“I was about 26 years old at that time and didn’t know very much about the area,” laughed Batanian. “I soon found out that within a block there were at least a hundred mechanics. There are really no customers in El Monte. They’re all mechanics and workers here. You can’t even do an oil change on a car because everyone is doing his own.”

Nevertheless, Batanian has managed to build an extremely successful wheel and tire business over the years—so successful that he now has two additional stores in the greater Southern California area, one in Palmdale and another in Camarillo. In fact, he envisions a chain of 10 to 15 outlets throughout the Southland within the next few years.

What’s Driving the Industry’s Young Entrepreneurs?

A lot has been said and written lately about the “aging” of the automotive specialty-equipment industry. Built over roughly six decades by hands-on parts and hardcore speed and performance innovators, the automotive aftermarket is now an industry topping $30 billion. However, questions currently abound over whether it will continue to attract younger enthusiasts—not only as consumers but as entrepreneurs.

Thousands of reporters and journalists attend the SEMA Show each year with the goal of sharing new products and trends with consumers who are unable to see what’s happening in person. Many of the journalists represent automotive publications. However, as vehicle customization becomes more mainstream and consumers seek to personalize everything from cell-phone covers to coffee orders, general interest in the SEMA Show increases. Representatives from daily newspapers and mainstream outlets come to the SEMA Show to share with their readers news on how they can personalize their vehicles, whether with something as simple as a custom floor mat or seat cover or with a new paint scheme or engine component.

2015 Nissan Murano Prototype and 2015 Ford F-150.

The wheel segment continues to be among the most robust in the automotive specialty-equipment industry, as evidenced by the dozens of wheel manufacturers that exhibited at the recent SEMA Show. Wheel builders continue to refine manufacturing techniques such as laser cutting for high-quality surface finishes and evolving designs that include deep concaves, mesh spokes and revolving caps. The following pages highlight some of the innovations from exhibitors in the Wheels & Accessories section, as seen in the 2013 SEMA Show New Products Showcase.

For the tenth year, a panel of 29 journalists from leading international media outlets served on the Global Media Award panel. Journalists from 14 countries participated, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom and Venezuela. Each was charged with choosing 10 products from the more than 2,000 new products introduced at the 2013 SEMA Show that they believe would resonate best with their consumers.

Narrowing down the selection to only 10 products was difficult, said Graham Erasmus of South Africa’s Automotive Business Review. “Being a global media awards judge is pretty daunting,” he explained. “You are given six hours to vote for your 10 winning products, but the real problem lies in picking the final 10. I got it down to a short list of 28 and then had to go through the agonizing process of [whittling down the list to the final 10].”

Breaking news from SEMA members, including Remington Industries, Petersen Automotive Museum, CRP Automotive, WyoTech, LKQ Corporation, Toyo Tire North America and more.

Keeping an Eye on the Evolving Marketplace

Dozens of companies displayed tire, wheel and related products at the 2013 SEMA Show, providing concrete proof that the tire and wheel segments are among the most prolific within the automotive specialty-equipment industry. As always, however, evolution is constant, so SEMA News once again canvassed wheel and tire professionals for their insights into design, construction, marketing and sales trends as we enter the new year.

The SEMA Education Institute (SEI) released the first set of 2014 SEMA Webinars. The program provides representatives of SEMA-member companies with interactive sessions that cover best business practices, industry trends, sales and marketing and much more. Here’s brief a look.

SEMA-member companies that are resellers or distributors may obtain an unlimited number of product data exports from the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) at absolutely no cost. The savings—available to any SEMA-member receiver in the SDC—totals $1,200 per year and is the newest incentive for members to join the SDC.

Launched in March 2012 with a beta test, the SDC is now a fully operational service that makes it possible for businesses to easily obtain valuable information about products from manufacturers. Information includes weights and measures, accurate descriptions, current pricing, UPCs, images, other digital assets and more. Details also include rich vehicle-application data and year/make/model look-ups.