Jordan O'BrienRussound is battling unauthorised online and grey market sales by shipping some of its products locked.
The Russound Certified Installer programme has been designed to ensure consumers receive the benefits of working with certified installation professionals, although it also has the added benefit of ensuring that the company’s products are only sold through authorised retailers.
Launching alongside the MCA-66i and MCA-88i, Russound plans to roll out the programme to more of its products as they come to market.
A certified Russound installation professional will have to unlock products via the internet in order for them to become functional.
Products will be tracked through unique ID numbers that will be paired with the installers who performed the installations – although no customer detailers will be entered or shared.
Installers are being invited to join the programme as long as they buy the company’s products through authorised sales channels, such as The Multi-Room Company in the UK.
Those wanting to join are being urged to contact their local authorised reseller for more details, while those receiving training on the MCA range will be automatically enrolled.
“Unauthorised online sales are a problem for all manufacturers and installation specialists who want to make sure customers are getting the best performance and value from our products,” says Charlie Porritt, CEO, Russound.
“The new Russound Certified Installer programme is a simple, highly effective procedure for making sure that only a sanctioned Russound installer can activate one of our new controllers. It’s our way of protecting both installers and consumers.”
Mike Bonnette, product director for The Multi-Room Company adds: “As a company, Russound has been committed to fighting unauthorised sales for many years and the introduction of the RCI programme is to be welcomed as a firm way of ensuring only approved installers can supply the products.
“Multi-room audio can be complicated to install and commission and so needs to be installed by properly trained personnel, otherwise the consumer will suffer.”
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