For Immediate Release
William Crutchfield, Virginia Retailer to Receive Award
ARLINGTON, Va. — September 04, 2007 — William Crutchfield, founder of the Virginia-based retail company that carries his name, has been voted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® created the CE Hall of Fame in 2000 to recognize the pioneers of the CE industry and has honored more then 110 industry leaders including inventors, engineers, business executives, retailers and journalists.
"Bill Crutchfield deserves this election. He is a great American innovator in print and in online merchandising and service and a contributor to the growth of our industry. He also has volunteered on behalf of the industry to CEA through its product returns work and now sits on CEA’s Board of Industry Leaders," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro.
Crutchfield will join 10 other honorees who will be formally inducted at the annual CE Hall of Fame awards dinner, held in conjunction with CEA’s Industry Forum on October 14-17, 2007 in San Diego, California.
Founded by Bill Crutchfield in 1974, the company sells more than 6,700 automotive and home audio/video products through it catalogs, call centers, website and two retail stores in Virginia. In 1995, Crutchfield Corporation became the first consumer electronics retailer to launch an e-commerce site. It has recently entered the Canadian market with the establishment of Crutchfield Canada.
The 2007 class of the CE Hall of Fame also includes Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft; Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corp.; John McDonald, former president of Casio USA; retailer Richard M. "Dick" Schulze, founder and chairman of Best Buy; Steve Sasson, the Kodak executive that developed the digital camera; the late attorney James Edward Day, who represented the consumer electronics industry in the landmark Betamax case; the team of Karlheinz Brandenburg, Dr. Dieter Seitzer and Dr. Heinz Gerhäuser who oversaw the development of the MP3 digital music format at the Fraunhofer Institute in Erlangen, Germany; and the late Art Weinberg, a journalist who reported on the industry.
For more information on the CE Hall of Fame, visit: www.CE.org/Events/Awards/348.asp
About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $148 billion U.S. consumer technology industry through technology policy, events, research, promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA represents more than 2,100 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of audio, video, mobile electronics, wireless and landline communications, information technology, digital imaging, home networking, multimedia and accessory products, as well as related services that are sold through consumer channels. CEA's resources are available online at www.CE.org
CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.
About Crutchfield Corporation
Crutchfield Corporation, which celebrates its 33rd anniversary in 2007, is the nation's first integrated marketer (catalog, call center, and Internet) of consumer electronics products. Since its introduction in 1974, the Crutchfield catalog has been a respected authority on car and home entertainment products, winning multiple awards for quality, design, and usefulness. Crutchfield's Sales, Customer Service and Technical Advisors are noted for their high integrity, product expertise, and technical support. They are available by phone, e-mail, and live online chat. Crutchfield.com offers a convenient, full-service shopping destination to buyers of car and home audio/video products. Crutchfield was the first vendor-authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet and has been recognized for call center operation customer satisfaction excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center ProgramSM. It is also one of only two retailers to have won BizRate's coveted "Circle of Excellence" award seven times.
For more information, press only:
Bridgette King/Crutchfield Public Relations
Tel: 954.937.9616
bridgette@getthescoop.com
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