there; at least enough to justify writing a defense in a major trade mag, and Zon's response to those people is "It's time for our industry to stop sticking its head in the sand...." and "Wake up and Smell the Coffee".
Man, oh man, oh man
