# KICKER and KENWOOD going to WALMART??



## DAT

Ok so most of the industry has heard Kenwood and Kicker are going to WALMART, oh how fun that can be, my buddy carries Kicker and is dumping it now and picking up RE AUDIO.

I'm sure its just the low entry stuff but who is next?


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## trojan fan

DAT said:


> I'm sure its just the low entry stuff but who is next?




....Massive Audio....


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## IBcivic

Metaphorically speaking, they have just sold their souls...

I briefly worked for a company that supplied "THE WALMART" and their inspectors had the right to roam our factory, un-announced and un-escorted. In other words, they OWN ya.


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## tyroneshoes

They already carry Pioneer, jvc and sony. No biggy to me.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

DAT said:


> Ok so most of the industry has heard Kenwood and Kicker are going to WALMART, oh how fun that can be, my buddy carries Kicker and is dumping it now and picking up RE AUDIO.
> 
> I'm sure its just the low entry stuff but who is next?


:surprised::surprised::surprised:



IBcivic said:


> Metaphorically speaking, they have just sold their souls...
> 
> I briefly worked for a company that supplied "THE WALMART" and their inspectors had the right to roam our factory, un-announced and un-escorted. In other words, they OWN ya.


:surprised::surprised::surprised: (Love the Pioneer in your Sig BTW)



tyroneshoes said:


> They already carry Pioneer, jvc and sony. No biggy to me.


DING DING DING DING..... We have a winnar...!! 

Say what you will, but how many people are rocking a 80PRS(me) or P99... not to mention all the OTHER coveted gear (720PRS midbass/101PRS midrange, to name 2 off the top of my head) they've produced in recent years.... 

All the while supplying everything from the crappiest CRAP, to the best of the best...

It will either progress the companies or kill them... pretty simple...


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## quickaudi07

What why is kenwood going to wall mart im sure now bestbuy will be closeing stores more and more. They have closed over 50 stores in IL

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


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## quickaudi07

trojan fan said:


> ....Massive Audio....


LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thats too funny! 

Also I'm sure soon enough they will open up a car audio install bay soon if the things go the way they are right now.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

quickaudi07 said:


> What why is kenwood going to wall mart im sure now bestbuy will be closeing stores more and more. They have closed over 50 stores in IL
> 
> Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


Hate to break it to you but Kenwood has been in walmart in the form of JVC for a long time... 

Kenwood and JVC are one in the same..


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## optimaprime

friend at kicker just comfirmed this. maybe he will get raise.


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## Sleeves

quickaudi07 said:


> What why is kenwood going to wall mart im sure now bestbuy will be closeing stores more and more. They have closed over 50 stores in IL
> 
> Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


They closed 50 stores total, not 50 just in Illinois.


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## ReloadedSS

Wal-Mart does have their supplier chain whipped. From what I hear, you have to station a top-level executive from your company near Wal-Mart's HQ so that they can have access to you when necessary, if you expect to sell in their stores. 

I can understand wanting access to a large sales chain for volume, but that seems to be waving the flag on quality for quantity. To supply to Wal-Mart, you have to expect to be able to have a lot of returns and to be able to produce huge volumes. Are Kicker and RF capable of putting enough product into Wal-Mart stores? I have to say, there's a difference between Best Buy, which is a huge chain, and Wal-Mart, which is *the* huge chain store.


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## Sine Swept

This is the same way I felt when I saw Fender guitars selling on the BB homepage..

*GAG*


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## Angrywhopper

Kicker will be placing a entry level line in Walmart. They will have their own model numbers.

Also, according to Kicker and their research, the people shopping for audio equipment at Walmart would have never walked into the specialty's store anyways. 

One last thing to remember is that Walmart does *NOT *have salesmen nor an install bay.


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## Chaos

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Hate to break it to you but Kenwood has been in walmart in the form of JVC for a long time...
> 
> Kenwood and JVC are one in the same..


Yup.


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## Chaos

Angrywhopper said:


> One last thing to remember is that Walmart does *NOT *have salesmen nor an install bay.


Yet.

Not that I ma advocating this in any way shape or form, but WalMart didn't use to have opticians, banks or salons in them either. Point, being, they will try just about anything if they think there is money in it, so never say never.


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## ChaunB3400

Honestly if kicker goes to wally world and they bring there amp kits over, it may be worth looking at


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## chefhow

The company I work for supplies product into Walmart and MANY of its co-packers as well as 75% of the grocery chains in the country. We are expected to be able to be fully audited unannounced, at will, and at any time M-F from 8am-5pm. NO EXCEPTIONS NO QUESTIONS ASKED, OPEN THE BOOKS, OPEN THE PLANT AND LET THEM GO TO WORK, BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY A COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE. We dont have any people dedicated to them other than a sales person(who handles other customers and an R&D person( I have MANY other customers besides them), we dont have anyone officed within 300 miles of them that I am aware of and we dont go out of our way for them, but what Walmart does isnt out of the ordinary. Its the industry standard for food manufacturing and they have actually helped increase some of the food safety standards around the country with the actual auditing and requirements that they do enforce unlike most end use companies. 

The Whole Foods auditing standard and paperwork trail is actually based on what Walmart developed many years ago as an accountability program to be able to trace every ingredient of every item from the farm/lab to the consumers kitchen table, they have every ingredient documented and traceability of it all. Did you all know that they largest purchaser of Organic and 100% Natural products is Walmart? They are also the largest provider of Organic produce and hormone free protiens in the country.


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## ChaunB3400

Chaos said:


> Yet.
> 
> Not that I ma advocating this in any way shape or form, but WalMart didn't use to have opticians, banks or salons in them either. Point, being, they will try just about anything if they think there is money in it, so never say never.


This^^^^

And if its cheap enough everybody and there mama will go to them for installs


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## hurrication

Angrywhopper said:


> Kicker will be placing a entry level line in Walmart. They will have their own model numbers.


It's like this not only for car audio but also with other electronics like TV's and laptops. The Wal-mart special products are even more watered down than the lowest entry level gear so they can be sold very cheap. It's mainly intended for people with a minimum wage paycheck to come in and buy two 12's with an amp for 100$ so they can make some noise, or so they can get a 17" laptop for a couple hundred bucks in a black friday sale.

I don't see why everybody is making a big deal about it - it's not like the quality of a SoloX or a X995 will go down the drain.


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## omega48er

hurrication said:


> It's like this not only for car audio but also with other electronics like TV's and laptops. The Wal-mart special products are even more watered down than the lowest entry level gear so they can be sold very cheap. It's mainly intended for people with a minimum wage paycheck to come in and buy two 12's with an amp for 100$ so they can make some noise, or so they can get a 17" laptop for a couple hundred bucks in a black friday sale.
> 
> I don't see why everybody is making a big deal about it - it's not like the quality of a SoloX or a X995 will go down the drain.


^ thats what i think. I see puerile go to best buy and buy the budget line stuff. I only shop bestbuy... Well i never shop best buy 

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2


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## lsm

I remember a time when specialty shops had dedicated lines, direct manufacturer support, a demo car on the showroom floor, and salesman in dress shirts and ties. I remember a time when an installer or salesman could actually make a good living in the car audio business. I remember when there were at least 4 separate magazines dedicated to this hobby and so many stereo competitions that you actually had to pick one to go to. I also remember when the first high-end 12V company gave up their dedicated dealer base for the "big box stores". To those of you who say who cares take a look about 20 years back and you'll see what the future of what car audio looks like... 

The SPL crowd didn't help things either but thats a whole different topic.


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## bigaudiofanatic

Sad to say this but Wal-Mart has been trying to up their car audio selection for a few years now. Looks like their doing it to.

X2 on the kicker amp kits.


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## PPI_GUY

Was in Walmart yesterday and saw all the Kicker. I guess crackheads gotta bump too. Over/under on how long alot of that stuff shows up on CL?


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## hurrication

I know the Sony stuff that's sold at Walmart has its own part number, which is just the regular part number with a W on the end. There's no telling how much the Walmart part# is watered down from the regular version.


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## TrickyRicky

trojan fan said:


> ....Massive Audio....


LOL, exactly what I thought when I saw the title on the thread. Now they make **** ( I mean hi-end gear) @low prices. It's like McIntosh making 100buck HU's.


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## Tobtech

lsm said:


> I remember a time when specialty shops had dedicated lines, direct manufacturer support, a demo car on the showroom floor, and salesman in dress shirts and ties. I remember a time when an installer or salesman could actually make a good living in the car audio business. I remember when there were at least 4 separate magazines dedicated to this hobby and so many stereo competitions that you actually had to pick one to go to. I also remember when the first high-end 12V company gave up their dedicated dealer base for the "big box stores". To those of you who say who cares take a look about 20 years back and you'll see what the future of what car audio looks like...
> 
> The SPL crowd didn't help things either but thats a whole different topic.


Aah yes, the good ole days. I remember those well.


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## omega48er

Brock_Landers said:


> I don't understand about 89.678 percent of what you just said ...


Same here, crack is a fukkd up drug, lol jk

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2


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## putergod

Personally, I don't see a problem with it. Kicker has nose dived for years, and only the high end head units fron Kenwood are worth anything.
Everything else isn't really any better than what Wal-Mart has been selling for years.


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## RNBRAD

Company's have to go where the money is at. It's not in 400 to 500 dollar amps anymore, it's not in 200 dollars a piece subs anymore, it's not in 2 dollar a ft wiring. People can't afford higher end equipment costs and also pay for gas, rent, milk, insurance etc. Until the cost of living greatly decreases or car stereo's somehow move up the hierarchy of needs pyramid, then i expect manufacturers to continue to make equipment for the masses. No doubt niche audio gear will continue to shrink. Better hang on to what you have because we might see the day when we will be putting home audio gear with invertors back in our cars for some high end audio.


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## Richv72

I think *ANY* car audio company would jump at the chance to sell their goods at wal mart. Problem is most arent large enough to do that. Walmart is a huge company and a car audio company would make a fortune selling products through them. I love how all these underground companies (insert subwoofer company name here) act like they are so non mainstream, when in reality they wish they were mainstream. At the end of the day it all boils down to money.


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## RNBRAD

Richv72 said:


> I think *ANY* car audio company would jump at the chance to sell their goods at wal mart. Problem is most arent large enough to do that. Walmart is a huge company and a car audio company would make a fortune selling products through them. I love how all these underground companies (insert subwoofer company name here) act like they are so non mainstream, when in reality they wish they were mainstream. At the end of the day it all boils down to money.


Yep most company's would do it in a second cept company's like Mcintosh.


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## SaturnSL1

I've never been a huge fan of Kicker but Walmart isn't THAT bad. If you're lucky you can get some sweet ass deals. I only have a picture of one of my good finds but so far I've gotten three spools of 16 gauge wire and one spool of 14 gauge wire all for $3 per spool. I've also lucked out and grabbed up four of these Schoshe fuse holder all for $3 a piece.

So that's 200 feet of perfectly good speaker wire which seems very true to it's gauge size, four fuse holders and 8 fuses that come with the holders all for $24. That's a good deal regardless of the brand, no one can deny that.










Also, I have gotten my hands on a Walmart amp too. I used to have a Dual two channel that claimed it couldn't run 2 ohms bridged but it did and it THUMPED. It ran pretty hot but it never blew a fuse and never puffed out any smoke for months. After my experience with that Dual and other old school "junk" like Pyramid and Profile I've learned that the stuff we write off as junk isn't all that bad. All the amps I've encountered blown from user error, not from normal use.

Here's a pic of the Dual next to some kind of monster.


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