Feature Interview Day 1 | SEMA SHOW
Interview with Tatsuru Ichishima
President and Founder of Spoon Sports Japan
MM: What are your goals in 2006 for Spoon Sports into the US market?
TI: Right now we are focusing on finding good distributorship on the East Coast, specifically in the Orlando / Tampa Florida area and the New York / Northeast area. We believe good distributors will help solidify our US market.
MM: What do you think of the SEMA show? Is this your first SEMA show?
TI: This is my first visit to SEMA in Las Vegas. In 2002 I had gone to the IAS show in Los Angeles. It is really a huge show, and I believe it has to be the largest trade show in the world within our market.
MM: What are some Japanese trends that you think might make their way into America in 2006?
TI: The tuning world in Japan is constantly advancing. In the prior years many tuners would sacrifice comfort for performance. More recently however, drivers desire a balance between power and comfort. I think this trend will continue onto the stateside as well.
MM: What are some benefits for Spoon Sports’ visit to America and their presence at the SEMA show?
TI: We believe our presence makes a great effect on the retailers and shops. We are able to directly interact with people nad have direct contact to talk and gain information on the US market. Communication between our US consumers has become a priority for us.
MM: How do you think the rarity of the Spoon Sports product in the United States has helped shape the name? With the entire JDM craze, do you feel that the not-so-easy to obtain parts of Spoon Sports has helped or hindered the development of the brand name?
TI: Spoon Sports isn’t like a Coca-Cola for the aftermarket world. We desire to be recognized throughout the consumers but we want them to recognize the technology, material and the concept that goes into each product. But like we said before, right now as a company we want strong distributorship in America.
MM: As we can see at this year’s SEMA show, one of the biggest cars is the new Honda Civic Si. What will Spoon Sports bring in 2006, especially in regards to this car?
TI: Right now the main target in the US is the 06 badged Civic Si. In Japan, we will probably be receiving a Type-R badged model. We mostly race the Type-R spec vehicles in Japan and through that model we develop products for them. Right now we will be racing the car in our booth at the Thunderhill race to help gather information. We will be pitted next to Honda’s ’06 Civic Si and will be trading information with them as well. Right now in Japan we have the Japanese 4 door that is similar to the ’06 Si in America. Besides the obvious differences in the chassis, the power train and drive train components are similar – we are currently researching this.
MM: Thank you very much for your time Mr. Ichishima!