Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/316641
PSB FOCUS 14 • May 26, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com This issue: Tire & Wheel Next issue: Digital ADP Lightspeed study shows relationship between purchased, installed tires BY DAVE McMAHON EDITOR IN CHIEF The age-old conundrum of whether or not dealers should install tires that are not pur- chased at their dealership may have become easier to answer. Dealers might be making plenty of tire sales, but the next step of install- ing those same tires that they sell leaves plenty of room for improvement, according to a study by ADP Lightspeed provided exclu- sively to Powersports Business. The data orginated with dealers who use the Lightspeed DMS. They combined to sell 843,000 tires from the rolling 12-month period of April 1, 2013 to April 1, 2014. Of those Lightspeed dealers who sell tires that fall into the custom/cruiser/touring seg- ment, 73 percent of the tires that they sell are installed at the dealership. Conversely, 27 percent are sold over the counter and installed elsewhere. Looking at the sport touring segment, less than two out of three tires that are sold by Lightspeed dealers are installed, with more than one out of three tires that are bought at the store being installed elsewhere. For sport bike riders, dealers who use Lightspeed install tires 61 percent of the time, compared to 39 percent that are pur- chased over the counter and not installed at the dealership. Less than half of all scooter tire purchases (46 percent) are bought and installed at the dealership, with 54 percent of tires being pur- chased over the counter. Dual-sport riders get their tires bought and installed at Lightspeed dealerships only 42 percent of the time, while 58 percent of dual sport tires are purchased over the counter and installed elsewhere. Installing tires not always part of the tire sale See ADP Tire, Page 15 73% 65% 61% 46% 42% 27% 35% 39% 54% 58% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Custom/Cruiser/Touring Sport Touring Sport Scooter Dual % Over the Counter % Installed TIRE TYPE BY PERCENT INSTALLED VS SOLD OVER COUNTER Total Tires Sold - 843,000; April 2013-April 2014 Source: ADP Lightspeed 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 FOCUS: Heidenau reaches adventure market . . . . . PAGE 19 CYCLE: Ducati dealers lead PSI scores . . . . . . . . . PAGE 26 SNOW: Arctic Cat tops snocross podiums . . . . . . . PAGE 33 POWER 50: Dealer launches PartsOutlaw.com . . . . . . . PAGE 38 Japan motorcycle production increases in March Three of the Big Four Japanese motor- cycle OEMs increased production in March, leading the four to a collective 13.5 percent increase over March 2013. Suzuki was the lone OEM to report a production decrease, down 13.9 percent year-over-year to 14,813 units, according to the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association. Kawa- saki reported the largest percentage increase in production, up 81.4 percent to 6,786 bikes. Yamaha followed with 22.6 percent growth to 19,677 motor- cycles, and Honda reported a 20.1 per- cent jump to 16,112 units. In total, the four produced 57,388 bikes in March. Production in all four motorcycle classes increased from March 2013. INSPIRING SUCCESS THROUGH MARKET INTELLIGENCE New models BRP unveils its 2015 lineup, which includes new Outlander L ATVs. SEE PAGE 30 HOTNEWS Paving the way Polaris makes plans to release its non-pneumatic tires on more consumer models. SEE PAGE 16 Entry-level As Sea-Doo introduces the Spark, Yamaha and Kawasaki look deeper into the entry-level segment. SEE PAGE 22 PSB: FOCUS Tire & Wheel SEE PAGE 14 See Hot News, Page 3 May 26, 2014 • Volume 17, Number 7 • $3.99 Powersports Business Executive of the Year INDUSTRY LEADERS GREG HEICHELBECH CEO / TRIUMPH NORTH AMERICA BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR Greg Heichelbech had a busy end of April and early May. In addition to other business trips, the CEO of Triumph North America traveled to New York twice, once for dealer 20 club meetings and another time for a retail summit for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. There, the 47-year-old Heichelbech joined executives from Lucky Brand, PepsiCo, Sharpie, Zulily, Walgreens and more in sharing growth and innovation strategies. He was nominated for the panel by GE, likely for the same reasons Powersports Business has chosen Heichelbech as the 2014 Executive of the Year. Heichelbech, formerly of Harley-David- son, and his team have brought big changes to Triumph North America, since he took his position at the head of the company in Novem- ber 2010. Dealer margin has increased; brand awareness has grown; new products have been introduced, and a new e-commerce platform has been built, all within less than four years. And soon Triumph North America will be introducing something no other major OEM has — online sales of motorcycles. TRIUMPHANT CHANGE When Heichelbech joined Triumph more than three years ago, the move was akin to crossing enemy lines and picking up the fight from the other side. During his two decades at Brand awareness plus dealer focus leads to success for Heichelbech Triumph North America CEO changes culture in quest to make the OEM a bigger player See Heichelbech, Page 4 STEVE MENNETO VICE PRESIDENT / MOTORCYCLES / POLARIS INDUSTRIES TIM CALHOUN CEO / SPEEDMOB, INC. FORMER CEO OF LEOVINCE USA MARK-HANS RICHER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER / HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CO. SARAH SCHILKE HEAD OF MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS / SCHUBERTH NORTH AMERICA PAGE 6 Q&A with Industry Leaders PAGE 7 Previous Executive of the Year and Industry Leader winners P01x08-PSB7-News.indd 1 5/14/14 2:01 PM