Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/183375
www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • October 7, 2013 • 41 SNOWMOBILE Snowmobiling's Super Bowl Three dealers on why Haydays is a can't-miss event BY TOM KAISER SENIOR EDITOR Snowmobile enthusiasts drive in from many U.S. states and Canadian provinces, often pulling a trailer packed with snowmobiles and odds and ends for sale, or empty in anticipation of returning home filled with purchases from the many dealers or swap meet vendors that set up shop on the sprawling farm fields in northcentral Minnesota. The annual event — organized by the Sno Barons Snowmobile Club and colloquially known as the official start of winter — is snowmobiling's largest annual event that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the two-day show now in its 47th year. Located an hour north of Minneapolis, east of North Branch near the Wisconsin border, Haydays attracts racers, riders and aftermarket companies, as well as dealers throughout the P41x43-PSB13-Snow.indd 41 region looking to kick off the season's sales with new and used machines, current and noncurrent riding gear and anything else that goes fast, burns gas or fits on a trailer. Powersports Business attended both days of Haydays — the first blazingly hot and the second downright chilly — and spoke with several exhibitors and riders. As the event is a major draw for local dealers, we sat down with three dealership personnel for their take on snowmobiling's largest, most exciting event. COUNTRY CAT SAUK CENTRE, MN Aside from being a four-time Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby champ aboard Arctic Cat race sleds, most recently in 2011, P.J. Wanderscheid is the online sales manager at Minnesota-based Country Cat. For six consecutive years, Country Cat has kept a booth at Haydays to sell clothing, accessories and, primarily, non-current snowmobiles. It's an added expense that requires the efforts of approximately 15 of the dealership's employees, yet it's an invaluable event for P.J. Wanderscheid, a four-time Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby champ aboard Arctic Cat race sleds, is the online sales manager at Minnesota-based Country Cat. For six consecutive years, Country Cat has kept a booth at Haydays to sell clothing, accessories and, primarily, non-current snowmobiles. selling gear and, most importantly, improving brand recognition and building a relationship with new customers. PSB: How much work does it take to come to Haydays? WANDERSCHEID: Several months, actually. It's getting stuff ready, getting spreadsheets ready, how much are we going to discount stuff, what are we going to bring, buying beforehand, too. It's probably a month of work start to finish for a couple people just getting trailers loaded, stuff figured out and plans. It's an undertaking. PSB: Is the payoff worth the effort? WANDERSCHEID: The big thing is marketing, for us, the presence of being here, getting your name out there and attracting new customers. Yesterday they sold some sleds, and 90 percent of the customers were already in our system, so people have bought here before or they're customers that have been to the store. It's good to see that people, once you get them, keep coming back here. PSB: What type of product do you bring? WANDERSCHEID: We didn't bring any '14 stuff. People aren't looking for that at Haydays. They want a deal. We had some 2010, '11, '12, '13 See Haydays, Page 42 9/25/13 12:17 PM