Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/551693
10 • August 17, 2015 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com heavy." While customer traffic has been posi- tive, Moses says that if inventory levels were a bit higher, the dealership would have been above plan and more able to meet the grow- ing demand. "It's been a really good year for the Indian brand in general." Moses said. "It's an old brand that recently has gained notoriety, and people are starting to consider it as a viable alternative to the rest of the products that are in the market." Many dealers had similar experiences in this quarter. Fifty-eight percent of dealers reported their business performance was "above plan" or "on plan," a nice change from Q1's "on plan" or "below plan" majority. Aaron Moon, sales manager for Southland Cycle Center in Garden Grove, Ca., experi- enced lower customer traffic despite consistent buying interest. "We keep trying to gauge different things, and floor traffic has been a big one. There's just not as many door swings as we normally see," Moon said. "There's interest, but people are less in the position to make those purchases." Moon explains that while interest is still high, the selling process has gotten longer with customers making multiple visits before buying any units. However, his plan for Q3 includes relying on the pre-owned ATV mar- ket. "We have had good luck selling pre-owned units. It seems to be a good market, if you can get them at the right price," Moon said. BETTER WEATHER Unlike in Q1, when weather proved as a prob- lem for several dealers, snow sales in select states brought some dealerships back up to plan in Q2. Dave Vincent, owner of Team Vincent Motorsports in Ayr, Ontario, says weather is main contributor to his Q2 above plan results. "We had a great snow season this year that really boosted our spring snowmobile sales," Vincent said. Matt Gisch, parts and accessories man- ager at Danner Motorsports in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., experienced similar spring sales that led to an above plan Q2. "The economy has helped. We've just had better sales than we've had in the past. Espe- cially with our preseason snowmobile sales, and also with our service work in general, this summer is looking really good," Gisch said. BUSINESS OUTLOOK Of the dealers surveyed, 71 percent reported their outlook was "somewhat better" or "about the same" heading into Q3, while only 26 per- cent said "somewhat worse." Vincent remains positive on how weather and sales will affect his dealership's Q3 results. "Our spring break deals on snowmobile sales were through the roof; those sales aren't going to come into the books until October through December," he said. "They're way above what we've ever had before and expected." Gisch explained that in combination with a successful preseason snow sales, the dealership sold more ATV units this year than in the past. "ATVs are kind of an odd deal; it's not steady. We had a surge on them for a couple months," Gisch said. "Our service business is going to definitely stay strong all the way." "We're excited about new product," Moses said, looking forward to the Q3. "Even though we're headed toward the slower part of the year, hopefully the new product will carry us through to the next quarter well." PSB SURVEY CONTINUED FROM COVER WINNING DEALERS The following dealers who completed the Q2 2015 Powersports Business/RBC Capital Mar- kets Dealer Survey were selected at random to win a $100 Best Buy gift card each, courtesy of RBC Capital Markets. Steve St. John, Deyer South Powersports, Whiteland, IN Karen Shaw, Belleville Sport and Lawn, Belleville, ONT Craig Kissell, Kissell Motorsports, State College, PA Karl Kegel, Kegel Harley-Davidson, Rockford, IL Scott Schmidtman, Westside Motorsports, Spokane, WA All dealers who complete the survey receive a PDF analysis of the results from RBC Capital Markets and are eligible for $100 Best Buy gift cards. PLEASE RATE THE FOLLOWING: 4% 5% 10% 5% 11% 37% 34% 29% 23% 37% 33% 28% 33% 45% 37% 24% 24% 22% 22% 14% 2% 9% 6% 4% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% New Unit Sales Used Unit Sales P&A Sales Service Department F&I Very Weak Somewhat Weak Average Somewhat Strong Very Strong HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE CUSTOMER TRAFFIC IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR? IN GENERAL, TO WHAT EXTENT HAS YOUR BUSINESS OUTLOOK CHANGED COMPARED TO SIX MONTHS AGO? HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE CUSTOMER BUYING INTEREST IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR? Very Strong 7% Somewhat Strong 35% Average 29% Somewhat Weak 23% Very Weak 6% Significantly better 1% Somewhat better 33% About the same 38% Somewhat worse 26% Significantly worse 2% Significantly better 6% Somewhat better 37% About the same 26% Somewhat worse 27% Significantly worse 4% Source: Powersports Business/ RBC Capital Markets Dealer Survey