I am very sad to inform all of my Supra brothers that MVP Motorsports Inc. and other HKS distributors and dealers in the United States were notified today of the upcoming closure of HKS USA. We have been in complete shock today that what is without question the most recognizable and longest standing brand in the history of the import community is closing its doors in the U.S. It is definitely a shock and a wake up call to all of us for not only the economic climate of the United States, but also of the state of the import parts community. There are many factors, but mainly Japanese distributors have been struggling with inferior Chinese imitations of their products along with the weak US DOLLAR ($) in relation to the Japanese Yen were likely the two largest contributors.
MVP Motorsports Inc. has stood around and watched the direction of this industry change for the worse over the last decade and our company has had to make many changes to adapt and continue to remain not only profitable, but also to simply stay in business. There was a time when we were exclusively an import shop, but to adapt we have had to become a more general business selling in market places that are outside of our passion and desire. It's saddened me that this market is dying and it is not due to lack of interest from customers, it is due to lack of support to LEGITIMATE manufacturers and authorized dealers for the purpose of saving a few bucks.
In the recent years MVP has watched GReddy (battle bankruptcy), Blitz USA, Veilside, ARC (both USA & JAPAN), SSR Wheels (bankruptcy restructure), and now HKS USA close. We are watching legendary brands who have spent millions of dollars in R&D to make the Supra and other imports what they are today be replaced with Joe Schmo on eBay with a CNC machine in his garage.
We wanted to take our time and thank loyal Supra owners and customers in general who are willing to support authorized dealers such as MVP Motorsports Inc. Dealers who are willing to reinvest their profits back into the Supra community to release products, sponsor meets, and really help grow the community for the better. However, more importantly, it is because more and more people are not willing to support the brands who have helped make the Supra what it is that brings us to where this industry, and this community, is headed.
For example:
A certain HKS product costs $1,000 and a no name Chinese knock off brand costs $500. Many people are purchasing the knock off brand for the sole purpose of saving money. What happens after the sale? What happens when there is an issue in 3 months and you already left the seller positive feedback on eBay? Think they are going to help you then? They have NOTHING to gain.
While I respect that everyone has a different budget or may simply not care to support the R&D that a manufacturer puts into a new product, along with the warranty and after care support, the end result is situations like this.
When all of the quality brands have been run out of business, what quality parts will be left to copy? Is the future copies of copies?
When all of the quality brands stop investing into the R&D, how will we be able to push the limits of our cars? How will we make more power? How will we improve the reliability of the power we are making? What quality and reputable vendors will be left to support our communities?
These are questions I ask myself as I think about the future of the aftermarket and I hope that you, the people with the power, also take these ideals into consideration. I will always respect the end user's decision to not purchase from us and/or to use brands that do not support the Supra or the community in general. However, I hope you are aware that while the short term savings are very appealing, the long term damage that is done to our community is a reality whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.
We don't have much information yet on the full details of the closure but will do our best to keep our customers updated. However I highly recommend that if you are wanting HKS parts to prioritize them now because with the change it is likely prices will increase and availability will decrease.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and once again for your support over the 12 years MVP has been supporting the Supra community. We will do our best to adapt to this change and keep you, our loyal customer and supporter, in the loop.
Kind Regards,
Kevin Calvert
(accidently deleted my original thread trying to merge it, sorry)
MVP Motorsports Inc. has stood around and watched the direction of this industry change for the worse over the last decade and our company has had to make many changes to adapt and continue to remain not only profitable, but also to simply stay in business. There was a time when we were exclusively an import shop, but to adapt we have had to become a more general business selling in market places that are outside of our passion and desire. It's saddened me that this market is dying and it is not due to lack of interest from customers, it is due to lack of support to LEGITIMATE manufacturers and authorized dealers for the purpose of saving a few bucks.
In the recent years MVP has watched GReddy (battle bankruptcy), Blitz USA, Veilside, ARC (both USA & JAPAN), SSR Wheels (bankruptcy restructure), and now HKS USA close. We are watching legendary brands who have spent millions of dollars in R&D to make the Supra and other imports what they are today be replaced with Joe Schmo on eBay with a CNC machine in his garage.
We wanted to take our time and thank loyal Supra owners and customers in general who are willing to support authorized dealers such as MVP Motorsports Inc. Dealers who are willing to reinvest their profits back into the Supra community to release products, sponsor meets, and really help grow the community for the better. However, more importantly, it is because more and more people are not willing to support the brands who have helped make the Supra what it is that brings us to where this industry, and this community, is headed.
For example:
A certain HKS product costs $1,000 and a no name Chinese knock off brand costs $500. Many people are purchasing the knock off brand for the sole purpose of saving money. What happens after the sale? What happens when there is an issue in 3 months and you already left the seller positive feedback on eBay? Think they are going to help you then? They have NOTHING to gain.
While I respect that everyone has a different budget or may simply not care to support the R&D that a manufacturer puts into a new product, along with the warranty and after care support, the end result is situations like this.
When all of the quality brands have been run out of business, what quality parts will be left to copy? Is the future copies of copies?
When all of the quality brands stop investing into the R&D, how will we be able to push the limits of our cars? How will we make more power? How will we improve the reliability of the power we are making? What quality and reputable vendors will be left to support our communities?
These are questions I ask myself as I think about the future of the aftermarket and I hope that you, the people with the power, also take these ideals into consideration. I will always respect the end user's decision to not purchase from us and/or to use brands that do not support the Supra or the community in general. However, I hope you are aware that while the short term savings are very appealing, the long term damage that is done to our community is a reality whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.
We don't have much information yet on the full details of the closure but will do our best to keep our customers updated. However I highly recommend that if you are wanting HKS parts to prioritize them now because with the change it is likely prices will increase and availability will decrease.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and once again for your support over the 12 years MVP has been supporting the Supra community. We will do our best to adapt to this change and keep you, our loyal customer and supporter, in the loop.
Kind Regards,
Kevin Calvert
(accidently deleted my original thread trying to merge it, sorry)
