Russound Move to Best Buy and Crutchfield Part of ‘Measured Expansion’ Into Retail Market

Russound, following a “rough few years” in the custom installation business, is expanding to the “volume retail market,” CEO Charlie Porritt told Consumer Electronics Daily on a press tour in Manhattan Wednesday. The company is selling a “select number” of products through Best Buy and Crutchfield, he said, and the announcement marks the first step in the brand’s “measured expansion” into the retail market, Porritt said.

Citing housing woes, a troubled economy and “a little rougher time” for Russound with its acquisition of Colorado vNet, Porritt said Russound is looking for growth in the next fiscal year and for the first time “is not sliding back down a hill not knowing where the bottom is.” The company has “probably bottomed out,” he said, and future growth will come from renewed focus on each brand along with new product introductions, he said.

In a prepared statement, Porritt said, “As the new home and custom markets have adapted to the new economy, so too has Russound.” He maintained that traditional custom installation partners will remain the company’s primary focus but said the move to retail “allows us to reach do-it-yourselfers” and customers that want to have in-wall speakers and “other select products” installed by a professional. All products sold through Best Buy and Crutchfield are also available through the custom channel, Porritt said.

Best Buy’s listing of “select” Russound products includes 85 SKUs, according to its website. At the low end, Bestbuy.com showed a pair of outdoor speakers for $59. At the high end, it’s selling a $2,599 six-source, eight-zone A-Bus controller. Other products include the model R1250MC 12-channel amplifier ($1,499), an A-Bus amplified keypad ($190), six-zone intercom system ($1,999) and multiple SKUs of in-wall speakers, volume controls, binding post connectors, control keypads, speaker selectors and home theater plates, among other accessories. Many of the products include a Magnolia tag.

Crutchfield.com listed an eclectic selection of 40 Russound products including a $13.99 12-volt power supply and an $858 single-source, four-zone audio system, listed as “open box” and “low stock,” available only at the outlet store. An eight-channel multi-room amplifier ($1,099) gets a 10 percent price buzz for shoppers who also buy any TV from Crutchfield.

"While lower end wireless products are in ample supply, we're finding many consumers who are open and anxious to step up to more advanced systems,” said Porritt. “By expanding our reach into retail, we are introducing a whole new generation of users to the benefits of multi-room audio and, of course, the Russound brand."

Meanwhile, Colorado vNet is attempting to crack the commercial market of automation. Porritt cited a condo project in the works at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, a project with Colorado State University and a not-yet-announced deal for a major theme park project. Porritt said Colorado vNet would ideally like commercial revenue to represent a quarter of the company’s balance sheet in the future.

Russound will introduce at CEDIA two products designed to meet European regulations for standby power use: the CA4E multi-zone controller and the VM1E, a video matrix switcher. The products are built to meet the EUP requirement that’s shifting in January from 1 watt power usage in standby to one-half watt, Porritt said. “As energy consumption becomes more concerning globally, we see that standby power usage is going to be implemented in the U.S. as well,” he said. Previous versions of the controller consumed 36 watts, he said.

Six tuner products have been phased out of the Russound line, Porritt told us. The functionality will either be built in chip form or through an app, he said.

Porritt said Russound will show behind closed doors at CEDIA a product that’s a “vast departure from previous products.” Formal delivery will happen 45 days after CEDIA, he said. “It’s non-traditional to what our normal products are,” he said. The product is being driven by “new technologies and new markets,” he said, and enters a category “in a different way than has been done before.” The product was designed by Allen Boothroyd, industrial designer and mechanical engineer who co-founded Meridian Audio with Bob Stuart.