What Does It Mean To Be A Retailer Of the Year

2013 was a big year for us at Extreme Audio. We completed a floor to ceiling remodel of our installation facility. We expanded into new product categories and we invested in high-end fabrication training for our entire staff. But nothing could have prepared us for what happened ing August. We were absolutely shocked when we won the 2013 Mobile Electronics Retailer of the Year!

How Does A Shop Become Retailer of the Year?

I’ll be the first to admit that the entire process is grueling. It starts out in Spring with the nominations. Our reps and vendors nominate the shops that they feel best represent the mobile electronics industry.

Once the nominees are locked in, the field is further narrowed to just 12 in the nation. This is done by an open voting process conducted online. Anyone can vote and an important part is the votes from you, our clients.

After the top 12 are named, the hard part begins. My team and I were required to put together a video that answers a long series of questions. Everything from our customer service policies and best practices to our installation bay and our showroom are covered. They want to know everything! It was a very eye-opening experience for us.

It all culminates at the annual Mobile Electronics Industry Awards held each year in Dallas, Texas. I’ll be the first to admit the anxiety I felt as they showed clips from the finalists’ videos. That anxiety turned to elation when the presenter announced “And the 2013 Mobile Electronics Retailer of the Year Award Goes to………. Extreme Audio of Mechanicsville, Virginia!”

Retailer of the Year is the highest honor that someone in our industry can achieve. But what does it mean to be a Retailer of the Year?

What It Means to Me And My Crew

I cannot begin to explain the great feeling of pride and personal satisfaction I experienced when I stood on the stage and accepted the award. I’ve been involved in this industry for over 20 years and, for my guys and I, this made all the late nights and weekends worth it. We take a great deal of pride in everything that we do at Extreme Audio. To know that our customers and our peers recognize us as one of the very best in the country is something that is hard to explain.

What It Means In Our Industry

Retailer of the Year has helped to elevate our status within our industry. It opens doors for us, not only among our peers, but also in the media and trade organizations. Since winning the Retailer of the Year award, we have been featured in several trade publications and have been interviewed for various articles.

What Retailer of the Year Means To Our Clients

Perhaps the biggest benefit of winning the award is what it represents to our clients. Throughout the history of the mobile electronics industry there have been less than 100 facilities awarded the retailer of the year. This is very rare air. Less than 1/100 of 1% of all shops that ever existed have been given this honor.

A lot of shops will tell you that they are the best. They will show you newspaper articles claiming them to be “Best Car Audio Shop in Anytown, VA.” When you deal with Extreme Audio, you have the peace of mind knowing that you are dealing with a company that was voted the very best of it’s kind in the ENTIRE COUNTRY.

Don’t take our word for it (or the word of everyone else in the 12V community!) We invite you to stop in and let us show you around our facility. We think that, by the time you get the tour and experience everything that we bring to the table, you will understand how a shop in suburban Richmond was able to take home the big prize!