SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

Rapid Change Calls for Immediate Attention

From the Data Co-op to Responsive Websites, Staying Current Is Critical

By Steve Campbell

	Current studies suggest that up to 90% of shopping now begins with an Internet search, and mobile is overhauling other search devices. No wonder the Online Marketing seminars at the SEMA Show are among the most popular.

Current studies suggest that up to 90% of shopping now begins with an Internet search, whether the product is ultimately purchased online or through a brick-and-mortar retail store. And mobile is overhauling other search devices, with tablets alone projected to account for 65% of all sales made on mobile devices. That’s a rapid change from only a short time ago.

“It’s like dog years, where one year is actually seven years worth of change,” said Bob Moore, partner in the automotive aftermarket consulting company J&B Service in Kansas City, Missouri. “For example, I was looking at a presentation we did in 2010, and while there were references to mobile devices, like smartphones and PDAs, there was no reference to tablets. The original iPad was released in April of 2010. Now we’re reading about how tablets are becoming more predominant than the PC. That underscores the need to keep up on technology, especially as it relates to business.”

Companies are recognizing that necessity across the automotive specialty-equipment spectrum and are making changes to their systems and software. K&N Engineering in Riverside, California, is one of the most forward-thinking organizations, and it has embraced technology in as many ways as possible.

“We have redesigned the knfilters.com and aemintakes.com websites to provide a better experience on mobile devices,” said Tim Martin, K&N’s vice president. “A traditional website does not work well on a smartphone, so our sites were modified to provide streamlined product search capabilities, dealer locators and other features. Consumers increasingly use mobile devices to learn about our products.”

	Performance Warehouse uses data from Polk and its catalog lookups to fine-tune inventory management for replacement parts, and the SEMA Data Co-op helps the company carry over that same process to its specialty-equipment lines.

K&N also uses analytics software to assess website traffic, online advertising, print advertising, social media and other consumer marketing, Martin said. The business turns to e-mail marketing software to provide product and company information to its distributors, retailers and consumers and software tools to help the company better understand customer buying trends and make merchandising recommendations to distributors and retailers.

Meanwhile, warehouse distributor Performance Warehouse in Portland, Oregon, has been leveraging manufacturer data to fine-tune its inventory management. JR Moore, president, said that the company uses Polk data coupled with catalog data to contrast what the WD stocks with what it actually sells.

“Previously, we had always believed that we should stock a lot of replacement parts for the vehicles that were popular in the area,” he said. “But we’ve discovered that those vehicles may not wear out the parts we were stocking, so we’ve been able to better manage inventory. The SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) helps us carry over that same process to our specialty-equipment lines—determining how many bug shields or running boards we stock based on the popularity of the lookups we get on our electronic catalogs. That helps us have the right part at the right time.”

The SDC has made huge strides in the past year. Its founding principal was to gather and provide robust, clean data so that partner companies could deliver and receive information to make websites more accessible and usable for each other and—more importantly—to enable consumers to use PCs and mobile devices in searches for the information they needed to make smart purchases.

“The SEMA Data Co-op was still pretty much only a concept just a year ago,” said Bob Moore, “so it is incredible what progress CEO Jon Wyly, Vice President Bob Castle and the team there have made. They’re in full production. They have a Product Information Management (PIM) solution deployed. They have 400 companies signed up, and 70% of them are regularly trading data through the SDC. It’s pretty mind-boggling how far it has come.”

Martin said that K&N is a data supplier to the SDC and is pleased with the services, receiving positive feedback from distributors that have exported information for K&N’s brands.

Companies across the automotive specialty-equipment spectrum are making changes to their systems and software. K&N Engineering has redesigned its websites to provide streamlined product search capabilities, dealer locators and other features on both PCs and mobile devices.

“Anything that improves data accuracy is helpful,” Martin said. “The consistency of the SEMA Data Co-op export processes across a large number of brands can benefit distributors and retailers and make it more likely that their product data is accurate and timely.”

Bob Moore said that the SDC staff is currently working on three broad initiatives that will further enhance the system: data on demand, do-it-for-me (DIFM) data services and SEMA Search.

“‘Data on demand’ is the way mobile apps work,” Moore said. “They use what are called web services to grab data off the web and display it on the mobile device. The SDC is developing that type of system to supercharge the ability to use the SDC with mobile devices and to allow brick-and-mortar and web users access to the full repository of data without actually having to store it.”

The second piece is helping manufacturers gather their product information—populating data fields, in tech speak—to provide the greatest breadth of specifications, images and videos possible for use by consumers.

“For some suppliers, getting over the initial hump of their first data upload into the SDC can be overwhelming,” Moore said. “In 2014, the SDC will be adding DIFM data services to help address that challenge, with the goal of handing the steering wheel of ongoing data management back to the supplier once that initial heavy lifting is completed, staying true to the SDC goal of complete supplier ownership and control of their data.”

And SEMA Search will use all that information, all those data fields, to provide the type of intuitive search that an engine such as Google performs. It will be a multi-purpose engine to enable lookups of all types rather than just by year, make and model.

“You’ll be able to look for a specific part based on its size, its horsepower rating or the type of material it’s made from,” Moore said. “For instance, you could ask to see a blower drive belt that’s 36 in. in diameter with 10 teeth per inch, or you could ask for a piece of titanium tubing with a 2.5-in. outside diameter to use in a chassis.”

JR Moore said that the major emphasis at the PWA conference this year was to get SEMA manufacturers in the same position as the replacement-parts manufacturers, providing WDs and retailers with ACES and PIES data so that they can better determine what they need to stock or not stock. ACES stands for Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard, and it’s the industry standard for the management and exchange of automotive catalog and vehicle data. PIES stands for Product Information Exchange Standard, which defines attributes of automotive products that include brand identification, description, price, dimensions, weights and so on.

“We’re using the SDC to develop an online catalog for our business-to-business and business-to-consumer sites,” Moore said. “The ACES data is beginning to gather some strength and will be a great help to us in selling and managing our inventory. We are also in development for better utilizing the PIES data.”

	SEMA’s Technology Transfer, its new Faro arm and 3-D printer at the SEMA Garage-Industry Innovations Center allow members to use CAD files to create testable versions of parts. These and other technologies are available to member companies at discounted rates.

He noted that Performance Warehouse had a leg up on the process even before the SDC was created because of its relationship with K&N.

“K&N sent us inventory feeds every day so that we knew what they had in stock,” he said. “They also sent us ACES files––the application data––which told us that filter X fits vehicles A, B and C. That’s why I’m excited about the SDC. As it provides more ACES data, we’ll be able to leverage that in our inventory management as well as our catalog lookups for B2B and B2C customers. It’s going to create a bigger audience for SEMA products.”

Bob Moore cautioned that the industry also needs to ensure that the legacy systems—the systems that the distributors and the manufacturers already have in place—are going to be capable of using the more complete data from the SDC.

“We’re trying to work with the third-party legacy system providers that are making enterprise software systems for distributors and manufacturers so that they understand what the specifications are and what SEMA members need in order to accommodate what comes out of the SDC as well as what they’re going to need in order to do business in this new environment,” he said.

SEMA also unveiled another significant technology enhancement recently: SEMA Garage-Industry Innovations Center. The 15,000-sq.-ft. facility adjacent to SEMA headquarters in Diamond Bar, California, includes not only a full mechanic’s garage, media center and installation bays, but also advanced design technologies and emissions testing consistent with the California Air Resources Board requirements for Executive Order certification.

Mike Spagnola, SEMA vice president for OEM and product-development programs, said that members can now go from design to prototyping to emissions testing without ever having to actually manufacture a part, and it can be done in weeks rather than months.

“We now have a Faro arm, also called a coordinate-measuring machine, along with some PolyWorks software,” Spagnola said. “We can use it to scan complete vehicles or individual parts. In the case of specialty parts—parts or tooling that were created prior to the advent of computer-aided design (CAD), for instance––we can do custom scanning for specific components that not everybody may want. From there, we can also do 3-D printing.”

The 3-D printer at SEMA Garage allows members to use CAD files to create testable versions of parts and is a further adjunct of the Technology Transfer program that SEMA has built over more than a decade. Using either Technology Transfer files from Ford, GM, Chrysler or Scion or files developed using the Faro arm, the SEMA Garage team can create a part to the member’s specifications on the 3-D printer. Then, in the case of an engine part, for instance, they can actually run tests on the in-house dynamometer and provide emissions and horsepower data.

The services at SEMA Garage are offered to association members at discounted rates, generally about a third less than is available using other sources. Custom scanning is priced at $65 an hour, and 3-D printing is $12 per cubic inch. The testing services are also discounted, but the prices depend upon the specific tests that are run.

“If members want data on a vehicle that we’ll have at scheduled measuring session, we ask them to either come to the session or let us know in advance what they’re looking to have scanned,” Spagnola said. “The limitation there is the amount of time we have the vehicle, but we are often getting vehicles for longer-term usage.”

The SEMA Garage team can also send the data and images gathered from measuring and photo sessions to the SDC, providing real SEMA synergy.

SEMA members who would like to take advantage of SEMA Garage services can contact Gary Pis at garyp@sema.org or 909-978-6732 or Mike Spagnola at mikes@sema.org or 909-978-6707.

These types of technologies are only going to progress and become more common, so businesses should involve themselves as soon as possible in the latest developments.

“If you’re sitting on your thumbs waiting for technology to settle out, you’re making a horrible strategic move,” Bob Moore counseled. “It’s dog years. Would you wait another seven to make an important decision about your business?”

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Trends for 2014

A Look to the Future With SEMA Council Leaders

SEMA News annually turns to the leaders of the association’s councils and networks for the December issue to seek their views about how the industry is shaping up for the coming year. The chairs or chairs-elect of each group provide responses based on what their organizations and their companies are seeing within their marketplaces. Their responses provide helpful insights for businesses in every segment of the marketplace.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization Chair:
Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

	Alex Tainsh, SoffSeal Inc.

The most exciting trend for the restoration market is the increasing number and styles of bodies being manufactured by companies such as Dynacorn, Real Deal Steel and others. The original cars were getting rare and increasingly expensive, but the availability of these new bodies allows the consumer to build a ’57 Chevy, for instance. These new cars need parts, and that helps the industry’s manufacturers, retailers and professional builders.

Most companies in our industry seem to be on an upswing as the economy slowly recovers. The companies that have been able to evolve in their selling and marketing strategies to take advantage of the Internet are doing better than those that have been slower to change.

The Internet has allowed anyone with a computer to start a company selling parts. This is both a benefit and a problem. It offers more outlets for the parts makers, but traditional pricing methods can be a problem. With their low overhead, Internet companies can sell at lower margins, putting more price pressure on traditional retailers.

Manufactures need to find a pricing structure that gives their historic customers a level playing field with the startups. Some manufacturers are choosing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) as the preferred system. If enforced, this system allows retailers to compete on service, delivery and other aspects the company has to offer as opposed to a bidding war on who will offer the lowest price. However, a manufacturer can be at a disadvantage in the marketplace if it sets its MAP but its competition does not.

The market is changing in that we are also seeing companies that were in different automotive markets adding restoration parts. Speed shops such as Honest Charlie’s and Summit Racing are increasing their restoration lines.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chair:
Del Austin, DA & Associates

Del Austin, DA & Associates.

New young builders are taking traditional street rods to a whole different level. They’re fabricating coach-built and handcrafted parts on these cars, and that end of our industry seems to be really growing. There is no want for work with these new builders.

There may not be quite as many cars in progress, but the ones that are being built are very nice. And it’s happening across the country, not just in Southern California.

The buyers still tend to be a bit older because it takes money to build a car, but the older buyers are using the younger builders because they recognize the talent. Younger buyers are also building cars, but they’re building ’60s and ’70s models, and the early truck market also seems pretty good among the younger people.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see an economy like we had five or six years ago. Most of the builders that I’ve talked to still have some concern about bringing in new employees.

That being said, however, there are opportunities across the board. You don’t have to build a $100,000 car. You can build a nice $20,000 or $30,000 car, depending on what you start with and what you do to it. There is always room for nice driver-type cars.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance Chair:
Melanie White, Hellwig Products

	Melanie White, Hellwig Products.

The most significant trends we’re seeing are the continuing increases in truck sales and the early release of the 2014s. Those new models have helped with the excitement around trucks and the resulting equipment purchases. The increases in vehicle sales are a great indication that our market is headed back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, mobile marketing is going to be one of the biggest changes we see. With so many consumers using mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, this is a trend that we know we’ll have to pay attention to.

The biggest challenge we anticipate in the coming months will be stimulating and maintaining consumer confidence. The strengthening economy can still be hurt if consumers become reticent to make purchases, but those ’14 truck models can help if manufacturers develop new products geared toward them.

Professional Restylers Organization Chair:
Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Jeff Fink, Advantage Truck Accessories

Advancement in vehicle technology is an area that all automakers have initiated and have goals to increase.

As it relates to PRO members, the biggest challenges include determining vehicles that have high restyling opportunity and then properly presenting the opportunities to their dealer customers.

Forecasting the economy is difficult, but we see the opportunity for business gains in 2014. Whether these gains are from an improved economy or pent-up demand, I am not sure. In any case, electronic media should continue to grow as a marketing resource.

The high cost of properly training employees is another challenge for restylers. The typical PRO restyling member makes a large investment in employee training, especially in the area of product installation. New-car and -truck dealers would benefit from making sure that the restyling companies that provide products and services to them are SEMA PRO members.

Manufacturers Representatives Network Chair:
Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

	Thomas Jourdan, True High Performance Sales

We started the year very strongly in my territory, and then business nosed over somewhat in the third or fourth month. Now it seems to be picking up a bit more, and while some businesses remained strong throughout, it does depend on the territory. For instance, I was speaking to a rep in the Northeast, and he said that he hasn’t seen many bright spots for a long while, even though his business was going strong a few years ago when other territories had declined. Customers who are more focused on a single section of the industry—i.e., engine parts or truck accessories––seem to be a little stronger in the marketplace. And that holds true for Internet sales as well as traditional distribution.

In the section of industry that I deal with most—high-performance parts—we are still reliant on paper. In typical distribution, where we’re going from the manufacturer to the warehouse distributor to the jobber, paper catalogs and flyers are still key. But that is changing rapidly. As younger people slowly come into the industry, they are much more technologically savvy and respond much better to electronic marketing and advertising. But for proof of how strong electronic systems are becoming, just look at the SEMA Data Co-op. It’s going gangbusters and is allowing the manufacturers to get clean data out to the receivers so that they can use it for their websites and their advertising.

People seem to be cautiously optimistic. Many retailers had scaled their inventories back when business slowed down, and now they are starting to reinvest. But some retailers aren’t expanding their SKUs. Instead, they’re expanding the numbers of existing products on their shelves; a big challenge is trying to get these guys to expand their inventories and invest in new products.

SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Chair:
Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

Rose Kawasaki, Exports International LLC

The most significant trends we see are the effects of the amount of information and resource data that is available through the Internet. It is amazing to realize that manufacturers are able to get new-product information “launched” to their customers quickly and effectively though this electronic venue. Social-media platforms with the ability to post SEMA-member manufacturer marketing programs “real time” has become standard operating procedure.

Will this electronic age force printed catalogs, flyers and giveaway publications to become a thing of the past? It is a strong possibility, but that remains to be seen. I’m sure many of us still enjoy having our favorite collection of catalogs and
magazines around.

It is exciting to see that many manufacturers have grasped the concept of expanding their marketing efforts through social-networking channels. These portals attempt to make their pages enjoyable to the end user by enlisting the support of their product by the consumer through postings of project cars, sharing product testimonials, participating in contests, etc. These portals also assist in driving people to company websites.

One of the challenges we see for manufacturers is finding a balance between direct online consumer sales versus supporting/directing the consumers to their authorized distributor or dealer network.

While manufacturers could have the opportunity to make higher margins selling directly to the consumer, that direction may create a negative situation and the perception of competing with their existing stocking distributors/dealers.

Young Executives Network Chair:
Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

	Dan Kahn, Kahn Media Inc.

Many of our members’ companies are also experiencing pre-2008 sales numbers, and YEN picked up several hundred new members over the past year, which we attribute to the overall growth of the economy and the industry as more young people are put to work while the great recession fades. The YEN Launch Pad Competition at the 2013 SEMA Show received more than two dozen entries from young business owners. The businesses ranged from manufacturing companies to cutting-edge social-media platforms and crowd-funding sites—all for the aftermarket.

The biggest trend we’ve been hearing about lately is a focus on developing products and services for the latest trucks and performance cars. New tools, such as rapid prototyping machines and FARO arms, are making the R&D process easier, but small businesses have to increasingly develop high-tech solutions for both the R&D process and performance improvements. There is a lot of buzz right now about the SEMA Garage and the services it offers as a way to help minimize both engineering costs and reduce turnaround time.

Some of the traditional marketing channels, such as TV and radio, have undergone major upheavals over the past few months, and that will continue in 2014. The main TV network for car content is gone; many automotive radio shows have disappeared; and even traditional online outlets, such as forums, are changing the way they interact with both advertisers and consumers.

Content-on-demand has become the standard for consumers in every entertainment category. Those who can adapt to that model will thrive in a world where people want to take their entertainment with them in a smartphone or a tablet, and they want access to info in an instant through streaming channels.

The single greatest challenge facing the aftermarket and SEMA companies is apathy from young consumers. This issue also impacts the future industry leadership, as recruiting young people with talents in marketing, engineering and sales is a challenge.

Emerging Trends and Technology Network Chair:
Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

Brian Reese, COMP Performance Group

The lifeblood of our business is products and customers. The bar of expectation keeps rising, both on the expectations of products and the battle to earn new customers. The leaders in our industry are quickly learning from other industries and applying their lessons and sciences to the aftermarket.

Credit is still cheap and easy to obtain, so buying habits are strong. If mortgage rates continue to rise into 2014, expect housing purchases to slow. This may increase disposable cash and help our industry, but rising interest rates may also slow the economy.

There are huge shifts in how and where we connect with customers. Mobile is probably the strongest growth opportunity, with consumers turning to it more frequently for Internet searches and buying convenience. More traditional methods should not be forgotten, however, as they still serve older customers who often show strong buying habits independent of credit and market swings.

While new-vehicle technology has jumped high and will slow the aftermarket’s ability to offer properly engineered products, new models still present the best opportunities. The difficulty in making products for those new models is also a huge opportunity in exclusivity or being first to market for those who are crafty enough to overcome the challenges.

From an ETTN perspective, it is a concern that many aftermarket companies are still very slow to embrace new technologies or changes. The market becomes less forgiving every day to those who fall behind. Plenty of companies are leveraging changing market trends, changing customer interests and changing business technologies to get ahead of competitors. This is how newcomer companies are taking market share from older stronghold companies that are snoozing. Looking forward, expect the business market to keep getting harder to compete in and get ahead.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Chair-Elect:
Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

	Rich Barsamian, GT Performance Products LLC

The biggest trend is data. To get product sold, you need to have strong data along with search-engine optimization. Paragraph copy on each part you manufacture is also critical. Your retail customers may not use it exactly as you write it, but they will craft it to include major keywords and arrange it to drive web traffic to their sites. You should also explore what the SEMA Data Co-op has to offer.

Pro Touring and autocross seem to be bigger than ever, with many shows sponsoring competitions at their events. Targeting those markets with your company’s products or bringing new products to market to this niche present good opportunities.

The V8 Supercar race series that originated in Australia hit the United States in May of this year, but there is a new vehicle architecture dubbed “Car of the Future.” It mandates a single wheelbase and standard placement of aerodynamic aids. Engines are production-based 5.0L V8s, and all cars run the same independent rear suspension, the same rear-mounted six-speed sequential-shift transmission (with the same ratios), the same brakes and the same wheels and tires.

Many industry pros have said that this architecture can easily be adapted to the next-generation Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda, offering the possibility of extending the V8 Supercars franchise here and adding serious opportunities for motorsports parts manufacturers. Watch for this series to explode onto the American racing scene, and remember that you read it here first!

The healthcare reform law seems to be the 500-lb. gorilla in the room. I don’t know that we have any real idea of what the impact will be, but it will certainly bring challenges if it continues to be upheld.

Wheel & Tire Council Chair:
Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Joe Schaefer, Konig American

Retail customers and end users are demanding lighter and stronger wheels to further cost reductions in shipping, fuel economy and overall product quality. Utilizing flow-formed technology in manufacturing processes has become more cost efficient and may be the way all of this could come together efficiently. Companies such as Konig offer it as M.A.T. or RRF technology.

There have been a number of changes to search-engine optimization procedures that will affect how websites display based on organic searches using Google. The biggest challenge is to consider how many users operate from mobile devices and making existing and new websites, applications and social media available to those users. As time goes on, our cars, smartphones, tablets and other devices will become increasingly integrated into everyday life, so it’s key that our marketing media follow those changes.

There has been noticeable and positive movement in the aftermarket industry during 2013, and 2014 appears to be on pace to continue this positive movement. Being able to display your knowledge, R&D and quality to customers is extremely important. A lot of companies are popping up in our industry, but while they may be focusing on niche segments, the end user may not be getting a product of decent quality, proper load rating or proper fitment. It is our job as an industry to educate retail customers and dealers so that they can share this information with their end users.

WTC is involved with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, which will provide SEMA members with significant benefits through access to simulated testing and data. With the increased implementation and sophistication of electronic stability-control systems, this will play an important role in how we produce our products.

SEMA News—December 2013

EVENTS
By Chad Simon

Constructing Automotive Works of Art

Builder’s Challenge Features Increasingly Complex Pinewood Hot Rods Designed for Charity

	G3 Rods

Ten of the nation’s best custom-car and hot-rod builders created miniature pinewood hot rods that lit up the track this past summer at the fourth-annual Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Pinewood Builder’s Challenge during SEMA’s Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser, which was held July 26 at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center in Pomona, California. Just before the banquet started, the hot rods raced against each other to benefit two children’s charities. The cars were autographed by the builders and displayed in HRIA booth at the 2013 SEMA Show.

An incredible class of hot-rod builders participated in the HRIA Builder’s Challenge, but Derek White of Street Vizions successfully defended his title in the end, winning the race series for the fourth consecutive year. His car this year was a John Menzler tribute—a “Menzler Racing” hi-boy-style coupe. Keith Kaucher of Kaucher Kustoms was the runner-up, followed by the Mickey Thompson Challenger I replica built by Doug Dwyer of Essential Marketing Services.

“We like doing the SEMA Pinewood Builder’s Challenge because it benefits SEMA Cares charities, and it’s also fun to compete against everybody,” said Brigit White of Street Vizions. “This car was special because it was made for my friend John Menzler. If it weren’t for him, we would not be competing.”

Kindig It Design		Johnson Hot Rods

Dwyer added, “The Pinewood Drag Races just happened to be compatible with my interest in model building. The first car I built was the Chrisman Coupe, because Art Chrisman is from my home town of Compton, and I have been friends with him for many years. Art gave me some of the actual paint from the real car. He signed it for the auction, which raised several hundred dollars. This year’s car was Mickey Thompson’s Challenger I, and his son Danny Thompson signed it for the auction.

	Doug Poad
	Spanky’s Hot Rods & Customs
	Kaucher Kustoms

Participating builders included industry luminaries B Rod or Custom, Essential Marketing Services, G3 Rods, Johnson Hot Rods, Kaucher Kustoms, Kindig It Design, Performance Associates, Doug Poad, Spanky’s Hot Rods and Street Vizions.

During the HRIA reception at the SEMA Show, the Best Engineered (Johnson Hot Rods), Best in Show (B Rod or Custom) and the race winner (Street Vizions) were auctioned live, and a silent auction was slated for the rest of the Pinewood Builder’s cars. Proceeds will benefit the SEMA Cares charities.

“Many of us can admire the amazing creations from some of the industry’s best custom-car and hot-rod builders from afar,” said Eric Saltrick of Steele Rubber Products and one of the event’s founders.

“But the HRIA Pinewood Builders Challenge auction allows all of us to own a one-of-a-kind custom car from these builders. They are the ones we see on television and in magazines winning national awards and recognition for their large-scale works of automotive art.”

In addition to supporting the charities, the builders showcase their creations throughout the year to children interested in cars, providing an opportunity to expose the hot-rod hobby and custom-car industry to the next generation of car builders.

“The cars in the Builder’s Race are true, one-of-a-kind pieces of art that reflect the passion, creativity and ingenuity of the builders,” said Dave Williams of Rampage Products, who served as the race organizer and trackside umpire.

“These qualities resonate with people when they see the cars.”

The race came to fruition at the 2009 SEMA Show when former HRIA Chairman Rick Love of Vintage Air and HRIA members Saltrick and Menzler (from Comp Cams) decided to walk the Show floor and ask every well-known hot-rod builder to participate.

The idea behind the first Challenge was simply to see what top-notch hot-rod builders could do with a block of wood, and they have pushed the boundaries of the rules every year.

The rules are simple and subject to interpretation. Each pinewood builder is given four months to complete a car, with no design limitations imposed except that the car has to fit the track’s dimensions and no propulsion systems are allowed.

Performance Associates		Street Vizions “Menzler Racing”

	Essential Marketing Services’ Mickey Thompson Challenger I

“Basically, each builder must use at least one piece of the pinewood block we provide, no matter how small a piece,” said Saltrick. “Over the years, builders have not only used the wood for their cars but also aluminum, fiberglass and chrome. They have fabricated custom wheels, suspensions and chassis parts in miniature formats. All of our participating builders have egos, and the Pinewood Challenge allows them to compete for bragging rights.”