Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/711372
6 • August 15, 2016 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com Gerrick Johnson. Even though dealership traffic and buying interest has led to a flat quarter, 29 percent of dealers surveyed said that their business outlook was somewhat or significantly better than the previous six months. Of those who answered, 38 percent said their business out- look had not changed despite a slow start. External factors such as the U.S. politi- cal environment and international economic issues saw the largest change in concern from dealers. "Somewhat surprising, but definitely not shocking, is that the biggest macro concern is not employment, gas prices, the housing mar- ket or financing, but the U.S. political environ- ment," said Johnson. In fact, 72 percent of dealers responded have grown more concerned with the current U.S. political environment, and 63 percent are more concerned with economic and political issues outside of the U.S. than before. While absolute performance may have been only slightly negative in the quarter, the perfor- mance against dealers' plans was more disap- pointing, Johnson reported. Side-by-sides (43 percent below plan, 21 percent above plan) and ATVs (42 percent below plan, 21 percent above plan) seemed the most disappointing relative to plan, despite decent sales in the quarter. DEALER SURVEY CONTINUED FROM COVER Minnesota dealership signs on with management system DX1, provider of the only complete dealer- ship management platform in the powersports industry, has reached a major milestone. The DX1 platform is now being used by more than 1,000 dealerships across the nation. Bison Thunder Motorcycle in Saint Michael, Minnesota, was the 1,000th dealership to acquire the platform. The milestone was reached as more dealers experience the efficiencies this unique platform affords their businesses. "This is a significant accomplishment for our organization. As we continuously strive to create a complete dealership management platform that dealers can rely on, we have earned the business and trust of dealers across the nation. We provide a unique solution, and we couldn't be more excited that dealers, OEMs and industry partners are recognizing the distinct advantages and opportunities DX1 brings to the powersports industry," said Jeff Littlejohn, president of DX1. Unlike other industry management sys- tems, DX1 combines a DMS, lead manager, responsive website and online marketing tools built on one technology platform. There is no need for integration between website and DMS providers — DX1 is the only platform that does it all. This complete solution leads to daily busi- ness efficiencies and ultimately more time for dealers to focus on growing revenue by mini- mizing data entry, eliminating multiple logins and automating labor-intensive processes. DX1 user David Hansin, owner of All Out Cycles in Chesapeake, Virginia, said that DX1's efficient inventory management alone saves his dealership 30-40 hours every week. "Until you have DX1, you don't realize how much time and energy it saves you," said Hansin. The DX1 platform is built on responsive tech- nology, essential to main- taining and growing a dealership's website traf- fic with an increasingly mobile consumer audi- ence. The DX1 platform enables dealers to upload inventory in the DMS and automatically post units to their websites. Real-time removal of sold units means inven- tory is always current and leads are submitted only on available units. "We close 20-25 percent of leads that come in through our DX1 website," said Hansin. Another DX1 user, Graham Marcus of Mad- die's Motorsports in Dansville, New York, said the ease of use is a significant advantage the DX1 platform. "These days you can have 15 different log- ins, passwords and IDs you have to remember," said Marcus, the general manager of the multi- brand metric store. "In DX1, it's really nice to be able to log in once and handle your day-to- day business in just one location." Because DX1 is cloud-based, dealers can access their operational and marketing func- tions from anywhere without worrying about managing the infrastructure or manually updating software. All departments have access to the same inventory and customer data records. "Since DX1 is cloud-based, I don't have to go in and install the hard drive or external memory. It's all on the web. I can go to any computer in the building and find what I need, like a sales deal. I don't have to be at a specific workstation or computer," said Chris Heath, DX1 user and sales manager at Performance East in Goldsboro, North Carolina. T h e r a p i d g r o w t h o f D X 1 c u s t o m - ers prompted the decision to co-locate all DX1 service and support resources in the company's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters. Customer support has remained consistent according to the platform's director of cus- tomer support, CJ Pedler. "Providing exceptional customer service is what drives DX1. Our customers are the reason we're in this business. Dealership management platforms can be complicated and have their challenges, but we are always here to ensure our customers have the tools they need to run smooth operations," he said. PSB DX1 platform reaches 1,000th dealership milestone JEFF LITTLEJOHN 5% 6% 5% 4% 11% 7% 27% 29% 26% 24% 41% 22% 35% 25% 40% 42% 35% 42% 22% 25% 24% 24% 10% 18% 11% 15% 5% 6% 3% 11% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Overall Business Conditions New Unit Sales Used Unit Sales P&A Sales Service Department F&I Very weak Somewhat weak Average Somewhat strong Very Strong PLEASE RATE THE FOLLOWING: See Dealer Survey, Page 8 Significantly better 2% Somewhat better 20% About the same 42% Somewhat worse 29% Significantly worse 7% Significantly better 5% Somewhat better 28% About the same 29% Somewhat worse 29% Significantly worse 9% HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR DEALERSHIP'S PROFIT MARGINS NOW VS. A YEAR AGO? HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE CUSTOMER BUYING INTEREST IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR? AUGUST 2016 16-19: Club BRP Sea-Doo and Can-Am, Hyatt Regency Orlando, Orlando, FL 17: Kimpex Motorcycle & ATV/UTV Dealer Show, Drummondville, Quebec 18-20: Manti Mountain ATV Tour, Manti, UT 19-20: GBC Motorsports Heartland Challenge ATV/UTV Endurance Race, Carlisle, IA 19-21: World Championship UTV/ATV Derby, AMSOIL World Championship Derby Track, Eagle River, WI 20: Genuine Scooters Scooter Ride Filming, Midwest Action Cycle, Lake Geneva, WI 20: 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Budds Creek National, Mechanicsville, MD 20-21: Hidden Trails Sea-Doo Pro Watercross National Tour National Championships, Charleston, WV 22-25: Harley-Davidson Dealer Meeting, Boston, MA 23-26: Yamaha Watercraft Group Dealer Meeting, Chicago 27: 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Ironman National, Crawfordsville, IN 27: 2016 AMA EnduroCross, Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA 27-28: Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties National Vendor Presentation Product Expo, Monona Terrace, Madison, WI Aug. 27-Sept. 1: Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, Wendover, UT SEPTEMBER 2016 1-5: 3rd Annual Idaho Dunes UTV Invasion, St. Anthony Sand Dunes, St. Anthony, ID 3: 2016 AMA EnduroCross, Badlands Motor Speedway, Brandon, SD 3: FarmFest, Andover, NY 4: AMA Pro Flat Track Springfield Mile II, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL 10: 2016 AMA EnduroCross, Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT 10-11: 50th Annual Sno-Barons Haydays, North Branch, MN 10-11: Terracross Championship, Haydays, North Branch, MN 10-12: ODES UTVS Dealer Meeting, Arlington, TX 10-17: CFMOTO USA Dealer Meeting, CFMOTO, Hangzhou, China 12-16: Arapeen ATV Jamboree, Ferron, UT 15-17: San Juan ATV Safari, Blanding, UT 16-18: Sand Sports Super Show, Orange County Fair and Event Center, Costa Mesa, CA 19-23: Rocky Mountain ATV/UTV Jamboree, Richfield, UT 20-24: ATV Historical Color Tour, Buena Vista, CO 20-25: Hidden Trails Sea-Doo Pro Watercross National Tour World Championship, Naples, FL 21-24: 17th Annual Bikes Blues & BBQ Motorcycle Rally, Fayetteville, AR 23-24: Camp RZR New England, Jericho Mountain State Park, Berlin, NH 23-25: Legends Rally powered by Horsepower Adventures, Horsepower Ranch, Ensenada, CA 23-25: SCORE International Off-Road & UTV Expo, Westworld, Scottsdale, AZ 24: 2016 AMA EnduroCross, SCORE International Off- Road & UTV Expo, Westworld, Scottsdale, AZ 24-25: Ray Price Capital City Bikefest and Motors- ports Expo, Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC 24-25: North Carolina Motorcycle Dealers Associa- tion Summer Meeting, Raleigh, NC 30-Oct. 2: 23rd Annual Big East Powersports Show, Oncenter, Syracuse, NY OCTOBER 2016 1: 2016 AMA EnduroCross, National Western Events Center, Denver, CO Source: Powersports Business/BMO Capital Markets Q2 2016 dealer survey CALENDAR OF EVENTS Email dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com to get your industry event added to the calendar. Significantly better 1% Somewhat better 28% About the same 38% Somewhat worse 26% Significantly worse 7% IN GENERAL, TO WHAT EXTENT HAS YOUR BUSINESS OUTLOOK CHANGED COMPARED TO SIX MONTHS AGO?