The traffic in motorcycle helmets between HJC and Helmet House is a tiny slice of transpacific trade, but it illuminates the dangers of such lopsided commerce. The relationship between the two firms began more than two decades ago, when Hong's elder brother, W.K. Hong, HJC's founder and chief executive, assigned him responsibility for exporting to the U.S. market.
Transpacific Ties
Speaking almost no English and carrying samples of about 10 HJC helmets, Scott Hong -- whose Korean name is Hong Soo-ki -- arrived in Los Angeles in 1983.
He went to extraordinary lengths to save money on lodging and food when he traveled from his Los Angeles base to meet motorcycle dealers and riders. Sometimes he did odd jobs, such as painting houses, while on the road. When he took trips to Sacramento, 390 miles from Los Angeles, to get HJC's helmets certified as safe by a major helmet-testing organization, he often avoided hotel expenses by driving round trip in one day, starting at around 3 a.m. and returning late in the evening.
"On freeways, I sometimes got sleepy," he recalled. "So I put my face out the window. Then I would be sleepy again. So I got some jalapeno peppers and put them in a bag. When you chew those in your mouth, you are going to wake yourself up."
Critical guidance came from Miller and his crew at Helmet House, which became HJC's lead distributor, on matters such as the splashy colors and designs that would appeal to American bikers. Miller and a business partner had built a helmet-distribution company from scratch -- they started out peddling helmets at weekend swap meets in Southern California -- and Miller, already a major distributor of Japan's Shoei brand, established contact with HJC after spotting one of its helmets on a motorcyclist during a buying expedition to South Korea.
"I told Scott, if they listen to what we say, we'll be successful," Miller said. "And HJC has had phenomenal growth. They do it faster, better, cheaper."
HJC's U.S. sales began to take off in the latter half of the 1980s because the company's helmets cost less than Japanese ones. They now retail for between $70 and $400, depending on the model.
Hong remembers the first time he saw an American motorcyclist wearing an HJC helmet: "I followed him for about an hour in my car, and he pulled over and asked, 'Why are you chasing me?' I told him, 'Your helmet is my helmet.' I cried on that day, I was so happy."
The Thrifty
Back in South Korea, chief executive W.K. Hong was plowing HJC's profits into manufacturing equipment and research and development, with the aim of producing lighter, more comfortable and more crash-resistant helmets. HJC still spends about 10 percent of its revenue on R&D, employing more than 40 engineers -- which has enabled it to approach Japanese levels of quality.
"All the money I made in the company, I reinvested in the company," said W.K. Hong, who is 65 and an engineer by training.
Aside from an occasional tour of an area he is visiting on business, he said, he has never taken a long vacation. His wife, Kim Hee-ki, said she sometimes accompanies her husband on business trips and once traveled to California to visit a daughter who was living there.
"If I used money for personal things, like going on vacation, I don't believe we'd be number one in the world," Hong said.
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