Crutchfield
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States · founded 1974
One of the first car-stereo mail-order catalog retailers in the US (1974); founder Bill Crutchfield was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame in 2007 (alongside Amar Bose and Paul Allen), and the company reportedly reached its 50-year mark debt-free with its founder still as sole stockholder.
Crutchfield Corporation is an American consumer-electronics retailer founded in 1974 in Charlottesville, Virginia by William G. “Bill” Crutchfield, Jr., who started it as one of the first car-stereo mail-order catalogs from his mother’s basement using a $25,000 line of credit. It sells car audio, home audio/video, TVs, speakers, and headphones through its catalog, website (Crutchfield.com), and a retail store in Charlottesville, and is known for detailed product advice and vehicle-fit guides. The company remains privately held, with founder Bill Crutchfield reported as sole stockholder and still at the helm as it passed 50 years in business, having posted roughly $436 million in sales in the year before its 50th anniversary.
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At a glance
- Type
- Retailer
- Founder
- William G. "Bill" Crutchfield, Jr.
- Founded
- 1974
- Headquarters
- Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
- Price range
- Budget → flagship
- Makes / sells
- car audio, home audio/video, headphones, speakers, televisions, consumer electronics
- Known for
- car/mobile audio and vehicle-fit guides, detailed product advice and tech support, multi-channel catalog + online + single retail store
- Website
- www.crutchfield.com
Notable lines
- Crutchfield.com online store — Primary sales channel; known for in-depth buying guides, spec detail, and free lifetime tech support
- Crutchfield car audio mail-order catalog — The company's original 1974 business — among the first car-stereo mail-order catalogs in the US
- Crutchfield retail store, Charlottesville VA — Physical store at 825 Gardens Blvd, Charlottesville
Sources: Crutchfield Corporation — Wikipedia · 50 years in business: Bill Crutchfield founded 'a company to last' — The Daily Progress · The Crutchfield story: the 1970s origin of car audio retail — Crutchfield · Bill Crutchfield, Founder of Crutchfield — Charlottesville Tomorrow · Crutchfield Stores (Charlottesville retail location) — Crutchfield / Yelp