Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/288267
6 • April 8, 2014 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • April 8, 2014 • 7 Expansion will bring 50 new hires to stores Fox Powersports, of Grand Rapids, Mich., announced the acquisition of two Har- ley-Davidson dealerships, Chicago Harley- Davidson and Lake Shore Harley-Davidson, both located in the greater Chicago metro- politan area. The dealerships were purchased from Revolution Motorsports, based in New Orleans, which owns Harley-Davidson stores in Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina. Chicago Harley-Davidson is located in Glenview, Ill., on the site of the former Glenview Naval Air Station. A full-service, state-of-the-art Harley-Davidson dealership constructed in 2006, Chicago Harley-Davidson currently has more than 170 new and used Harley-Davidson bikes in stock and also offers a full selection of Harley-Davidson Motor- Clothes and riding accessories. In addition, Chicago Harley-Davidson oper- ates a rental experience affording enthusiasts the opportunity to ride a Harley-Davidson on a guided cross-country tour along historic, sce- nic Route 66, from Glenview to Glendale, Calif. Chicago Harley-Davidson also operates a Harley-Davidson retail outlet in The Shops at North Bridge, just steps away from the Magnifi- cent Mile in Chicago. Lake Shore Harley-Davidson is located in Libertyville, Ill. Located just off of I-94 in the northern Chicago area, Lake Shore Harley- Davidson is uniquely positioned geographically to accommodate Harley-Davidson customers in both Illinois and Wisconsin. Lake Shore Harley-Davidson offers a full variety of Har- ley-Davidson motorcycles, MotorClothes and accessories, with more than 110 new and used Harley-Davidsons currently on the floor and available for this riding season. Fox Powersports has named Jason Bremer, division director of Fox Powersports, to over- see both Chicago Harley-Davidson and Lake Shore Harley-Davidson. Bremer has more than 15 years of industry experience, including involvement with multiple Harley-Davidson dealerships throughout the U.S., several of which are top-performing Harley-Davidson dealerships in the country. Chicago Harley- Davidson currently has 40 employees; Lake Shore has 23 employees. In order to ramp up operations to prepare for the upcoming riding season, Fox Power- sports plans to add 32 new team members at Chicago Harley-Davidson and an additional 19 team members at Lake Shore Harley-Davidson. "We are thrilled to expand Fox Powersports' relationship with the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in the Chicago area, especially given the proximity to Milwaukee where William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson started it all," said Daniel G. DeVos, Fox Powersports owner and CEO. "With the addition of both Chicago Har- ley-Davidson and Lake Shore Harley-Davidson, Facebook initially called because it wanted to use Divas SnowGear as an example of a small, niche company that had figured out how to use Facebook to grow not only its page likes, but its business. With Gavinski's permission, Facebook began sharing Divas' story, and Divas was soon featured in articles such as one in the Financial Times in November. Then earlier this year, the head of Face- book's SMB (Small to Medium Business) team called. The company was creating a small to medium-sized business advisory council and wanted to know if Divas was interested. Divas was among about 100 businesses that were being considered for 12 spots, but Gavin- ski made it on to the council with ease, as the small business department unanimously voted her in. The SMB Council represents the 29 million small and medium-sized busi- nesses that use Facebook. "Divas is proud to be a voice for the power- sports industry and looks forward to being able to help their distributor and dealer partners in taking their social media efforts to the next level," said Travis Mayne, sales manager for Divas SnowGear. DIVAS' STORY What drew Facebook to Divas was the com- pany's quick rise on the social network. Divas launched its first casual line for female snow- mobilers in September 2010 before developing outerwear for the 2011 season. By April 2011, the Wisconsin-based company had joined Facebook to spread the message about its new brand and products. Through organic likes and tens of thou- sands of dollars in Facebook ads, Divas has grown its fan base to more than 42,000. In that same time, its business has grown 500 percent. "It's a great way for us to keep our custom- ers interested in our business and eager to see what we have coming out. It's huge for us, and the sales, too; they really do directly reflect Facebook. That is a huge source of sales of us, and I shouldn't just say for us, but for our deal- ers as well," Gavinski said. Facebook has been Divas' primary market- ing source because it has been the easiest way to reach female snowmobilers, as many of them don't seek the same media channels as their male peers. Facebook advertising allows Divas to specifically target women who have expressed interest in snowmobiling. "Facebook is huge to us and our growth is just enormous because we've been able to use Facebook to literally reach out and touch our end consumer directly," Gavinski said. Divas shares a variety of posts on its page, from details on the latest snowmobile models to photos of rides, and of course, details on its latest products. Frequent giveaways also draw plenty of likes, comments and shares. "We've really done our research and can get around [Facebook] really, really well," Gavinski said. FACEBOOK SMB COUNCIL Because Divas has had such success, the small business department at Facebook wanted to learn more about what facets help small busi- nesses and lean on any suggestions Divas had for improvement. Wendy and her husband Travis Gavinksi were flown to Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., in early March. Their first night with Facebook included a reception and dinner followed the next day by a full schedule of meetings. "Basically they wanted feedback on what has made us successful, and the other busi- nesses there have had similar types of success," Wendy Gavinski said. Each of the 12 businesses from a variety of industries across the U.S. shared their ideas for how Facebook could help their companies grow, and suggestions for change. Facebook wanted this input, Gavinski said, so it can bet- ter help its small and medium-sized business partners succeed. "They're constantly changing, and they're open to change, so they were very receptive to everything that we had to say, and they just really want to keep the lines of communication open," she explained. Though the council's first face-to-face meet- ing has already come to a close, the lines of communication have been left open, so Divas can share any ideas that come to mind through- out the year. It's an opportunity the company is fortunate to have. "It's amazing. It's such an honor to be cho- sen for something like that, being a woman- owned business, being one that just a few years ago, I had no idea where this business would be going or if it would even work. It was just kind of a shock of where this has ended up," Gavinski said. "It was just an honor to be a part of this [council], and for our opinion to be respected by such a huge company, it's just really amazing." PSB DIVAS CONTINUED FROM COVER Sled crash claims life of dealer, 56 Byron Schroeder, the 56-year-old co-owner of Hayward Power Sports in Hayward, Wis., died in March as the result of a snowmobile accident. Schroeder had been riding on Spider Lake in Hayward when he crashed. He was pro- nounced dead at the scene, the Sawyer County Record reported. According to his obituary, Schroeder was born an entrepreneur. After earning a bachelor's degree in business and finance from the Univer- sity of Minnesota, he opened a chain of laundry mats throughout the Minneapolis area before starting Research Reality. Schroeder moved to Hayward in 1995 and soon started Whiplash Lake Resort and Lost Land Lake Lodge. Shortly after that, he purchased Mrotek's Riding Stable and Snowmobile dealership and turned it into Hayward Power Sports, selling ATVs, side-by- sides, snowmobiles and PWC from Can-Am, Polaris, Sea-Doo and Ski-Doo, along with boats and outboard engines from a variety of manu- facturers. He also owned Beer Bellies restaurant and the Timber Ford dealership. He is survived by two daughters. PSB Two Chicago-area Harley-Davidson dealerships acquired "… we know that we will properly represent the iconic Harley- Davidson brand in the Chicago area for many, many years to come." – Daniel G. DeVos, owner and CEO, Fox Powersports P01x07-PSB5-News.indd 6 3/27/14 10:46 AM