(suspenseful music)
(static buzzing)
- [Alex] Did you know that fake news
spreads six times faster
than real news, apparently?
I don't know if that's actually true
but it was on a Netflix trailer
and now you believe me because it sounds cool, right?
Wrong.
Information on the World Wide Web has gone
from insanely long articles and citing sources
to 140 character statements
that feel like it's the equivalent of someone
trying to start World War III.
(explosion rumbles)
Twitter is a very interesting place
to sit in every once in a while.
Anyway, I'm Alex, at alex.fi on Instagram
and today's episode of
how?
why?
we're gonna be talking about a recent piece of information
that covered the wheel pages of Facebook
and flooded our Instagram DMs,
that is like
what in the world happened to BBS?
(upbeat music)
And if you're just jumping into this video
for the first time,
(speaks in foreign language)
and if you look for aftermarket wheels, tires or suspension,
be sure it is up over at fitmentindustries.com
where we have everything your little, cold, tiny heart
could possibly imagine
including contrary to popular belief
BBS wheels, because they're still making wheels.
Taking it back to the early 2020
the world was a different place.
I had more patchy facial hair
I just have none now
and we were filming on a baby blue couch.
We were filming on a baby boom.
Oh my gosh.
We were filming on a baby blue couch
and it was very comfortable, okay.
And toilet paper became worth more than a red party hat.
During that time there were suppliers
that were trying to figure out what they would need to do
so that they could keep their businesses moving forward
so that they could take care of customers
as well as possible
because it was the first quarter of 2020.
If you remember, it was a little crazy
the world was just a little nuts.
Hey, we made it though.
Give yourself a Pat on the back.
One of those companies among many
was Baumgartner Brand Schiltach
all right
or BBS.
BBS like many other companies
were battling everything they could do
to keep their OE
and their aftermarket wheel production line moving forward
all right.
Now, before we go into the iconic newspaper style tagline
of 'did the virus shut down BBS?'
(suspenseful music)
No, this is unfortunately not true
all right.
It exposed a challenging problem
BBS had been dealing with since 2019.
As OEM car sales in Europe
really began declining like hard
since BBS GmbH is the cast branch of the company
and supplies to the OE market or original equipment market
the declining sales of cars in Europe
impacted the company severely
unfortunate to begin developing a plan
to restructure the company.
Now remember O E O E M
your normal mom and pop cars
before people like you and people like me
slam them onto the ground.
Since the late 2010's BBS was continuing to stuff
more and more production slash resources
or known as money
into their OE manufacturing of the business
with vehicle sales declining in Europe since late 2018
BBS saw a gradual decline in their sales of OE products.
Now production capabilities increased
but demand inherently from the way the world works
inherently decreased
the battle of BBS continuing to produce wheels
for OE suppliers got tougher and tougher
and the dance became more difficult.
To pair that with the difficulties
of the pandemic lock down
and OE sales decline straighten the company heavily.
It's tough stuff there Gorilla glue
I mean, it was
it was not a fun time for a lot of companies
and Sullivan C's aren't new to BBS
but every time they've taken a hit
they managed to refocus and realign their ambition
where people like you and people like me
like them to be more focused
which is aftermarket, right
and after markets is way cooler.
OE business has seen a decrease over time
and BBS is using this time to realign their focus
to the aftermarket and it's gotten better.
Every time I say BBS please take a shot.
Since the BBS aftermarket division
is one of the major sources of income for the brand
BBS is likely to reorganize
and add more aftermarket products
and increase their overall aftermarket activities
and shift their focus a little bit more towards that.
But the OWY portion just didn't make it
with as much meat on the bone
because of how it works
We got the news that BBS GmbH
because of the way it's capitalized
declared insolvency at a district court in Rockwell
or Rotwild.
This caused people to freak out
and start selling their wheels to two to three times more
than what they're worth.
Get on you guys and gals.
Seriously news does that.
RS's filled the streets
EADA's became 10 G's instead of six and a half
and I was sad panda for a day or two
all right.
But the insolvency doesn't mean that BBS
is in fact shut down.
In fact, that's just not how the way that it works
welcome to capitalism.
It actually puts them in a better position than before.
Yeah, I'm a wheel guy, not an insolvency expert
but this put BBS in a better position to focus
on the other leg of the chair
that has been growing versus shrinking
and that ladies and gentlemen
come on in
come on in just a little bit closer.
That's us.
Now that the insolvency is actually in progress
this means that the aftermarket scene
is now getting the attention of BBS in more ways
than it was previously because of the situation
and then in terms of aftermarket wheel production
it's actually only gotten better.
BBS Japan, the first wheel entity of BBS
just recently invested like millions upon millions
of dollars into a new paint facility
new robotic equipment and two new 12,000 ton forging presses
to allow for future product development
and production of BBS forged wheels
because that's what we actually really really liked.
They have a new production flow
in their original location factory
and a new distribution center focused
just solely on aftermarket wheel.
And that's why these insolvency things are just so weird
BBS Motor Sport and BBS Japan
are not associated with BBS GmbH filing for bankruptcy.
BBS GmbH is the OEM arm of this whole ordeal
and the one that got hit the hardest with this.
The problem is, is that with people like you
and people like me associate the whole brand
with every product
I mean why wouldn't you
they practically have the same names
it's like they would be, they should be the same thing
but they kind of really aren't.
And I mean, honestly, that does make
some sense.
BBS is fine
it just took a little bit of a stumble
in the OE department.
It's going to keep making aftermarket wheels
and keep managing the OE wheels
to select OE customers.
BBS entered its 50th year of business in 2020
and honestly, it didn't start all that well
on the best foot, but we all know BBS.
It's a company that's been around
for practically and quite literally
I don't know why I said practically
half a century.
They make badass wheels
that have made them one of the staples
in the aftermarket wheel community.
The odds of them ever going away
are pretty much shortened next to zero.
I mean they just, aren't going to fall out.
It's about as likely as Mario beating me in ping pong
or Dakota switching to Taco John's
instead of Taco Ding-Dong.
So it's not gonna happen.
But let us know what you'd like us to talk about next
in the history of
who?
what?
and let us know what you want us to dive into.
I'm Alex Fitment industries
and if you're looking for any sort of
aftermarket wheels, tires, or suspension
be sure to hit us up over a fitmentindustries.com
and yes, that includes BBS.
I'm Alex, we'll talk to you later.
Peace.