The market for aftermarket parts from Japan has been declining for well over five years, due in part to decreased demand both at home and abroad and the rising rates of Chinese knock-offs and other inexpensive (and dubiously built) components.
Today, one of the world’s largest performance parts companies, known as Trust in Japan and Greddy here in the States, declared bankruptcy. According to various reports, Trust is approximately $60 million in debt and, after reporting a serious decline in sales since February 2008 and amassing $43 million in loan payments, filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo District Court.
Trust has been around since 1976, employs almost 200 workers and had been dealing in everything from CARB-legal exhausts to turbo systems when Greddy Performance Products was founded in the U.S. in 1994. There are several firms that will step up to fill the need of enthusiasts, assuming that Trust doesn’t try to reorganize, but with the aftermarket industry down overall, we suspect this won’t be the last time we’ll here about a large tuner going under.
its ok. when they stop putting money into designing new things. what knockoff company can copy products that stopped to be designed? knockoff companys will go down aswell since no other products to sell other then what they currently sell.
I predict that Greddy/ Trust will re-open under a different name, soo look out for thier style and quality. 60 million is to large a debt to pay off but over 30 years of good rep and experience is hard to thrown away.
But it is inevidable that such big tuners will not just lock it up and throw it away.
You crazy?? Bing only posted this thread so he can argue with someone about Greddy’s poor business plan and market strategy. I’m not taking the bait, someone else can boost his interweb ego.
If every son member tosses down around 13,800 bucks, we can buy out Greddy/Trust. Im down. Considering the active members here, might be closer to 100k, but still…we could rename it to like… SON - super owsome nawwws or something…
