GGBAILEY In The News
Business Review
Racemark International Inc. built its business by making floor mats for BMW and Mercedes-Benz.But the Malta-based company bets future growth will be driven by names such as Sweet Ice Willy. Sweet Ice Willy’s real name is William Penn. He lives in the British Virgin Islands and is a tuner, an enthusiast who tweaks and customizes his car.
Ginger Bailey, Racemark’s co-CEO, met Penn in January when he pulled his Mitsubishi Lancer into the parking lot of a hotel where was she vacationing with her husband Bob Bailey, Racemark’s founder and other co-CEO.
The car’s tail pipe glowed with neon lights. The interior was completely white. The nozzles on the hood that sprayed windshield wiper fluid glowed like eyes. “The only thing he couldn’t get in his car was the floor mat to glow,” said Ginger Bailey.
Racemark is working to change that. Through a new Web site, intensive marketing and an emphasis on customization, the company is positioning itself to attract more consumer business, from all-out tuners to people who just want hard-to-find floor mats for older model cars.
The company’s online marketing division, G.G.Bailey.Com, was launched in November 2001. The site offers more than 200,000 combinations of floor mats. Buyers can choose the color, style and text they want on their mats. The will even be able to order embroidery that glows. Racemark executives are betting that the emphasis on Web-based marketing will help the company grow.
In November, around 17 acres of Racemark’s property were included in Saratoga County’s Empire Zone. In plans submitted to Saratoga Economic Development Corp., the company said it planned to add 105 new jobs over the next one to three years. Racemark is considering an expansion of the Malta plant, said Bailey.
The $26 billion market for customized car parts and accessories is growing between 7 percent to 8 percent annually. Growth in accessories, the segment that includes customized floor mats, is even faster, said Jim Spoonhower, vice president of market research for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, a trade group located outside of Los Angeles.