Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/208245
14 • November 4, 2013 • Powersports Business OPINION FROM THE EDITOR AIMExpo debut a Turning Point indeed You knew things were getting interesting in Orlando when attendees started taking their seats in the second level of the Chapin Theater at the Orange County Convention Center. "This place is getting full" was my thought. And everyone else there had similar thoughts: How would the debut of the American International DAVE McMAHON Motorcycle Expo play out? Would there be a buzz leading up to the show? An extensive list of was exhibitors was sure to fill the showroom space. The OEM presence in the form of Suzuki, KYMCO and EBR certainly ranked as a strong start in Year 1. And sure, the media came out in full force — who didn't see a local TV crew roaming the floors? In fact, you couldn't escape a mass media blitz of advertising while in Orlando. Heck, I was flipping through the Orlando Sentinel's weekend entertainment pullout section, and there it was, right with other major upcoming events, a full-color ad promoting the show and all the reasons for consumers to attend on Friday night through Sunday. We all were somewhat curious about what Year 1 would look like in Orlando, but there was a certain sense relief when all those dealers and industry folks began filing into the upper deck at the Chapin Theater. And when more than 50 attendees during the trade session packed the room for one of the dealer training classes at the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo, it was safe to say that yes, plenty of dealers had decided that AIMExpo would be their trade show of choice. At one point, four of the sessions at the PSB Institute @ AIMExpo, running simultaneously, had drawn more than 30 attendees apiece, all looking to gain an edge on the competition. Since most of those in attendance in Orlando were dealer principals and GMs, vendors were just as thrilled as we were with their participation. Which leads us to thank all of the dealers and industry folks who made time to attend. One dealer made a point to stop me in the hallway between sessions to let me know that when he saw the dealer education lineup, he booked his flight. Another proclaimed he had attended each of the eight sessions that he could possibly attend the first two days (four 1-hour sessions each day). And getting back to the Turning Point video that began the show at the Chapin Theater, Mark Peterson, owner of Southwest Superbikes in Dallas, was over the top during the video with his admiration of the educational lineup. I knew we were in for something special a few days before the show when we learned that AIMExpo would be featured on the weekend edition of the leading cable news morning show, "Fox & Friends." Larry Little, vice president and general manager of the Motorcycle Group at Marketplace Events (AIMExpo's parent) and Ty van Hooydonk from the MIC and Discover Today's Motorcycling had landed motorcycles and motorcycling on a prime TV news slot for the first time since … when? Must have been decades ago. As part of our celebration of dealership best practices that began with the educational lineup, the Powersports Business Power 50 capped what was without a doubt a successful show for PSB. One of the cooler moments of the show came when Little stopped by unannounced prior to the event to encourage us to have a good show. In typical fashion by AIMExpo management, that was attention to detail that brought P14-PSB14-Opinion.indd 14 www.PowersportsBusiness.com across the point that we're all in this together as we continue to grow the industry. We'll be doing our part to get more dealers there in the future, and several of our Power 50 dealers were commenting that they hoped their 20 groups could schedule a meeting in Orlando during the run of AIMExpo. It's worked before at our other dealer training events, and there's no reason why that idea wouldn't work in Orlando. The 2014 AIMExpo is Oct. 15-19. It'll be worth marking on your calendar today. You'll find me in one of the rooms at the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo. INDUSTRY SUPPORT You first start getting the "How was the show for you?" in the airport, maybe even on the flight home. As I mentioned, for Powersports Business, AIMExpo was a highly successful event. And overall, the feedback I heard trended toward the positive. All I know is that when AIMExpo goes on its growth spurt over the next few years, it'll be fun to look back and say "We were at the first one, and we'll be here for the next 50 or 100." Shoot me an email to let me know how the show was for your exhibiting company or dealership. We would not have been able do to a lot of what we did to make it a success without the support of some familiar faces. ADP Lightspeed — yes, Hal Ethington is back at it again in this issue with some helpful helmet data — stepped up as the sponsor of the PSB Institute @ AIMExpo. Track sponsors within the rooms at the PSB Institute were ARI (Sales & Marketing), Dominion Powersports Solutions (Digital Solutions), FreedomRoad Financial (Service & Operations) and McGraw Powersports Group (Powering Profits). Simply put, we would not have been able to offer the depth and breadth of the dealer training sessions without their support. And if you could see the number of trade shows and events that ARI has lined up in their various verticals over the next handful of months, you'll know why were ecstatic that ARI president and CEO Roy Olivier was able to fit the Power 50 dinner into his schedule. Their sponsorship made the Power 50, and the Awards Dinner, a memorable night for many dealers and their staff. WHAT'S INSIDE Innovation was apparent in Orlando, and we're building off that theme in this issue with the announcement of the inaugural class of Power 50 dealers. Go AZ Motorcycles knocked it out of the park over the past year to claim the No. 1 spot. We look forward to receiving your dealership's 2014 application. Managing editor Liz Keener put together an incredible lead story for the Helmet & Apparel Focus section in this issue. Don't miss out on reading about how Bell Helmets plans to make custom helmets a high tech yet turnkey operation. Liz also gets behind the scenes of Tim Calhoun's purchase of LeoVince USA. You'll learn much about why he decided to keep the transaction private until now. Senior editor Tom Kaiser gets the nitty gritty behind Ducati's addition of VW Credit as a retail financing option. You'll also want to read Tom's story about Bully Dog's entry into the powersports tuning business. As usual, ARI provides some can't-miss data, this time related to searches of helmet and jackets on dealership websites. PSB Dave McMahon is Editor in Chief of Powersports Business. Reach him at dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness. com or 763/383-4411. ONLINE WITH POWERSPORTSBUSINESS.COM Social media presence expands Powersports Business is happy to report that more and more PSB fans are following our brand on social media, arming them with the latest powersports news and networking with others in the industry. Recently, the PSB YouTube channel, at www.YouTube.com/PowersportsBusiness surpassed 70,000 views. Look to the page this month for a video from Yamaha's 2014 WaveRunner collection. Also, our LinkedIn group's network is growing substantially. More than 2,500 members now look to the Powersports Business group to discuss the latest industry topics, receive advice from peers and experts and find and post jobs. Make sure you also join us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/PSBMagazine) and Twitter (@PSBMagazine). WHAT'S THE HOTTEST INDUSTRY TOPIC? 1. BRP's 2014 Sea-Doo Spark features $4,999 MSRP 2. First Yamaha SR Vipers roll off Arctic Cat assembly line 3. Triumph unveils 2014 models 4. BRP unveils 2014 Can-Am lineup; Spyder gets engine upgrade 5. Analyst says new Sea-Doo Spark a "game-changing" intro 6. Polaris introduces RZR XP 4 1000 7. Harley dealership in Indiana closes 8. Husqvarna introduces first new generation bike 9. Analyst projects $1 billion in Q3 revenue for Polaris 10. Test results released on E15 fuel impact on snowmobiles 11. Consumer sales of Polaris airless tires could begin soon 12. AIMExpo Outdoors! launches demo ride map 13. Norton Motorcycles delivered in Canada, coming to U.S. soon 14. Parsons to host Bob's Biker Blast for charity 15. American Honda retail growth up 15 percent in September The headlines above belong to the most frequently viewed articles from Powersports Business' twice weekly e-news during the Sept. 20-Oct. 21 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.powersportsbusiness.com/newsletter-signup. Powersports Business blog Leading industry executives and dealer consultants are among the contributors to PSB's blog. See below for recent blogs. LESLIE PREVISH GARY GUSTAFSON Founder, Prevish Marketing President, G-Force Consulting When I ask companies what type of women they're targeting, many times I hear "all women use our products, so we market to everyone, from Millennials to Boomers." I then ask if they have enough budget and time to successfully market and sell to all women. Powersports companies must define, develop and deliver innovative products and services with increasing speed to stay competitive today. I call it Innovation3 (cubed). Today we coin the phrase GRIZ, short for "G-Force Rules for Innovating Zealously." MARK MOONEY JENNIFER ROBISON Director, Retail Performance, Pied Piper Managment Co. National Retail Specialist, Tucker Rocky Distributing If folks like doing business with you, all those perceived objections are, more often than not, temporary. If folks like doing business with you, all those objections are much easier to deal with and overcome. The question always is "Is all this expense on fixtures, graphics and branding efforts, not to mention having the labor of someone to execute the physical store reset, pay off?" I would say YES! How do I possibly measure this and prove this? Visit powersportsbusiness.com/blogs 10/30/13 12:12 PM