AAFES & Klipsch: Who lost the connection?

[HDBRbuilder]

I just got back from two "Blissful" weeks at FT Bliss, TX. While there, I went to the post PX and was thoroughly disgusted with the audio section there. My question is: What the hello has happened to Klipsch's former status in the military market???

There was a time when a soldier had the opportunity to purchase Klipsch speakers on military bases at the PX/BX locations, but at FT Bliss, there were only a few home speakers displayed and NONE were Klipsch! I am fully aware that there are many differences in products offered at different military base locations through the AAFES system, but SOMEBODY at Klipsch NEEDS to pick up the ball on this and begin running with it RIGHT NOW!

For the first time since WWII, EVERY SOLDIER IN THE ACTIVE COMPONENT AND IN THE RESERVE COMPONENTS will be getting the call to serve in the current conflict OR at other locations where our military has ongoing commitments, OR BOTH, over the next few years, beginning a year ago! What does this have to do with Klipsch?? Simply stated: MARKETING and SALES!!!

I know, I know...Klipsch's civilian dealer network stateside does NOT want people to be able to pick up Klipsch speakers on military bases at a substantial savings to what the off-post dealers are charging for them at THEIR retail prices, BUT...those same dealers are NOT even making any attempts to market the Klipsch Heritage line, and it seems they are not very interested in marketing the rest of the Klipsch lines, either!

So, since literally hundreds of thousands of soldiers will be passing through stateside military bases as they are called to active duty and given a quick train-up before deploying, WHY doesn't Klipsch take advantage of this situation and market their speakers on military bases?? For many of these soldiers, the ONLY place they will get a chance to go while on these bases IS the PX/BX!! Keep in mind that many of these soldiers will be deploying to the Mid-East, where they will be receiving their pay TAX-FREE, and will be receiving combat pay, dislocation pay, etc, on top of that! They will be doing their shopping on military bases both before deploying and after their return!

So, Klipsch marketing guys/gals: get up off yer derrieres and do something about it!! Get some Klipsch speakers marketed in those stateside AAFES locations NOW! After all, the only home speakers I even saw at the FT Bliss PX were on a wall-mounted BOSE display!

Those soldiers will be making money while they are called up! They will be making a LOT of it tax-free! They will be planning to spend it on SOMETHING when they get back! They will be reading anything they can get their hands on while deployed in order to alleviate some of the boredom!..to include the AAFES catalog, from which they can order electronic equipment and have it shipped to their homes or to their own locations! (hint! hint!) They need to be reading about Klipsch! They need to be talking about Klipsch! They need to be LISTENING to Klipsch! They need to be BUYING Klipsch! But how the hello can they do any of that if YOU MARKETING GENIUSES DON'T GIVE THEM THE CHANCE????

DO IT! DO IT NOW!!!

AND...DON'T just give them the opportunity to purchase the bottom of the Klipsch line stuff...throw Klipschorns at them, throw LaScalas at them, throw Heresys at them! THEY WILL BUY THEM ALL!!! All they have to do is HEAR THEM!!!

P.S. FYI, FT Bliss, TX and FT Hood, TX are where the majority of these deploying units are going for final train-up/mid-east acclimation prior to departing for Iraq/Afghanistan, etc! Then they make a short run through the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at FT Polk, LA for train-up/readiness accreditation on the JRTC battlefield before heading over there!

[Frzninvt]

Andy, I think it happened in the latter part of the 90's, I purchased a pair of Heresy's and the Forte's that I owned for over 12 years at the Ramstein AB BX, and Vogelweh PX back when I was in the USAF in Germany '86-'89 those were the years for audio back then let me tell you. The selection of gear was tremendous back then! Every year they would have huge tent sale and all the companies would participate including Klipsch, it was awesome! I wanted La Scala's but my worry was moving them around since you don't stay put very often in the Military. You could get units that were not even available for sale in the US at substantial discount. Thank goodness they offered DPP to poor GI's like me.

From what I hear AAFES does not offer squat for audio anymore, I remember the overseas catalogs and drooling over all the selection of gear in them, the Nakamichi 7 series, all the DBX stuff, all the Klipsch, JBL, Polk, Infinity, and Cerwin Vega that you could handle. The Audio-Photo club at Mainz-Kastel AB in Germany was unreal, three floors of audio gear, and a room of closeouts and leftovers I wish I could go back in time knowing what I know now and I would have bought much more than I did.

Tis' truly a shame that GI's can't buy Klipsch through the PX's & BX's anymore, I have known this for awhile now.

[Cal Blacksmith]

I don't rmemeber any Klipsch that was sold in the px in 75-78 time frame. I had to buy my good audio stuff at the local off base high end shop.... at a high price to go along with it!

[Frzninvt]

The Klipsch speakers were available primarily at overseas locations and not stateside PX's & BX's. The Holloman AFB, NM BX had squat for audio gear, it wasn't until I got overseas that I had access to the whole gamet of audio gear. AAFES had it all listed in the catalog but you could not order it unless you were overseas or went on a TDY for at least 60-90 days to an overseas location.

[tubelover]

I want to go overseas in the military

[J.4knee]

When I joined the Navy I selected orders to Japan after my schooling was complete because of the fantastic deals available at the exchanges. I bought my La Scala's in 84 at the NEX in Yokosuka. Yeah those were the great days of audio in the mid to late 80's. In the Early 90s I noticed a significant drop off in the quality of products/component being offered. I bought my current turntable and cassette deck there as well. I can vouch for the tent sale and mfrs offering stuff not yet available in the US. Some of the stuff was Japanese domestic components that you normally only got in Aki Habara. Yeah to think our soldiers, sailors and marines are not privy to the great deals of old is a shame. These folks more than earned the right to have opportunity to score a deal on the Klipsch Heritage line and the newer stuff as well. I agree with Andy reopen that market to our brave men and women whom we all owe an unrepayable debt to.

[skonopa]

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On 8/11/2004 1:20:21 PM Frzninvt wrote:

The Klipsch speakers were available primarily at overseas locations and not stateside PX's & BX's. The Holloman AFB, NM BX had squat for audio gear, it wasn't until I got overseas that I had access to the whole gamet of audio gear. AAFES had it all listed in the catalog but you could not order it unless you were overseas or went on a TDY for at least 60-90 days to an overseas location.

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I guess that is why I don't remember seeing Klipsch at Ft. Sill when I was there in '89. I do remember oogling over the Laser Disk players they had there though, and wishing I had the cash to get one.

And Andy, yes, I've spent a thrilling two weeks myself at JRTC in Ft Polk. Oh boy, lots of fun there.

[Piranha]

I can relate. The gear I saw while in the USAF at Lowry AFB in 77-78 was dismal at best. It was even worse when I got to Eglin AFB in late 78. But boy oh boy, I was in heaven when I arrived at Torrejon AB, Spain in late 79. I saw and had the opportunity to buy some really fantastic gear in the audio/photo club there at rock bottom prices!

As luck would have it, and being the nineteeen year old testosterone filled idiot that I was at the time, I made the grave mistake of immediately going and buying a pair of Bose 901's, a Phase Linear 400, and Phase 4000 (all junk!). Don't ask me why?? My skin still crawls when I think about it.

1979 was the first time that I had ever heard a really nice stereo system before. Seems every dorm room at Torrejon had a killer high end system. I was totally blown away when I finally heard a pair of Cornwalls in one guys dorm room. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. We were listening to vinyl since CD's weren't around at that time. The CW's were being driven by a Soundcraftsman amp and preamp (not sure of the model numbers). Yeah I know, probably not the best stuff, but since I had never really heard anything much better than an 8-track ghetto blaster prior to that, I was VERY impressed. After hearing the Corns I wanted to kick myself right in the a.s for buying the damn Blose and Blaze Linear. What in the hell was I thinking at the time? I guess I can chock it up to my naivety of never having heard horns before?

Well I decided that very day that I wanted to dump the Blose and buy a pair of Cornwalls and a good amp. I used to go to the audio/photo club at Torrejon three or four times a week to buy vinyl and dream of the day that I would finally get my beloved Cornwalls.

Fast forward.....I own two pairs of Cornwalls, and now I dream about the day I will own a pair of Klipschorns and a house that has good corners for them. Some things never change.

[n2dablue]

I sure wish I had been around the military in the '80s or '90s! I am 19 and have been in the Air Force for nearly two years now. Let me say that if I was to walk into the BX and see Klipsch, especially from the Heritage line I would go nuts! I doubt I'd be the only one either. I have AF buddies over to my appartment all the time and of course I show off my little setup. Its great to watch their eyebrows raise after the first few notes of a song, and these are just a pair of KG-4s! I gurantee I would be doing a lot better than the KG's if AAFES still sold Klipsch at a good price.

Paul Larson

McChord AFB, WA

[mandi]

you put Heritage in the PX at Ft Rutger and Ft Stewart and they would be flying out of the store.

[Piranha]

I think if you put discounted Heritage anywhere, it would fly out. Especially when you go overseas and it's duty free.

It would be nice if some current, or recently discharged military personnel who have had an overseas tour would chime in and give us the lowdown on the current offerings to the military outside of the USA.

[HDBRbuilder]

To reiterate the situation:

When I was stationed in Germany and Italy in the 1970's, Klipsch Heritage speakers, LaScalas and Heresys in particular, were being sold by the USAREUR audio/photo clubs, along with sales of many other high-dollar/quality audio equipment items.

AAFES saw that they were missing out on lots of GI dollars and shrewdly took advantage of the agreement between AAFES-Europe and the USAREUR AUDIO/PHOTO Agency that no items offered by AAFES could be concurrently marketed by the audio/photo clubs on bases. So AAFES began marketing certain audio items they noted were doing high-volume sales from those Audio Clubs, which forced those Audio Clubs to quit carrying those items, and to discount out those items at close-outs in order to meet the agreement's guidelines. I was able to take advantage of some of those fantastic close-out prices, myself.

Now here is the clincher: When I worked at Klipsch in the late 1970's, AAFES was also offering some of the Klipsch line at its stateside PX/BX locations...and through its AAFES catalogs. Some of the dealers within the Klipsch dealer network got peeved that, since they were located close by military installations, the sales of Klipsch products at discounted prices nearby on those military installations was eating into their possible profit margins. So, Klipsch agreed to drop its sales through those stateside AAFES locations in favor of its civilian dealer network locations.

IMHO, this was a MAJOR marketing screw-up! WHY? Simply because it no longer gave soldiers the opportunity to even HEAR Klipsch products on stateside bases, and forced them to go elsewhere to demo the products. It also forced them to pay non-discounted prices to dealer network stores off-base, which led many of these soldiers to buy other manufacturers' products instead of Klipsch products!...OTHER manufacturers who declined to kiss-up to their dealer networks in this matter, but who still reaped profits from military sales by refusing to cave-in to the whining by their dealer networks!

That was all in the cold-war era, where only local small conflicts were going on. BUT, NOW we are in a much different situation, militarily!

NOW, we have entire units being deployed to a conflict area. NOW we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers going to the Middle East. They are NOT stationed in Europe or the Far East where they have access to regular PX/BX systems there! They are going straight from stateside to the Middle East and returning stateside again! The ONLY access they have to "normal" PX/BX systems is through their STATESIDE deployment and redeployment bases OR through the AAFES catalogs!! (Hint! Hint!)

While in the Middle East, they have small PX/BX locations that basically provide immediate necessities, NOT the AAFES full-line...BUT they DO have their AAFES catalogs with them...their "wish books"...and they are SPENDING MONEY ordering things from those "wish books" while they are deployed in the Middle East. They are ordering things that they have seen or HEARD at the stateside PX/BX locations!!...things that will be shipped to their stateside homes, where they will be awaiting the soldiers upon their return from the Middle East! They are having their spouses or other family members visit military bases stateside and pick up items, too!

ARE YOU LISTENING, KLIPSCH MARKETING GURUS????

Not only the above is true, BUT you Klipsch marketing gurus need to take into account all of the military RETIREES who regularly go to the stateside PX/BX locations to shop!! HINT! HINT! There are many MORE retirees than there are current soldiers...over FIVE times as many!! Almost all of them are living stateside, and almost all of them shop at military bases OR use the AAFES catalog!!..or BOTH!

ARE YOU LISTENING, KLIPSCH MARKETING GURUS??

If you want to sell Klipsch products, YOU HAVE TO LET PEOPLE HEAR THEM!

If you want the soldiers and retirees to hear them, you HAVE TO HAVE THEM ON STATESIDE MILITARY BASES!! WAKE UP!!

If you want to sell your product in large volumes it NEEDS TO BE IN THE AAFES CATALOGS NOW!!...and IT NEEDS TO BE AVAILABLE TO STATESIDE PURCHASERS!

KLIPSCH...pay attention! If you want to re-employ your recent 60-person lay-off, then all you have to do is sell more products. If you want to sell more products, then pay attention to this thread!

Do you want to see the Heritage line and the Reference line take-off like a bat out of hell? Then wake up and make this happen!

It is obvious that the vast majority of your dealer network has no desire to really market the heritage line...no Klipschorns in their demo rooms, etc. Market it through AAFES...market it ALL through AAFES!! Watch your sales bloom...watch your sales skyrocket...NOW is the time...RIGHT NOW!!!

Even the pro-media line will skyrocket in sales...most of the soldiers deploying either have a laptop OR a dvd player they are taking with them...and they LOVE their DVD's and CD's!!! That is how they relax over there!!!

Don't miss out on this opportunity!!!

[Frzninvt]

Andy is not kidding here folks, every dorm room on floor that I lived on while in Germany before getting an off base place had a hell of a system in it. Everyone was competing with each other, I saw some incredible systems and they even featured a system of the month in a small publication distributed on Ramstein AB while I was there.

Yes, the Audio/Photo club on Ramstein did offer different gear than was available at the Ramstein BX. If you did not find what you wanted there it was a short trip to Vogelweh (Army Post) and their PX was loaded with gear and closeout deals all the time. The Army post at Mainz-Kastel was an audio lovers dream, 3 floors of audio with most all manufacturers represented. They each had their own room! Plus downstairs there was a CD/Record shop so you could pick up music and accessories as well. I picked up a floor model JBL B-380 subwoofer, and they threw in a pair of new grills for like $330 total. The sub listed for around $900 and sold for $750 or more stateside.

I bought my Forte's in '88 for $780 on special at the BX, they had La Scala's for $1500 I think as well. I passed on the Chorus since the cabinet was bigger and they did not dig as need on the bass response according to the spec sheet.

From what I have heard the Military folks do not have squat to choose from anymore, here or abroad. I can only imagine if Klipsch became available to them, I have no doubt in my mind that they would have trouble keeping them in stock regardless of the model. Talk about an untapped market with potential, wise up Klipsch!

[RangerSix]

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On 8/12/2004 8:25:19 AM HDBRbuilder wrote:

Now here is the clincher: When I worked at Klipsch in the late 1970's, AAFES was also offering some of the Klipsch line at its stateside PX/BX locations...and through its AAFES catalogs. Some of the dealers within the Klipsch dealer network got peeved that, since they were located close by military installations, the sales of Klipsch products at discounted prices nearby on those military installations was eating into their possible profit margins. So, Klipsch agreed to drop its sales through those stateside AAFES locations in favor of its civilian dealer network locations.

IMHO, this was a MAJOR marketing screw-up! WHY? Simply because it no longer gave soldiers the opportunity to even HEAR Klipsch products on stateside bases, and forced them to go elsewhere to demo the products. It also forced them to pay non-discounted prices to dealer network stores off-base, which led many of these soldiers to buy other manufacturers' products instead of Klipsch products!...OTHER manufacturers who declined to kiss-up to their dealer networks in this matter, but who still reaped profits from military sales by refusing to cave-in to the whining by their dealer networks!

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I agree, that was a MAJOR maketing screw-up.

I did see an RF-III at the Camp Casey PX about six months ago. I havent seen any here since. Ive been in the Army for 16 years and can count the number of times with one hand that Ive seen Klipsch available for sale at BX/PXs. Yet, almost every major installation will have a snazzy Bose display to attract new generations of the uninformed.

If dealer whining was the reason for Klipsch dropping their line of speakers, then shame on Klipsch!!! The main advantage for soldiers to purchase items on military exchanges was the tax break. Accessibility to such items was reserved solely for the military serviceperson and their dependants. To deny a soldier this small benefit in favor of local dealer greed and monopolizing the market by limiting product availability is deplorable.

[krustyoldsarge]

Absolutely right! I am in S. Korea right now and there is zero Klipsch on the shelves for the GI's to hear. So, guess what!:

They're buying the competition's stuff!

Guess what else, I've got plenty of friends over here who would buy Klipsch if they could, some of whom because they have heard my system.

I don't think the current situation has anything to do with the late Mr. Klipsch himself, because he was an ardent supporter of our servicemen, especially those stationed overseas. I met him when he visited the Ramstein Audio-Video Club in 1985. A true patriot!

[RangerSix]

Anyaheseyo krustyoldsarge!

Camp Red Cloud here!

[n2dablue]

So does anyone have an email addy for someone in Marketing? Perhaps they would find this thread interesting...

I am only half kidding...

[HDBRbuilder]

Rangersix and krustyolesarge,

FYI, PWK was ALSO a retired USAR Lieutenant Colonel! The reason he ended up settling in Hope, AR was because he had been assigned there during WWII at the old Oakhaven Ammunition Proving Grounds (where the factory is located today)and he liked the area and its people (and their work ethic).

Back to the subject at hand, though...

THERE IS ALSO ICING ON THE CAKE WHEN MARKETING KLIPSCH PRODUCTS TO SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN:

Most of those servicemen and women go home (hopefully)...then they have friends and family over...NON-military friends and family...who hear their audio systems and home theater systems...and LIKE THEM! Then those friends and family members want the same equipment...equipment they buy from Klipsch dealers! SO...to make a long story short...those dealers really don't lose out on a damned thing at all! As a matter of fact, they will likely sell MORE Klipsch stuff than before...ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW...when all the reservists are being called up for the current conflict! Most of these reservists DO NOT live anywhere close by a military installation, BUT there are still Klipsch dealers who are nearby their homes in many cases. SO...that is even MORE reason why Klipsch should be marketing their products on stateside military bases...and the rest of the military bases worldwide!

EXPOSURE is the key here...expose the military to Klipsch and the market will at least DOUBLE in size for the products offered!

When I was at FT Bliss, I was nearby a National Guard enhanced armored Brigade that was soon to deploy to the Mid-East. This armored Brigade was deploying as grunts. They were all talking about how they intended to spend their pay...some of it on audio/video gear for home...some of it on surround computer speaker systems for their laptops and DVD players, etc. They were all looking at the AAFES catalog and in the PX there, because they were RESTRICTED to the base! I am talking about just ONE brigade here...a brigade of over 4,000 potential Klipsch customers! These potential customers were from the following western states: Montana, Washington, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon! When they eventually get home, they will be marketing whatever products they purchase to their friends and relatives who will want to know about its performance and HEAR it! This if FREE ADVERTISING, Klipsch!!

This is JUST ONE BRIGADE...from one stateside geographical area...ALL the brigades and smaller units who have not already been deployed will be getting deployed...soon...and those who have already deployed and returned will likely be getting called up again for as long as the current situation lasts!

Arkansas' own 39th Infantry Brigade (which is made up of soldiers from over 3/4 of the geographical area of the state of Arkansas)is already over in Iraq, as are many other National Guard and Army Reserve Brigades and smaller units from ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES! More are heading that direction soon! They get called up, then they are restricted to the stateside military bases for training before deployment. The only place they have to shop is the PX/BX system! Then, after they get deployed, they sit around loooking at their AAFES catalogs and begin ordering stuff from AAFES. Then, when they return from deployment, they shop at the PX/BX again before going home!

So, Klipsch marketing GURUS...wake up and smell the coffee...get Klipsch products out to where the military can hear them and purchase them...TIME'S-A-WASTING!!!

And if the dealer network, which has pretty much already dropped the ball on marketing the Heritage line, has any gripes about the situation, then tell them to read this thread and wise up!! Their sales MAY initially drop a bit if they are nearby military installations, BUT...their sales will soon pick up surprisingly from all the GI word-of-mouth FREE advertising they will be getting out of the deal! And this free advertising will be NATIONWIDE...NOT just nearby military installations! IOW, it will benefit the ENTIRE dealer network...AT NO ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING COST TO KLIPSCH OR TO THE DEALERS!!

[Piranha]

PWK was a standup guy

[boomer9911]

I was lucky, bought my 93 Khorns new from the American PX in Frankfurt, Germany, cheaper than the Canadian EX in Lahr, Germany at the time.

Apparently a "higher" ranking Officer was transferred back state side and never took them....nobody bought them....*ZING*....

I got these puppies and there was NO turning back..oh yes..