Power 50 aims to honor dealers — and educate

With this edition of Powersports Business, we’re launching the Power 50 dealership honors program for 2013. You’ll remember the first incarnation of the Power 15. Last year, we got the program off the ground in the form of the Power 15. Now, because of the feedback and encouragement we’ve received from a variety of facets of the industry, we’re expanding.

We as a staff at Powersports Business will once again select the Power 50 dealerships. This time, though, we’re adding an element that will not only help us, but it will help you as well.

You’ll only need to complete an online application in order to apply to be recognized as one of the Power 50 dealers in the U.S. Just like last year, this program isn’t about who takes the glossiest photos of their showroom. Instead, it will provide both the dealership and the program with tangible results that will allow you to build for the future.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time developing a lineup of questions that dig into business operations, customer service and marketing tactics, just to name a few. Because of the format of the questions, we’ll be able to select those dealers who conduct business with a healthy dose of business acumen, including the basic premise that profitability is directly related to customer service. Do your customers drive past other dealerships so that they can spend their money with yours? Then you’ll want to be sure to take the time to enter the Power 50. Do you spend loads of time preparing for the future? Is the sale to the customer the start of a lifelong relationship? Please, tell us more by completing the application.

And like last year’s Power 15 dealerships, you can count on us to provide editorial coverage of the Power 50 from our three full-time staff writers and editors whose daily business is the business of powersports. Even more, those dealers selected as Power 50 winners will be encouraged to join us in Orlando at the inaugural American International Motorcycle Expo. As you know, AIMExpo turned to us to facilitate the educational seminars via the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo. The Power 50 Gala Event in Orlando will honor the Power 50, and once again provide a setting in which Powersports Business continues to Inspire Success.

To apply, send me an email at dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com, and I will forward you a link to the online application. Or you can visit PowersportsBusiness.com and click on the Power 50 button at the top of the page.

Presenters wanted

The launch of the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo has brought with it an impressive number of you who are interested in presenting a seminar. The deadline for the Call for Presentations for those interested in presenting a seminar in Orlando at AIMExpo is Monday, June 3. Be sure to complete the online application on PowersportsBusiness.com, or send me an email and I’ll provide you with a link. We’re excited about the interest in the inaugural event, and look forward to providing you with the sort of Market Intelligence that will help your run your business better.

More honors

As you’ve probably already seen in this issue, we’ve selected Harley-Davidson’s Keith Wandell as the 2013 Powersports Business Executive of the Year.

Industry consultant Sam Dantzler, ARI’s Roy Olivier, Ducati’s Cristiano Silei and GE Capital’s Sam Yourd, and were selected as Industry Leaders.

The positive reinforcement we received from all five honorees about what we do here at PSB every day and how we go about it goes a long way in making this publication such a pleasure to produce, so thanks to the time and energy to all five of you.

Check out a list of previous Executives of the Year and Industry Leaders on our website at PowersportsBusiness.com.

Somebody had to go

OK, it’s not every day that a trip to Taipei comes calling. But as I discovered in Taiwan last month, the powersports industry doesn’t do a great job of touting its global reach. One instance drove it all home. The loquacious Maria Angeles Juan Verdejo, general manager of worldwide brake systems manufacturer J.Juan, wanted to show me the international reach of her family’s Barcelona-based company. Essentially, if an OEM produces a motorcycle, its brake systems are from J.Juan. So we took a few steps over to the local Victory Motorcycles dealer’s booth, just so she could show me the tiny “J.Juan” stamp on the Vision’s cable. After talking all week with suppliers who wouldn’t-slash-couldn’t unveil their OEM partners, suffice to say that the components in powersports machines these days are truly global in nature.

Take, for instance, Shing Shing Long Industrial, Inc., produces CV joint axles, ATV drive shafts, ATV rear axles, transmission shafts, CV boots and other parts for motorcycles and ATVs, likely some on your showroom floor.

The company prides itself on its customer service, which is why it now employs 66 at its headquarters. Two eight-hour shifts of factory workers help fulfill the company’s 70 percent export business.

Elig, a brake pad manufacturer that was founded in 1998, continues to seek business in the U.S. as it grows its brand.

“We have focused a lot on the technical aspects of our products,” said Elig’s Mike Chen. “We didn’t pay much attention to the marketing. But now our quality is good enough for anyone, and we have had several distributors show interest in the U.S. market.”

Elig products are developed in its factory in Taiwan and tested by American Friction Technologies in Ohio. Unsurprisingly, Elig is a supplier to OEMs based in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

What’d you eat?

Beef noodle soup, pineapple pie and pork dumplings landed on my plate with frequency during my visit to Taipei for the 8th annual Taiwan Motorcycle Show. Fortunately, I fared much better than expected with the cuisine (especially with a fork!); likewise, the industry-only show proved to be a much more palatable affair than I had anticipated. I learned about our industry away from the show as well.

Once, from high in my 12th floor hotel room, I counted 50 scooters hitting the throttle en masse as the light changed from red to green. How far are we in the U.S. from the idea of using scooters as a mode of daily transportation? The future will tell.

Dave McMahon is Editor in Chief of Powersports Business. Reach him at dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com or 763/383-4411.