Dealer Expo 2006

Tucker’s hands-on catalog
DALLAS — Bill Carter, Tucker Rocky’s vice president of marketing, calls the company’s Dealer Expo booth an “8,300-foot version of our catalog.”
“We try to get everything in there that we can that’s new or key brands,” Carter said at the company’s annual sales show in Dallas.
Firstgear, one of those key brands, will have its own booth this year. Tucker Rocky recently acquired the brand from Fairchild Sports.
New Firstgear apparel will be shown at booth No. 301A, a 10 by 30 foot booth that will be adjacent to Tucker Rocky at No. 101.
The product display will include the entire Firstgear line of jackets, said Stephan Ulbrich, Tucker Rocky’s director of marketing.
“The FG brand is an outstanding line of function-first, all-weather apparel for cruisers, sport bike riders, touring riders and adventure touring riders,” he said.
Besides Firstgear, another addition to the Tucker Rocky area will be, as Carter called it, “the LBZ circus.” Tucker Rocker recently purchased the license to LBZ, an apparel line known for its punk-rock fashion and racy Dealer Expo booths.
LBZ creator Mike Russell promised an even livelier booth this time around.
“We’re going to ramp it up even more because we want to get these guys really fired up,” Russell said, referring to Tucker Rocky sales reps that will be selling the apparel for the first time this year.
Expect to see plenty of other new products, from helmets to apparel to ATV hard parts.
“It has a lot to do with stuff the dealer can touch and feel, like an exhaust line,” Carter said on how Tucker Rocky annually organizes its booth.
One element that will be changed is the “The Biker’s Choice Garage Experience,” said Dave Howe, marketing coordinator for Tucker Rocky’s Biker’s Choice.
Howe said Biker’s Choice is planning more bike builds, product demos and other activities for their trailer at various outdoor consumer events around the country, but it will not be at either the V-Twin or Dealer Expo events.
Biker’s Choice will have products on display at Dealer Expo and have a couple “Bike-In-a-Box” kit bikes there as well as information on new products.
Like other distributors, Tucker Rocky also plans show specials for the Dealer Expo.
“Everybody does it,” Carter said, before laughing and adding, “We’ve had people joke that when we get around to Indy, everything at Tucker Rocky is on sale.” psb