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| Nearly half of first-quarter manufacturer sales were to distributors. | |
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| Websites for brick-and-mortar retailers accounted for 7% of first-quarter sales. | |
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| Car and truck dealers accounted for the second-highest volume of WD sales. |
Newly released first-quarter sales data gives SEMA-member companies the ability to see current industry sales levels and identify new business opportunities. Data tabulated from the SEMA Industry Benchmarking Program shows the distribution of sales by market for the first quarter of 2009.
The analysis provides an average percent of business by type of customers for three channels: Manufacturers, Retailers and Distributors.
Manufacturers
Nearly half of manufacturers’ first quarter sales were to distributors, which equaled an average of 48.2% of sales. Retail outlets accounted for 21.1% of sales, with chain stores representing 12.8% and jobbers 8.3%.
OEMs accounted for roughly 10% of sales and direct to consumer sales were 8.6%. Internet website sales were a combined 5.4% with most of it (4.7%) coming from company-owned sites.
Retailers
Retail stores and repair service work equaled 49.4% of retail sales in the first quarter of 2009. An average of 25.4% of the quarter’s sales were through retail stores and 24.0% was generated through repair service work.
Parts and accessory installation represented 12.5% of sales. Wholesale business equaled 8.0% of sales and Internet websites were a combined 8.9%. Store sites represented the largest portion of web sales with 7.2%.
Distributors
Distributor sales were spread over a broad number of categories. Repair/Service stations had the highest percent of distributors’ sales in the first quarter with 14.1%. It was followed closely by sales to car and truck dealers, which accounted for 13.4% of the segment's business.
Retailers equaled a combined 25.9% of sales. Independent retailers were 9.4%, chain stores 9.1% and jobbers 7.4%.
To participate in the SEMA Benchmarking Program, click on one of the following links most appropriate to your company’s general profile: manufacturer, distributor or retailer. The program benefits SEMA-member companies by providing current industry-specific data.
Participating companies are the first to receive the monthly SEMA Benchmarking Report, which summarizes data collected in the benchmarking questionnaire.
The program is administered by a third party, Hedges & Company, to ensure privacy and anonymity. For additional information about the program contact Julie@Hedgescompany.com.