BBS files for bankruptcy

[Herbmiester 923]

https://www.driven.co.nz/news/iconic-wheel-manufacturer-bbs-files-for-bankruptcy/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=bbs&fbclid=IwAR0rZx5yT4FORJGph5JZ633P_YYJ6O4lpaznW3vFvQbwCdY50oebBGYiSJA

[Michael. 2313]

Hopefully they don't get bought out by a corporate vulture company and start getting made in China... 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

All those out there running BBS RS reps on their E30s take a long hard look at yourselves. See what you have done!!

But seriously, I would suggest trying to compete against the reps / fakes / copies is proving harder and harder for them.

Not sure which (if any) of the current BMW wheels are BBS as OE, will have to try to find time to have a look see.

 

[NZ BMW 368]

Filing for bankruptcy 4 times in 20 years says something about the underlying business model, or its management...

would have thought being a wheel supplier would be a tough business, total commodity. 

[m325i 709]

Be

Back

Soon

[leichtbau 525]

BBS Germany though, BBS Japan is where all the fancy forged wheels come from and they're trucking along just fine.

[Contrails 317]

Quote

All those out there running BBS RS reps on their E30s take a long hard look at yourselves. See what you have done!!

People buying replica wheels that are out of production for a long time makes no difference to the Company going Bankrupt. There's other factors such as mismanagement & poor marketing which is probably what was the cause of the downfall. The Corona virus just accelerated it. 

Look at Rolex watches for example. How many people wear fake Rolex watches? But Rolex still does well because of the marketing and the hype. 

P.S. Genuine BBS RS wheels are more over priced than houses in Auckland. BBS should have brought these wheels (15"/16") back into production seeing the demand for them. 

[polley 916]

1 hour ago, Contrails said:

 

P.S. Genuine BBS RS wheels are more over priced than houses in Auckland. BBS should have brought these wheels (15"/16") back into production seeing the demand for them. 

Yep, can get a set of reps for less than the price of one bbs wheel. If you just want the look, then its hard to justify $6k+ on a set of wheels.

[qube 3570]

But if the genuine ones were readily available and cheap, would you still want them? maybe yes, but would they still have that prestige about them when everyone has them now? Using the Rolex example, a good Seiko watch is high quality, affordable, and looks good (subjectively). Far more people wear them because of availability and price and thus the desirability of such watches are limited to the likes of the Grand Seiko or limited edition release which are.. (you guessed it) more expensive, just like the Rolex.

The BBS wheels of yesteryear are popular because they are hard to find and expensive. People look for neglected sets for cheap and refurbish them and boom you got yourself something desirable now.

Thats where the reps come in to the picture. If all genuine manufacturers tried to compete with copycats then the whole economy of goods will become meaningless. There is a market/customer base for fakes and cheaper alternatives and there is a market for genuine items.

Also remember that the BBS Germany we are talking about in this thread is more about the F1 and Nascar stuff, not the generic wheels market that we are concerned with here in little ol NZ.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

4 hours ago, Contrails said:

People buying replica wheels that are out of production for a long time makes no difference to the Company going Bankrupt. There's other factors such as mismanagement & poor marketing which is probably what was the cause of the downfall. The Corona virus just accelerated it. 

Look at Rolex watches for example. How many people wear fake Rolex watches? But Rolex still does well because of the marketing and the hype. 

P.S. Genuine BBS RS wheels are more over priced than houses in Auckland. BBS should have brought these wheels (15"/16") back into production seeing the demand for them. 

Yeah, sorry forgot to put the comedy font on that statement. Which is which why I started the next line with "But seriously..."

Last time I looked at the BBS website I thought they still had a lot of the older styles available, certainly the E50s I was after were on there.

[Contrails 317]

19 hours ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

Yeah, sorry forgot to put the comedy font on that statement. Which is which why I started the next line with "But seriously..."

Last time I looked at the BBS website I thought they still had a lot of the older styles available, certainly the E50s I was after were on there.

I did suspect that. But I sometimes tend to be as clueless as a Choir boy in a Whore house.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Contrails

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

The joys of the internet and text based communication unfortunately, all the intonation and feeling is removed so the meaning is often mis-understood.