In industry news, Autobacs USA filed bankruptcy last week. The future is unknown at this time for the US branches of Autobacs. This is sad news for Autobacs and their related companies as surely everyone is feeling the burden right now. As a disclaimer, Autobacs USA has been purchasing parts from my business for years and I’ve been buying parts from them as well. As such, I wont say anything here or in comment replies sensitive to that working relationship.
As you all most likely already know, Autobacs is a dominant chain of automotive parts retail stores in Japan and is publicly traded Japan. They made considerable investment into the USA marketplace in recent years with the hopes of expansion into major US cities. Although this has been a challenge and may or may not be halted entirely, Autobacs Japan will continue on. Autobacs is a major contributor to motorsport of all kinds, managing racing teams in various series. Additionally Autobacs is responsible for the creation of ASM, the specialty high end tuning shop and parts manufacturer.
Bulletproof Automotive introduced ASM as thee role of ASM’s exclusive North American distributor years ago and then handed off distribution rights to Autobacs USA (rightfully as they are the parent company of ASM) when the first Autobacs USA store opened. It should be noted that ASM’s distribution will continue on in North America and Bulletproof will still have steady access to ASM parts, as always.
As Autobacs is a public traded company, a report on the bankruptcy and company financials is available for public viewing:
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