Real World Retail: Mobile Toys, Inc.

It’s All Part of the Process

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

Mobile Toys, Inc. continues to experience rapid growth year over year, attributed to its application of manufacturing processes and procedures on every aspect of the business.

Mobile Toys in College Station, Texas currently has two locations—a traditional brick-and-mortar store and a full-fledged production facility that houses the manufacturing side, MTI Acoustics. The company approaches everything they do with a manufacturing mindset, according to owner Christerfer Pate.

“The people who work here helped grow the business,” Pate said. “At any one point, there are 10 different big custom jobs in line, waiting to be worked on, and our retail side is constantly booked out two to three weeks. From the production standpoint, there are always 100 to 150 enclosures waiting to be built and shipped.”

The speed at which things have to happen, he explained, makes this an unusual workplace. “Everything here is approached as a manufacturing process. How can this be done faster? How can we do this better, so it’s more profitable?”

Mobile Toys Inc. isn’t run like an ordinary installation bay. “We understand that and we want guys to adjust to it and get better, so we push them to be better,” Pate added. “We want them to grow. We’re training all the time.”

Manufacturing Mindset Leads to Rapid Company-Wide Growth

The shop began as a subsidiary of Audio Video in College Station, according to Pate. “It has been in business for over 40 years,” he said, adding that the company focuses on high-end home audio and custom installation.

“I worked for them in college, and when they wanted to build a new location, I talked them into building a car-only side of the business. A third of the building was dedicated to that and had a separate entrance. That’s where Mobile Toys came from. That was over 15 years ago.”

Pate left town for a while to follow other job opportunities, but returned three or four years later. “They wanted to get out of the car audio business and offered to sell it to me,” he said. Pate purchased Mobile Toys with his business partner, Lou Le. It’s been about 10 years since then. Audio Video is still in business as a separate entity.

“Every year has been a fun experience.” In the last four years, he added, growth has been tremendous. “Each year, we look at the previous year and analyze what went right and what went wrong. If it’s something we can continue and learn from, we stay with it. If it’s not viable, we dump it and move to something new.”

Pate attributes their success to staying on the cusp of what’s trending in the market. “We want to be at the forefront.” This desire led them to become more than just a car audio shop. “Now we’re a manufacturing company. We do e-commerce, upholstery and high-end hot rod interiors. We had a staff of three people [in the beginning]. Now we have 18 people. It’s a company that’s changed a lot in the time we’ve owned it. I think it’s because of the continuous progression of wanting to get better—wanting to be better.”

The business’s installations set them apart from the rest. “We build some of the best cars in the industry,” he said, adding that he constantly pushes to be the best by practicing everything he both teaches and learns at Mobile Solutions and other industry training sessions.

“Think of the next install as your best install,” Pate said. “No matter what it is—whether it’s a radio install, or a full custom build. Everything is done in a very specific way according to our installation practices. That way, if anyone takes it apart, it’s easy to service.”

Because of the mindset they apply to everything they do, the company has been growing rapidly, “almost to the point of having to hold on for dear life.” A car audio shop has grown into a business with various divisions, all centered around manufacturing, he added. Ensuring everyone is growing in the same direction is probably the biggest challenge.

For those who join the team, it takes a period of adjustment to get accustomed to the procedures. “It’s like wrangling an alligator,” Pate added. “A really fun alligator that just drives you insane.”

The focus is always the customer’s happiness. If there’s an issue with an install, the vehicle comes back and the issue is fixed. Mobile Toys also honors warranties. The retail side of the business has grown steadily 15 to 20 percent each yea

The Mobile Toys team works quickly and efficiently. Every build is triple-checked by other technicians to ensure it fulfills what the customer is expecting. Pictured is Project Manager Matt Vowell.

Mobile Toys Inc. Focuses on Speed, Precision and Top-Tier Training

Though salespeople have a base salary, they can also earn a commission. “All installers are salary as well,” Pate said. “All our production people—the guys who build the enclosures—are hourly employees. We have five people just for production, and there are two people who swing back and forth. I bounce around wherever I’m needed, and Edgar Diosdado does, too. Seven of us are on and off production, and five are permanent production-only employees.”

Those who work in production are different in that they were never in the industry before they came to Mobile Toys, Pate added. “They were hired specifically for that,” he said. Two work in upholstery, while the others work on the assembly line. “They are trained from the ground up. They’ve never built car audio sub boxes before.”

This helps ensure the production employees are working exactly according to their standards and building the boxes to their specifications, though Pate noted they’ve had difficulty on the assembly line side.

“For upholstery, it’s worked out really well. I think we got lucky and found guys who were good with their hands,” he said. “We have a solid group now in assembly who can work in a timely manner, but we’ve had a high turnover rate [in that department].”

The reason, he said, is because of the speed at which orders need to be filled. Each department has an incredible amount of work to complete, Pate added.

The average staff tenure for the entire company is two to three years, and employees get paid time off, sick time and vacation time. Training means starting fresh and going over all of the company’s procedures, which might be different than what a new hire has become accustomed to at other shops. “We have them shadow a senior installer or salesperson,” Pate said, “so they can visually connect the dots: This is how it’s expected, and this is how long it should take. They get a good idea of the correct way to do it.”

Once the employee has been on board for a year, they are sent to KnowledgeFest or Mobile Solutions for more in-depth training. “As they stay longer, we send them to more trainings. We probably send six guys a year to Mobile Solutions, and we pay for it,” Pate added. But because they’re paying for the training, employees are required to sign a contract stating they’ll stay with the company for at least two years.

In-house training, especially with fabricators, is always ongoing. “We have three guys we trained to use CAD and our machines. We run three CNCs and three lasers—two of each in the production department, and a CNC and laser at our retail store.”

Movie-Goers Drawn to Mobile Toys Through Theater Advertising

“We advertise at both the movie theaters here in town. It was a gamble, but it worked. The cool thing about the movie theater is [our advertisement is always shown] in conjunction with a hot new release, and movie theaters are always packed here. One theater is more upscale with a bar and full restaurant inside, and the other is more of a standard movie theater. “With the new Avengers movie being released [for example] you’ll have 300 people in one seating, and they’ll see our commercial. We get a fair amount of data. When we’re not getting a return on something, we shut it down and move on to some other form of advertising. The biggest aspect is identifying which movies will be huge with our customer base, and then making sure we are in those movies and not in films that we feel our client base won’t watch. “People do tell us, ‘We saw your ad at the movie theater.’ We get messages online. That’s how we knew it was really working. We get a lot from movie theater advertising, and it’s our favorite. A lot of times, people will message us while they’re sitting in the theater!”

Staff Triple-Checks Installations to Ensure the Client is Happy

Much of the work the shop does is focused on high-end custom, and the production side of the business is geared mainly toward trucks and SUVs.

“We have the largest fabrication center in the state of Texas. There’s no doubt about it,” Pate said. “Although we have an assembly line, we also have a woodshop.” The woodshop is fully stocked with every tool they could possibly need, he added, along with large router tables. All vehicles go through a careful check-in procedure, during which they’re taped off to protect them. A vehicle isn’t moved unless it’s being sent to another department.

“We have installation facilities at both locations, and all high-end fabrication happens at our production center,” Pate added.

A careful triple-check system is included with every job to ensure each customer gets exactly what they wanted. “When the install is done, it is immediately cross-checked by another installer. They do a complete check, and from there the installation manager looks at it. Then it goes to the salesperson who made the sale. Three people check it before it leaves.”

If there are any problems, or the customer isn’t satisfied, it goes back and the issue is taken care of, Pate said. “At custom fabrication, it’s the same practice, but there are three of us who do that at the production center [including me]. We are the three builders and designers, so we cross-check each other’s work. There are no big jobs that one person did from start to finish.”

The company focus is that everything works better as a team. “You design better as a team, and things go better as a team. It takes a special group of guys to work as a team and to realize the end product, and seeing a customer happy, is the most important thing—not your ego,” Pate said. Due to the company’s customer-focused policies, Pate stated that warranties are always honored if there’s a problem with a product. “Whatever that product is, as long as it’s not been physically damaged by the customer, we warranty it right then and there. I swap that product out for the client. That way, the customer is never without the product they had during the time of the manufacturer’s warranty,” he explained. “I do tech support for Orca Design, so I’m pretty familiar with what most companies will accept.”

Pate said this has been a part of the company’s process since the very beginning. “Whenever I bought something outside the car audio realm, it always aggravated me when you had a warranty and the manufacturer tried to find a way to not stand behind their product,” he said. “We built our business around taking care of our clients.”

Additionally, Mobile Toys has clients who live outside of town—sometimes a few states away. “We have cars that get shipped to us,” he added. If there’s an issue, they’re more than willing to fly someone out to look at the vehicle if the customer can’t return for whatever reason. “Or, we’ll pay to have it serviced at another shop.”

It doesn’t happen much, he said, “but that’s how serious we are. We don’t have a lot of failures. We want the customer to be taken care of, even if they’re three states away.”

Television Advertising Fails to Reach Target Demographic

“I will never do TV advertising again. It was expensive and didn’t do anything for our clients. We tried to do a run in summer, and through Christmas. Every time I do something, it has to be for at least six months if we’re going to see any results. We never had any luck with television. “We had a plan. We wanted to try something new. For whatever reason, TV wasn’t a good outlet for our customers. I don’t think you can get in front of them enough for it to matter. It’s hard to say whether I would have done anything differently. If the customers don’t see the ads, it doesn’t work. There’s no way they would get an attachment to our brand and what we offer.”

Traveling to Car Shows Raises Awareness Beyond College Station

Car shows are a main focus, Pate said, and they even do a monthly meet in their own parking lot and invite local car enthusiasts. “About once a quarter, we also have a meet called Wheels and Wings. We’re right next door to a wings place, so we cater in two or three hundred hot wings and invite regional car clubs.”

Pate attends 20 to 30 car shows per year. The shop will either have a booth, or bring vehicles to show off. “[We go to shows both in] our territory and across the nation,” he said. “I’ll be in Alabama for a car show [soon], then Ohio for hot rod shows. We travel a lot to car shows.”

Often, out-of-state clients will come to them because they saw them at an event. The Internet also helps to draw clients from great distances. Pate said he often encourages others in the industry to attend car shows if they want to broaden their market. “It makes the difference between you and the people down the street,” he added.

Mobile Toys doesn’t increase marketing efforts for holidays, but they do focus on long-term marketing and advertising, which Pate said requires at least a six-month commitment to find out whether or not it will have any impact. “I find a more consistent approach works better for me,” he said. “Customers have to hear about something four or five times before it even sticks in their minds. We do a consistent, thorough approach throughout the year.”

The shop’s most lucrative months tend to be May, June and July. “We do a lot of high-end car audio and big upholstery jobs during those times. We get big boat jobs, too, with full interiors and lighting and audio.”

Most recently, the shop hosted its annual Aggieland Invitational World Class Sound Quality Tournament in late April. “We invite car audio enthusiasts from all over the country, and we give cash to the best sounding cars.”

Multiple Vendors Provide Solid Partnerships Year After Year

“Our key vendors are JL Audio—we’ve sold their products for over 10 years, our entire time in business—Orca Designs, Focal, Mosconi and Illusion Audio. We’ve been an Alpine dealer for 10 years, and Kenwood for the last four years. We’ve also worked with Stinger and AAMP America for over 10 years. “I have a great relationship with my reps. I don’t ask for a whole lot, and we sell a bunch of product. JL Slim woofers are huge. They sound good, are easy to install, and they work great in our enclosures. Focal—especially new Beryllium M Profiles—I think we sold more Beryllium M Profiles than any store in the country. We’ve done over $40,000 in that product with them in the past quarter. That’s going to be the hottest thing out now, period. They can’t even keep it in stock. We stock a lot of it because I don’t want to run out. It’s in all our big builds. “[Our reps] are really good about keeping us up to date on sales. Specials are a big thing for me. You can’t sell it if you don’t have it. If you have to make a customer wait, you might lose the sale, so I stock a lot more products than most guys do. The money is either going to be in the bank drawing a low percentage rate, or I can have product I know I will sell and usually double my money on. I’d rather my money be [invested] in product I can sell.”

Future Growth Expected in Hot Rod Interiors and e-Commerce

Mobile Toys has experienced a number of accomplishments in recent years, including being named Retailer of the Year for a Chain Store by Mobile Electronics magazine this past year. Additionally, Edgar Diosdado was named Rookie of the Year, and two years ago, Christerfer Pate himself was named Installer of the Year.

“We were also number one retailer for Orca Designs, Focal America and Mosconi for the entire country,” Pate said. “For our area, we were number one retailer for AAMP of America and Stinger.”

The business’s focus continues to be doing the best possible build every single time, and exceeding the expectations of the customer. “That’s our mantra,” Pate said. “We want to provide the best possible product and take care of our clients.”

For the coming year, Pate hopes some of his employees will make either the Top 50 or Top 12 Installer list. Additionally, they’ll be taking the 1968 Chevy C10 they had at SEMA to high-end hot rod shows.

“Building our hot rod interior business is a big focus for us,” he said. “There’s no reason we can’t accomplish it. We just have to have the time to do it.”

Soon, the company will be launching their e-commerce side of the business, which will allow dealers all over the country to purchase their products online. “I see us going from 2.5 million a year to north of five million,” he added. “For what we do, there are less and less installers who can do it in-house. We provide a high-quality product that provides an easy solution at a great margin. We build as many boxes as we can, and I foresee that growing.”

Additionally, the retail side has grown steadily 15 to 20 percent each year, while upholstery and custom has also grown exponentially in the last four years. “It comes down to how far we want to take it,” Pate said. “Every year, it grows. Some years, we thought we’d be down, but it never happened.”

Pate feels it’s mainly the company’s installation practices that brought them to this point of recognition, along with their focus on the customer. Staffing, though, has been the only stumbling block.

“I think staffing is the biggest thing facing every company now because there aren’t enough installers,” he added, noting that their manufacturer-mindset does make hiring more difficult. “If I could get two more high-end fabricators, I would take them right now. We’re always looking for people.”