HKS USA: Closing

[STLVR4]

So you didn't read the article then?

I sure did.

What do you ask?

[pezcore]

I sure did.

What do you ask?

?

Because nothing is changing except they are closing US offices. Parts will still be available. No era has ended, the industry has not changed.

[UTRacerX9]

I can't say I'm surprised, their parts were chronically overpriced. While it may make financial sense to them, it will mean more expense to customers because of higher shipping charges from Japan. I hope they at least keep a parts distribution center open here, so people don't have to wait weeks and weeks for their parts.

[Emilie@GZP]

Their distributors will still carry hks products, but it will probably be a bigger pain in the ass to get stuff. Their pricing also went up a few weeks ago, probably due to this. There is also no eta available on out of stock hks products.... gonna be wRiting a while until they get the ball rolling again, is my guess.

[STLVR4]

?

Because nothing is changing except they are closing US offices. Parts will still be available. No era has ended, the industry has not changed.

Hehe consequence of attempting to pay attention during lecture while posting.

I was simply stating in my original post about the directon of the industry that in the 30 years since HKS originally came to the US, the majoity of their customers now come from online sales and they no longer need to have offices in the US to cater to their customers.

The era of having to go to a local speed shop or call the manufacturer directly to get parts for your car has ended. The industry has changed from a more cutomer service oriented expierence to a self sustaining market.

[pezcore]

I'll agree with you on that, though it has been like that for a while now. Probably ever since everyone started flocking to ebay for aftermarket parts, manufacturers realized they had to sell direct to keep prices low and combat knockoffs.

[AdamVR4]

Looks like a good thing. HKS USA (and apexi, and greddy) have always been extremely disorganized branches. If you've ever had to ask for REAL customer support, it was always a complete run around until you finally got thru to the japan office.

LOL! I remember sitting in the passenger seat trying to get some technical support with my e-manage when I was first starting with it... You're exactly right -- total run-around. I just gave up and figured it out on my own.