Crutchfield
Encyclopedia
Crutchfield Corporation is a consumer electronics company specializing in many consumer electronics items, including mobile audio
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

 and video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

 equipment for the automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 and televisions, speakers
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...

, and other electronics for the home.
It was created in 1974 by William G. " Bill" Crutchfield, Jr., founder and CEO. It is based in Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

History

The company was created during the restoration of classic sports cars by Bill Crutchfield. Unable to find anyone to upgrade the car stereo in a Porsche 356
Porsche 356
The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile. It was a lightweight and nimble handling rear-engine rear-wheel-drive 2 door sports car available in hardtop coupe and open configurations. Design innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports...

 coupe he was preparing to sell, he realized there was an opportunity to offer to car stereos to others interested in this type of DIY project.

Company growth

Over the years, the company has expanded and currently employs over 500 employees. Bill has expanded the Charlottesville facilities to include a sizable headquarters, a main distribution center, and a secondary distribution and processing center. In addition, Crutchfield has a satellite facility in Norton, Virginia
Norton, Virginia
Norton is an independent city within the confines of Wise County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,958, making it the smallest city in the state by population...

 and retail storefronts in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...

.

On the Web, Crutchfield has upgraded their initial website by introducing the Crutchfield Community site, where customers may post to forums and read and comment upon blogs. Additional improvements and innovations include the creation of the Crutchfield TV YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 channel in June 2008 and the launch of the Crutchfield Signature store in Fall of 2009.

Awards and recognition

In 2007, Bill Crutchfield was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association
Consumer Electronics Association
The Consumer Electronics Association is a standards and trade organization for the consumer electronics industry in the United States. The Consumer Electronics Association is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $173 billion U.S...

 Hall of Fame alongside Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...

 and Amar Bose
Amar Bose
Amar Gopal Bose is an Bengali American electrical engineer, sound engineer and billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of Bose Corporation...

. The company's website, Crutchfield.com, was the first vendor-authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet.
In addition, as of March 2010, Crutchfield was the only internet retailer to have won BizRate's Platinum Circle of Excellence Award eleven years in a row.
Crutchfield Corp.'s call center has been certified by J. D. Power and Associates' Call Center Certification Program for "meeting key expectations" and "outstanding customer service experience."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK