Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/765954
OPINION FROM THE EDITOR 8 • December 26, 2016 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Huge props to our Powersports Business team for hauling in another award during the Minnesota Magazine & Pub- lishing Association's Excel- lence Awards Gala last month in Minneapolis. PSB's bronze in the Multi-Media Story- telling category was bol- stered by the print, video and social media coverage that managing editor Liz Keener provided as part of her exhaustive coverage of Bad Boy Off Road's media ride in Moab. In total, parent com- pany EPG Media won 13 awards (two gold, six silver and five bronze). Sister publications Rider magazine won gold award for Overall Excellence, and Snow Goer won gold in the Feature Article category. ANALYST PROVIDES EARLY NOVEMBER RETAIL TRENDS Tim Conder, senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, recently held a conference call with colleagues from Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance. Wells Fargo CDF provides wholesale floorplan financing for most OEMs (excluding Harley-Davidson, Honda and Kawasaki, which all have captive finance divisions) to powersports dealers selling motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, snowmobiles, personal watercraft and outboard marine engines. Conder reported in mid-November that the "tradi- tional North American powersports industry remains very sluggish YTD despite positive economic/envi- ronment indicators (real personal income, consumer credit outstanding, interest rates, unemployment, marine/RV retail, weather), due to sustained underper- formance of employment/wage growth in key sectors (oil, ag, manufacturing, construction). Oil economy showing initial signs of stabilization, while ag prices (10 percent) YTD and manufacturing employment trends remain negative." "No early read on election +/- retail impact, but could benefit manufacturing/construction sectors through increased infrastructure spend. Treasury rates have recently spiked, but powersports retail histori- cally has exhibited low correlation to interest rates. Positively, industry aged channel inventory (ex-snow- mobiles) and inventory turns remain stable year/year at healthy levels (2.7x). Promotions/incentives have been consistent in most segments, but more aggressive for early season snowmobile retail given prior year carryover. Initial November retail trends are materi- ally lower year/year consistent with recent industry deceleration. Near-term outlook stable. Collectively, we remain near-term cautious on non-marine powers- ports OEMs." "U.S. industry unit retail — Oct./YTD: Motorcycles (7 percent)/(4 percent), ATV (16 percent)/(7 percent); side-by-sides +low-single-digits percent YTD with some recent strength in sport and utility; snowmobiles –double-digits percent through October (but light early-season volume); PWC +6 percent YTD, outboard marine engine up more than 5 percent YTD." LADDER TO SUCCESS Perry Vincent, general man- ager of Lost River Powers- ports in Bowling Green and Mike's Cycle World, Inc., in Glasgow, Kentucky, is the clubhouse leader with eight certificates from the Power- sports DEALER Seminars @ AIMExpo in Orlando. Their OEM partners that will ben- efit from Perry's attendance at the seminars include and Hisun, Honda, Kawasaki, KYMCO, SSR Motorsports, Suzuki and Yamaha. We've already started plan- ning to make next year's ses- sions better than ever. Looking forward to seeing everyone during the sessions at AIMExpo in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 21-24, 2017. BIG-TIME VOLUNTEER EFFORT In case you're wondering if your dealership staff can pull off something way cool, here's reassurance that it can. Power 50 dealer Simply Street Bikes in Eden Prai- rie, Minnesota, held its first-ever Feed My Starving Children ride. More than 35 volunteers joined the ride and volunteered their time to pack food for the non-profit that supplies meals in more than 70 countries. The Simply Street Bikes crew also combined to donate $350 to the organization. DEALER TRAINING EVENTS UPCOMING Gart Sutton & Associates and Garage Composites have announced their upcoming dealer training events. Gart Sutton & Associates announced its spring 2017 schedule of management workshops. New this year, all classes will be held at facilities near the Dallas airport: Parts Management, Jan. 30-31 Service Management, Feb. 6-7 Dealership Management for General Manager or Dealer Principal, Feb. 27-28 Advanced Sales & F&I Management, Feb. 27-28 Update, a former annual event that started 18 years ago by Ed Lemco, returns with a familiar format under Garage Composites. For three days at Update, management staff in key dealership departments will attend a host of seminars. Each day features a different concentration, allowing dealerships to fly in some of their management staff one day while keeping appropriate staffing levels at their store. Parts and service seminars will be featured on day one, marketing and management on day two and sales and F&I on the final day. Update begins Saturday, Jan. 21 in Denver. The Denver event is free for Garage Composites' dealer-members. PSB Dave McMahon is editor in chief of Powersports Business. Contact him at 763/383-4411 or dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com. 1. Layoffs hit two dozen staffers at Tucker Rocky 2. Kawasaki introduces 2017 street motorcycles 3. BRP issues side-by-side recall 4. OEMs release new model concept bikes at 2016 EICMA 5. Polaris Hall of Fame veteran announces intent to retire 6. $44K worth of vehicles stolen from dealership 7. Milwaukee Harley-Davidson gets new owner 8. Honda unveils intelligent 4WD side-by-side 9. Arctic Cat reports Q2 results 10. Burleson steps aside as KTM North America president; Hinz appointed 11. Erik Buell Racing to debut new motorcycle 12. Dealership's service manager killed in crash 13. Ducati dealership relocates, wows with new storefront 14. BRP releases race-inspired Maverick X3 15. Husqvarna unveils new bikes at EICMA The headlines above belong to the most frequently viewed articles from Powersports Business' three-times weekly e-news during the Nov. 8-Dec.14 period. The number is based on the percentage of e-news viewers who clicked on the article's headline. To subscribe to e-news, go to www.bit.ly/PSBEnewsSignup. WHAT'S THE HOTTEST INDUSTRY TOPIC? Powersports Business blog ONLINE WITH POWERSPORTSBUSINESS.COM Leading industry executives and dealer consultants are among the contributors to PSB's blog. See below for recent blogs. Multi-Media Storytelling award pulls it all together Visit powersportsbusiness.com/blogs 2017 Nifty 50 application open! Does your company have an innovative product or service that can help deal- ers make or save money? The deadline for our 18th annual Powersports Business Nifty 50 products and service contest is Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. All entrants will be judged on potential market- ability and dealer profitability by the Powersports Business editors. Winners will be announced online, as well as in the Feb. 13, 2017, edition of PSB. FORREST FLINN Managing Partner, Powersports Management Concepts By continuously recruiting for future dealership job openings, you are tak- ing a proactive approach to employee recruitment and selection. It helps you take control of your hiring process, and you will not be filled with as much anxi- ety when an employee leaves. JIM JABAAY Vice President of Sales & Marketing, LotVantage It was bound to happen. Not only did Craigslist announce that it will be charging $5/ad for motorcycles, but as of Dec. 1, 2016, it will be charging $5 ad for snowmobiles, ATVs and UTVs as well. KIM ROCCO Director of Marketing, DX1 Overall, dealers benefit from the tight integration between OEMs and DMS providers that have achieved PDS certification. Dealers will gain efficien- cies and access to OEM-specific data, resulting in improved customer experi- ence and greater profitability. LIZ KEENER Managing Editor, Powersports Business You've always had competition, right? What you have to think about is how you're going to continue to hold your place in the market and what type of customer service you're willing to deliver to earn each cus- tomer's sale. Huge props to our Business another award during the Minnesota Magazine & Pub- lishing Association's Excel- lence Awards Gala last month in Minneapolis. PSB's bronze DAVE McMAHON Liz Keener brought home more hardware for Powersports Business during the Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Asso- ciation's Awards Gala. Perry Vincent, general manager of Lost River Powersports and Mike's Cycle World in Kentucky, made the most of his time at the Powersports DEALER Seminars @ AIMExpo in Orlando. Power 50 dealer Simply Street Bikes put on an impressive volunteer effort.