Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/743349
www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • November 7, 2016 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER Yamaha Motor Canada is teaming up with Garage Composites to provide exclusive powersports dealership peer review groups known as "20 clubs" in an effort to bolster store profitability. The peer review groups will include dealer staff from non-compet- itive stores throughout Canada and be moderated by members of Garage Composites, the powersports industry leaders in 20 clubs and management and in-store training. "Many of our dealers participated in a recent dealer show that featured Garage Composites' owners Sam Dantzler and Tony Gonzalez and enthusiastically endorsed the opportunity to have more in-depth, next-level business learning opportunities with these industry educational leaders," said Peter Smallman-Tew, vice president of sales and marketing for Yamaha Motor Canada. The business learning opportunities for Yamaha Canada deal- ers will include Garage Composites' in-depth composite reports detailing different department profitability benchmarks,. as well as face-to-face peer review from their Canadian counterparts. These special Yamaha Motor 20 clubs will only include Canadian dealers. "For dealer principals willing to invest in their business and make the 20 club commitment, the education and feedback you will receive and the increased results you will realize will far outweigh the necessary time and financial investment," said Smallman-Tew. Yamaha Motor Canada is supporting the educational effort by allowing a number of its dealers to use co-op to help cover the cost of the 20 clubs. YAMAHA CANADA TEAMS UP WITH DANTZLER FOR 20 GROUPS NEWS 4 ... DragonFire general manager retires 4 ... BRP adds to management team 4 ... Dominion, NCC Group partner FINANCIAL NEWS 12 ... Harley-Davidson Q3 results 14 ... Synchrony, Kawasaki team up 14 ... Bad Boy Off Road financing offer OPINION 15 ... From the Editor 15 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com PSB: FOCUS PG&A 18 ... Parts/Drag host NVP in Madison 20 ... CDK Global Recreation PG&A study ATV/UTV 22 ... Mule Pro-FX Ranch Edition released 24 ... Hoonigan creates Maverick X3 video MOTORCYCLE 27 ... Dealer draws customers in with grills 28 ... KBB: Honda tops online search 29 ... BMW's self-balancing bike SNOWMOBILE 32 ... Polaris co-founder passes away 32 ... Arctic Cat offers free trail pass AFTERMARKET 35 ... Hot Products SOLUTIONS 36 ... Steve Jones 37 ... Paula Crosbie INSIDE Bass Pro Shops acquires Cabela's Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Incorporated (NYSE:CAB) on Oct. 3 announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bass Pro Shops will acquire Cabela's for $65.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of approximately $5.5 billion. In addition, upon closing, Bass Pro Shops will commence a multi-year partnership agreement with Capital One, National Asso- ciation, a wholly-owned national banking subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corpora- tion (NYSE: COF), under which Capital One will originate and service the Cabela's CLUB, Cabela's co-branded credit card, and Bass Pro Shops will maintain a seamless integration between the credit card program and the com- bined companies' retail operations and deep customer relationships. A driving force behind this agreement is the highly complementary business philosophies, product offerings, expertise and geographic footprints of the two businesses. The essence of both Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's is a deep pas- sion to serve outdoor enthusiasts and support conservation. The combination brings together three of the nation's premier sporting brands: Cabela's, a leader in hunting; Bass Pro Shops, a leader in fishing; and White River Marine Group, a worldwide leader in boating, which is part of Bass Pro Shops. PSB Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties hires three new sales reps Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties have made three additions to their sales rep staff. Drag Specialties named Kevin Hughes as the new sales rep for the Southeast region, with Scott Olson and Tra- vis Schmid being added to the North region lineup. Hughes will cover western Pennsylvania, northeast West Vir- ginia and northeast Ohio. Olson will be responsible for Montana and Wyoming. A veteran of the Billings, Montana, powersports community, he has owned and managed several local powersports shops. He is a lifetime member of the Billings Motorcycle Club and avid participant in pro class hill climbs. Schmid will cover northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota. He has spent the last six years as the parts and accessories manager at Dillon Brothers Harley-Davidson. line of accessories for Jeep and truck enthusiasts, including products manufactured under its seven proprietary, industry- leading aftermarket brands: Pro Comp, Rubicon Express, Smittybilt, Poison Spyder, G2, LRG and Trail Master. TAP is the largest retailer and installer in the North Ameri- can market, selling through its own retail and online network while also supporting numer- ous independent accessory retailers/installers. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2016, TAP generated approximately $740 million in sales, and from 2012 through 2015, achieved compound annual sales growth of 15 percent and compound annual EBITDA growth of 17 percent. "We are excited to add TAP's market leading multi-channel business, proprietary brands, proven management team and experienced employees to the Polaris portfolio," said Polaris chairman and CEO Scott W. Wine. "This transaction is consistent with our long-term strategy, provides us an imme- diate leadership position in a growing market and allows us to accelerate Polaris' growth and profitability. TAP's products and services for customers in the off- road four-wheel-drive (4WD) market correspond closely to our Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) business. Further, by broaden- ing TAP's proprietary product lines, expanding its retail and distribution footprint, where appropriate, and cross-selling both companies' extensive prod- uct offerings to a large combined installed base, we believe we will create significant value for our stakeholders. Our similar cultures, centered on innovative brands and performance, make TAP a great addition to Polaris' expanding portfolio." "Over the past 55 years, our employees have built a company that prides itself on serving our customers with quality products at competitive prices," said Greg Adler, TAP's president and CEO. "We see tremendous opportunity for further growth as we become an integral part of the Polaris organization. Combining TAP with Polaris' aftermarket brand portfolio facilitates significant synergies, while Polaris' financial resources provide the backing we need to pursue a variety of growth prospects we have identi- fied across the organization." This acquisition creates a leading company across the 4WD off-road enthusiast market and extends Polaris' presence in aftermarket accessories to attract new consumers to Polaris' exist- ing portfolio. In particular, TAP's four-wheel-drive aftermarket products are highly complemen- tary to Polaris ORV business. TAP manufactures and sources seven proprietary brands and sells and distributes prod- ucts through multiple chan- nels, including 75 4Wheel Parts stores and two robust online platforms (www.4wheelparts. com and www.4wd.com). TAP sells its brands, as well as more than 200 non-proprietary lead- ing brands, through its own distribution channels and various independent retailers/installers. Polaris' financial strength creates opportunities to accelerate TAP's market penetration, and where appropriate, sell select Polaris aftermarket brands through TAP's retail outlets. MULTI-DEALERSHIP GROUP CLOSES STORES American Heritage Motor- cycles (AHM), a five-dealership group that launched in 2014, announced via email to its cus- tomers on Sept. 26 that it was closing all of its stores. AHM was started by Dan Finkelman from Columbus, Ohio; Rob McNish from New York; husband and wife Celia Sinclair and Jeff Sinclair, both from Cleveland; and Terry Sul- livan, also from Cleveland. The five owners had a combined 65 years of management consulting, including working with Polaris, before opening their first dealer- ship, AHM Chicago West, in South Elgin, Illinois. As of the closing, AHM had five dealerships — two in Illinois and three in Ohio. They were: AHM Chicago West in South Elgin, Ill.; AHM Crossroads in Highland Park, Ill.; AHM North Coast in Willoughby Hills, Ohio; AHM Cincinnati in Loveland, Ohio; and AHM Burning River in Sheffield Village, Ohio. All five locations carried Indian and Vic- tory motorcycles. Four of the loca- tions carried Slingshot, and two stocked Polaris off-road vehicles. In the email to customers, AHM said several potential buy- ers were looking into acquiring its franchises. "We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to have served you, and we know that our shared pas- sion for these great Polaris prod- ucts will be rewarded long into the future," the email concluded. Since then, Indian Motor- cycle of Libertyville in Illinois announced on Facebook that it has been approved to service AHM customers' RpmOne prior- ity maintenance contracts pur- chased for AHM for their Indian motorcycles. BRP WINS PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE BROUGHT BY ARCTIC CAT Montreal-based Fasken Mar- tineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, announced that it represented BRP with success in a major pat- ent infringement lawsuit. In a lengthy judgment released on Sept. 16, Federal Court Judge Yvan Roy dismissed a patent suit brought against BRP by Arctic Cat, Inc. Arctic Cat had accused BRP of infringing a patent relating to electronic engine control for See Hot News, Page 4 SCOTT OLSON KEVIN HUGHES TRAVIS SCHMID Sam Dantzler will work with Canadian Yamaha dealers.