Mass merchants hope to snatch auto alarm biz - Hard Lines

Discount Store News, Feb 18, 1991 by Richard C. Halverson

In Texas, insurers offer discounts of 2%, 6% and 10%, depending on the region.

Auto dealers charge anywhere from $80 to $200 for glass VIN etching, said Dennis Morrow, vp of Lectric Lites, Fort Worth, Texas.

The company is marketing a DIY acid etching kit, Thief Beware, that does the job for $19.95, Morrow said. Lectric Lites expects to ship 200,000 units in 1991, starting with smaller automotive chains.

The retail dollar value of installed security systems in 1991 will hit a projected $446 million, with unit sales of 3.25 million. The Car Audio Specialists Association/Vehicle Security Association estimated in its most recent market survey that new car dealers, auto security shops, and audio specialty shops would snare 85% of the business.

The survey projected a growth rate of 20% for passive systems from 1989 through 1994 and 14% for active systems, which drivers must remember to arm.

Auto aftermarket chains that offer installation would land 10% of sales, the survey concluded, while CES chains that install would handle 5%. That survey, however, was made in the fall of 1989, just as vendors were beginning to market mobile, and now DIY, systems for the mass market.

[Tabular Data Omitted.]

PHOTO : Audiovox is one of many companies making DIY auto security systems that are far less expensive to install than those professionally installed by auto specialty shops, auto security shops or car dealers.