John Gillio

“Alibaba.com helped us find a way to supplement our core offerings, grow our business, and we didn’t have to lay anyone off during the recession.”

Member: John Gillio

VP Marketing

Company: Arabia’s Overkill

Website: www.arabiasoverkill.com

Location: CA, USA

Industry: Automotive

Member Since: 2008

If you’ve ever dreamed of a Jeep that you thought could never be built, then Arabia’s Overkill is the place to go. The business specializes in Jeep customization for extreme off-roading, with average builds of between $25,000 and $100,000.

Established almost 20 years ago, Arabia’s Overkill started off in the owner’s garage, and has continued to grow over the years. The business now has a four bay shop and is located in Campbell, California.

One famous event Arabia’s Overkill participates in is the Rubicon Trail. This trail, also known as the “Grandaddy of all off highway trails,” is the world’s most famous tough off-road trail. The trail is twelve miles of incredibly scenic, albeit rocky, unmaintained road, and takes at least two days for experienced four wheelers to finish. Arabia’s Overkill has sent dozens of Jeeps into this challenging terrain and is one of the most recognized shops nationally for Jeep custom build.

Arabia’s Overkill discovered Alibaba.com when the company decided to start their own product lines. “We would do a lot of one-off projects and customers would call wanting something similar. We’re one of the top fab shops in the industry, so it made sense that we expand into product offerings.” Arabia’s Overkill first used Alibaba.com to find suppliers of LED lights for their lighting line. The company found that Alibaba.com had a very wide range of suppliers to choose from and made the process accessible and cost effective. “Alibaba.com has the products we need at fair prices so that we can make a competitive product and offer our customer the products they’ve been asking us to build custom over the years,” said John Gillio, Vice President of Marketing. Arabia’s Overkill’s products now include overkill nite lights that throw a light pattern over 25 feet, bedlocks available in all popular bolt patterns, fairleads and ropes, brake kits, bare steel and powdercoated bumpers, as well as apparel.

Alibaba.com helped Arabia’s Overkill find a way to supplement its core offerings, grow their business, and prevented the business from having to layoff employees during one of the toughest recessions on record. As a luxury service supplier, the recession had a significant impact on their business and the company needed a way to supplement its revenue. Arabia’s Overkill determined that a product offering would help the company weather the economic downturn and are proud to say that they have not had to lay off a single employee during the recession. Arabia Overkill attributes this in part to the ability to add a product offering to their service business with the help of Alibaba.com.