| PRESS RELEASE: CRUTCHFIELD WINS HIGHEST INDUSTRY HONORS FOR CATALOG, WEBSITE | |
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For Immediate Release
CRUTCHFIELD WINS HIGHEST INDUSTRY HONORS FOR CATALOG, WEBSITE CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, June 18, 2001 — Crutchfield Corp., the leading catalog and online retailer of consumer electronics products, has won the highest honors in its industry for the quality, design, and usability of its website and catalog. Catalog Age magazine, an independent trade publication that monitors the catalog and Internet retail business, presented Crutchfield with a Gold Award for its website in the field of Consumer Hard Goods/High Tech during the 2nd Annual I.Merchant Awards. Crutchfield also won a Silver Award for its Winter-Spring 2001 car stereo and home audio/video catalog. The Silver Award was the highest presented in the high-tech product field this year in CATALOG AGE's 16th Annual Catalog Awards. "These awards are great honors because they demonstrate how highly Crutchfield is regarded by industry experts and customers alike. The judges recognized Crutchfield's key strengths, including our top-notch customer service and our in-depth product information," said Bill Crutchfield, company founder and CEO. The awards are selected by a panel of impartial peer executives and are considered to be the most prestigious in the industry. They encompass not only the quality and design of websites and catalogs, but important business factors such as sales, customer service, merchandising, and overall marketing strength. "How well the entrants performed in terms of response and sales, and whether they met or even exceeded their goals, is an important criterion in determining award winners," said Sherry Chiger, editorial director of CATALOG AGE. The Gold Award for the website came in competition against some of the best and most recognizable websites in the country. The Crutchfield website (http://www.crutchfield.com) was cited for its clear navigation and design, and its extensive educational content on home and car electronics. "We really design our website for the customer's needs, and it's gratifying to see that our peers in the industry recognize the value of that," said Lawrence D. Becker, director of Internet publishing for Crutchfield. "It's all part of the heavy emphasis we place on customer service." The full-color catalog was cited for its extensive product information, layout, writing, and sales response. Since its introduction in 1974, the Crutchfield catalog has been a respected source of information about car and home entertainment products. Founded in 1974, Crutchfield Corporation is the nation's largest direct integrated marketer (catalog, call center, and Internet) of consumer electronics products. It offers a convenient, full-service shopping destination to buyers of car and home audio/video products. Providing an unprecedented level of customer service, Crutchfield is noted for its high integrity, product expertise, and technical support. Mailed to approximately 7.5 million households, Crutchfield's catalogs include comprehensive explanations of product and technology intended to help consumers make informed buying decisions. Crutchfield was the first authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet, launching its web site, www.crutchfield.com, in the summer of 1995. ### |
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