Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/626951
PSB FOCUS 12 • January 25, 2016 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com This issue: Service Department Next issue: Nifty 50 u backstage pass to ( CUSTOMER ) SERVICE St. Paul Harley-Davidson event encourages customers to stroll the shop floor, and meet with service technicians and vendors See page 14. w w w . p o w e r s p o r t s b u s i n e s s . c o m NEWS: Study: More women are riding . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 5 FINANCE: CFMOTO partners with Northpoint . . . . . . . PAGE 10 ATV/ATV: Dealer leases land for riding . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 20 CYCLE: Which OEMs are innovating? . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 22 In an effort to further enhance its brand image and competitiveness in the mar- ketplace, Küryakyn Holdings, LLC, has announced the implementation of a Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policy that went into effect Jan. 4. The MAP policy applies to all Küryakyn-branded products and will be applied unilaterally to ensure customers, dealers and distributors continue receiving high-value products with unmatched post-sales support. Policy guidelines limit domestic resell- ers to no more than a 10 percent adver- tised markdown from standard MSRP pricing, which will be applied to all in-store and online retail operations. Additionally, Küryakyn has adopted an automated monitoring service in order to better track online sales INSPIRING SUCCESS THROUGH MARKET INTELLIGENCE It starts at home Power 50 dealership group Sky Powersports focuses on supporting its communities. SEE PAGE 30 HOTNEWS Wherever Weego Less than two years after its launch, the brand looks to future growth in 2016. SEE PAGE 16 Made in America Hydro-Turf manufactures its powersports seats and traction mats in California. SEE PAGE 24 Inventory levels, store traffic are cause for concern The fourth quarter of 2015 was not a positive one for many dealers, the quarterly Powersports Busi- ness/RBC Capital Markets survey found. Of the 123 dealers from 42 U.S. states and Canada who participated in the survey, 60 percent reported their Q4 performance was below plan. One-quarter of the dealers were on plan for Q4, and only 15 percent were above plan. When rating overall business conditions for the quarter, 34 percent said they were somewhat weak, while 12 percent reported they were very weak. New units struggled especially, with 54 percent of dealers saying their new unit sales were somewhat or very weak in the quarter. Another 43 percent saw somewhat or very weak P&A sales, and 40 reported pre-owned unit sales were somewhat or very weak. Customer traffic played heavily into the lack of sales, as 38 percent of dealers said Q4 2015 traf- fic was somewhat worse than it was in the fourth quarter of 2014. Another 15 percent reported it was significantly worse than the year-ago quar- ter. Buying interest was somewhat worse at 37 percent of dealerships, while it was significantly worse than Q4 2014 for 18 percent of dealers. Profit margins aren't helping dealers, either. Thirty-five percent said profit margins were somewhat worse in the 2015 fourth quarter than they were a year ago. And 11 percent reported margins were significantly worse. Not surprisingly with warmer than usual weather in much of the country and low snow- fall amounts, snowmobile dealers have seen the largest decreases. Two-thirds reported their year- over-year sales were down in Q4. Also struggling during the last three months of the year were sport bike, heavyweight motorcycle See Survey, Page 6 PSB: FOCUS Service SEE PAGE 12 See Hot News, Page 3 January 25, 2016 • Volume 19, Number 2 • $3.99 Above plan 15% On plan 25% Below plan 60% How would you characterize your calendar Q4 (Oct.-Dec.) business performance relative to plan? HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR CALENDAR Q4 (OCT.-DEC.) BUSINESS PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO PLAN? Where applicable, please provide your year-over-year sales growth (new products only, measured in units) for Q4 (Oct.-Dec.). 5% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 3% 1% 4% 5% 1% 3% 18% 16% 5% 3% 9% 3% 16% 7% 23% 14% 12% 9% 17% 6% 8% 14% 19% 22% 22% 26% 37% 39% 44% 11% 9% 16% 15% 14% 14% 13% 8% 11% 10% 14% 19% 22% 11% 19% 13% 7% 5% 7% 11% 8% 5% 3% 5% 24% 8% 8% 11% 13% 5% 16% 3% 24% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Side-by-Sides ATVs Heavyweight motorcycles Sport bikes Off-road bikes Scooters PWC Snowmobiles +30% or better +20% +10% +5% Flat -5% -10% -20% -30% or worse WHERE APPLICABLE, PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR YEAR-OVER-YEAR SALES GROWTH (NEW PRODUCTS ONLY, MEASURED IN UNITS) FOR Q4 (OCT.-DEC.). Küryakyn implements MAP policy POWERSPORTS BUSINESS/RBC CAPITAL MARKETS Q4 2015 DEALER SURVEY Dealer sentiment takes drastic turn for worse Saying farewell to a friend Thousands of motorcyclists attended motorcycling legend and dealership owner Ray Price's memorial services to send him off with one final ride in North Carolina. Dealership owner Ray Price, 78, was laid to rest on Dec. 20. Read the story Page 7 Ç È Source: Powersports Business/RBC Capital Markets Q4 2015 dealer survey