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www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • June 16, 2014 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER operating officer, and then as CEO for the last three years. During his tenure, Arctic Cat has grown from $465 million to over $700 million in annual sales, and the company entered the growing sports segment of the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle (ROV) market, with a line of side-by-side Wildcat pure-sport and trail models. "Claude and the board have mutually decided this is the right time, however, for new executive leadership at the company. It makes sense to set up the leadership team that will take the company forward to a successful future, as we enter a new fiscal year. Tim Delmore, CFO, has agreed to postpone his previously announced retire- ment during this transition period. We anticipate appoint- ing a new CEO and CFO in the coming months." Twomey served as Arctic Cat's CEO from 1986 to 2010. He was named a director of the company in 1987 and was board chair from 2003 to 2012. During that time, Twomey led Arctic Cat through an initial public offer- ing in 1990, grew revenues from $7.5 million to a peak of $780 million in 2007, entered the ATV business and expanded the company's capabilities to include engine manufacturing at a new facility in St. Cloud, Minn. "We expect to record a charge in the fiscal 2015 first quarter to cover severance-related costs. Excluding the severance, we are maintaining our fiscal 2015 guidance. The company is in strong financial shape, and the board has every confidence in Arctic Cat's long-term growth prospects. We remain focused on growing through a robust pipeline of innovative new prod- ucts and technologies, interna- tional expansion and market share gains, as well as enhancing profitability by achieving greater operating efficiencies." An executive search firm is being retained to assist in filling the CEO position. RIDENOW GROWS TO 23 LOCATIONS RideNow PowerSports-Mark Tkach in May purchased Stre- it's Motorsports of Gainesville, Fla., from Michael and Marion Jones. RideNow Powersports, Gainesville, Fla., now offers the Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Triumph brands. George Chaconas of Per- formance Brokerage Services represented the buyer, Mark Tkach of RideNow Powersports, in this transaction. The Jones family purchased Streit's Motorsports in 1989. Michael was the general man- ager at Streit's for 10 years prior to that, and was a mechanic at Streit's for years prior to becom- ing GM. The sellers were ready to retire and had some family health issues to focus on. Mark Tkach at RideNow Powersports expressed an interest in Streit's Motorsports as a strategic acquisition for RideNow Powersports as the company currently owns two powersports and motorcycle dealerships in Ocala, Fla. In addition to the three powersports and motorcycle dealerships in Florida, Ride- Now Powersports currently owns 13 powersports and motorcycle dealerships in Ari- zona, three powersports dealer- ships in Nevada and one each in Washington, Kansas, North Carolina and Texas for a total of 23 locations. SCHUBERTH NORTH AMERICA NAMES MEADE AS NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Schuberth North America has NEWS 7 ... Ackerman takes on MIC post FINANCIAL NEWS 8 ... Brian Gallmeier 8 ... Same Store Sales 8 ... Stock Market Watch OPINION 10 ... From the Editor 10 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com PSB: FOCUS Digital 12 ... Dominion's DX1 built by dealers 14 ... Dealers go digital with HyperDrive MOTORCYCLE 21 ... Wide tire kit available for the Grom 21 ... S&S Cycle sponsors WMDRA Sturgis SOLUTIONS 22 ... Sam Dantzler 23 ... Neil Pascale SNOWMOBILE 24 ... East Coast Snocross changes hands 24 ... Divas SnowGear adds to staff 24 ... Malinoski retires from racing PWC 26 ... Spark earns industry awards 26 ... NMMA reports 2013 sales numbers AFTERMARKET 28 ... British Customs wins Quail honors 28 ... SpeedMob acquires LeoVince USA 29 ... Hot Products INSIDE BRP secures emissions award BRP has been named the 2014 winner of the Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environ- ment Award for the unique emissions sam- pling equipment it developed in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's search for a more environmentally friendly gasoline alternative. "BRP is making great strides in the areas of marine engine emission reductions and biofuel research," said Eric Bott, director of environ- mental and energy policy for Wisconsin Man- ufacturers and Commerce. "They're not just improving the efficiency of their engines or viability of new potential fuels. They're invent- ing the testing equipment necessary to prove these advancements." The emissions sampling equipment was developed at BRP's Evinrude facility in Sturte- vant to research isobutanol, a biologically pro- duced alternative fuel being tested in engines to identify if it could be a cleaner, more envi- ronmentally friendly substitute for gasoline. The award recognizes businesses that demonstrate environmental soundness in pollution prevention, innovative technology and environmental stewardship. The program aims to communicate to businesses, state poli- cymakers and the public that these environ- mentally conscious practices have a positive impact on Wisconsin. PSB hired motorcycle industry veteran Peter Meade as national sales manager. Meade has more than 25 years of experience as a retail executive working both in and outside of the motorcycle industry, and has enjoyed successful dealer- vendor relationships while managing one of the top 10 BMW motorcycle dealers in the country at Bob's BMW in Jessup, Md. "We are very excited to have Peter as a part of the Schuberth team," said Schuberth North America vice president Randy Northrup. "His expertise in sales strategy will be a great asset for us, and his experience developing brands in other markets will bring us new insights into how to best grow our own product categories." Meade is a lifelong motorcy- clist, having owned motorcycles from numerous brands over the years including BMW and Ducati. After gaining experi- ence in apparel retail with large national brands like Ralph Lau- ren and the Limited Brands, Meade pursued his passion and brought his sales and merchan- dising talents to the motorcycle business. Meade spent 5 ½ years as the general manager of parts, accessories, apparel and Internet development at Bob's BMW. "I'm very excited to make this transition from the dealer side of the business to help represent a strong and storied brand like Schuberth," Meade said. "The timing couldn't have been bet- ter with the addition of the Held line, and I'm looking forward to developing strategic sales pro- grams and promotions for both of these premium brands." STRAY BULLET LANDS IN HARLEY-DAVIDSON CONFERENCE ROOM During a shooting incident in Mil- waukee in May, a stray bullet flew through a window and into a con- ference room at Harley-David- son's headquarters, a source told FOX6 News in Milwaukee. Several people were inside the room at the time, but none were injured. The shooting occurred three blocks away from Harley's corporate offices, which are located at N 37th Street and W Juneau Avenue. Another bullet struck a vacant store nearby. No one was injured in the shooting. "We did experience an inci- dent involving shots fired near our Juneau Avenue offices yester- day. Fortunately, no employees were injured," Tony Macrito, manager of corporate media rela- tions for Harley-Davidson, told FOX6 in a statement. PSB HENDRIX NAMED GM OF RAY PRICE HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND RAY PRICE TRIUMPH Ray Price Harley-Davidson and Ray Price Triumph, 2013 Powersports Business Power 50 dealers, announced the promotion of Mark Hendrix to general manager. Hendrix has worked with Ray Price in Raleigh, N.C., for the past five years, previously as sales manager and finance director at one of the Southeast's largest motorcycle dealerships. "Mark Hendrix has an outstanding track record in customer satisfaction and staff development," said owner Ray Price. "We're excited to have Mark manage all aspects of keeping the Raleigh dealerships and the parts and service departments running smoothly." Hendrix is a 1996 graduate of the University of North Caro- lina at Chapel Hill and spent 14 years working for Hendrick Automotive Group. He transitioned from four wheels to two upon joining the motorcycle industry full time five years ago at a small Triumph and custom shop in Fayetteville, N.C. Previ- ous general manager Dave Hushek has returned to the executive finance manager role at Ray Price. MARK HENDRIX BMW MOTORCYCLES OF OKLAHOMA CITY LATEST ADDITION TO DEALER NETWORK BMW Motorrad USA has expanded its brand in central Oklahoma with the open- ing of BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma City. The exclusive BMW motorcycle dealership, located at 417 Hudiburg Circle C (just off Interstate 40), offers a complete line of BMW motorcycles, parts, accessories, apparel and service capabilities in a newly built 7,000 square-foot retail facility. A grand opening celebration is planned for Saturday, June 21. "We are thrilled to be Oklahoma's first exclusive BMW dealer- ship and look forward to being an integral part of the Oklahoma City community," said general manager A.C. Spencer, who has spent his entire career in the motorcycle retail business and opened BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma City with majority owner Clay- ton Little. "Our beautiful new dealership offers motorcycle enthu- siasts a place to hang out and relax and build relationships with other riders in the area." "We look forward to welcoming loyal BMW customers as well as introduce other riders to the BMW brand," said Spencer, who worked for a variety of motorcycle manufacturers until he became general manager of another BMW dealership in 2005. "Once I became involved with BMW, I never looked back. BMW's technol- ogy, range of models and loyal customer base are unparalleled." "We are delighted to partner with A.C., Clayton and their team in bringing the BMW brand to Oklahoma City," said Lou Provato, dealer development manager for BMW Motorrad USA. "They have the drive, determination and experience to build a superlative dealership in this region." BMW now has 139 motorcycle retailers. General manager A.C. Spencer heads up the all-new BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma City with a wealth of indus- try experience. Peter Meade is the new national sales manager at Schuberth North America. P01x07-PSB8-NEWS.indd 3 6/4/14 1:36 PM