Crutchfield is usually very private about its sales results. However, Founder Bill Crutchfield recently told us that the company’s mobile electronics sales are tracking at a comparable level with last year.
This was a pleasant surprise to Crutchfield, as it had forecast the possibility of a downturn that could impact holiday sales. Mr. Crutchfield said, “I am pleasantly surprised by the strength of our holiday sales. The large amount of liquidity in our economy is obviously one reason for it.”
He noted, however, that next year may see some belt tightening. “I still believe that the economic headwinds will worsen next year as the Federal Reserve continues to increase its Fed Funds rate while accelerating Quantitative Tightening. It will be very difficult for the Fed to reduce inflation to its 2% target without throwing the economy into recession. Therefore, I think 2023 will be a much tougher year for our industry. We need to be prepared for the worse and hope for the best.”
TWICE magazine lists Crutchfield’s total sales (home and car) for 2021 at $469 million, up from $421 million in 2020.
Best Buy also surprised analysts this week by reporting a better than expected quarter that ended October 29. It also reaffirmed its holiday forecast, indicating that consumers are still spending.
While Best Buy sales were better than expected, they declined from last year by about 11 percent during the quarter to $10.5 billion. Net income fell to $277 million from $499 million.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told analysts on a conference call that the level of retail promotions is presently as aggressive as it was prior to the pandemic, and even more aggressive, in some cases.
However, Best Buy said its sales are still above prepandemic levels.
they were one of the three getting product while others starved.