Britt Motorsports – Wilmington, NC – July 24, 2006

CONTACT
6789 Market St.
Wilmington, N.C. 28405
Phone: (910) 791-8321
www.brittmotorsports.com
2301 LeJeune Blvd.
Jacksonville, N.C. 28546
(910) 577-5850
2106 Highway 70 E.
New Bern, N.C. 28560
(252) 634-2545
Factory Clearance Center
2410 West New Bern Road
Kinston, N.C. 28504
(252) 523-9302
OWNER
Scott Britt
BUSINESS PROFILE
Scott Britt is continuing to build his family business, which started in 1976 when his father purchased a Yamaha dealership. The younger Britt now owns a custom motorcycle shop and four dealerships, including Wilmington, N.C. That location, which features Yamaha, Kawasaki, Big Dog and Ridley vehicles, will change in the fall when the Britts move about a quarter mile away into a new 25,000-square foot facility, much larger than the existing store. Britt also recently bought out his larger competitor in Kinston, N.C. Britt’s new Kinston store, which is being remodeled, will feature Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and American IronHorse. Three of Britt’s stores feature that unusual combination — metric and American cruiser bikes. “I don’t think it’s for everybody because quite frankly, it’s two different businesses altogether,” Britt said of having metric and American cruiser bikes. “You have to treat your customers differently.
“It also takes a different level of service. A guy does not want to watch a mechanic work on a PW50 and turn around and work on his $30,000 custom Big Dog.”
GREATEST CONCERN
“There’s a lot of changes right now that’s going to regulate custom motorcycle builders,” Britt said. “If they start changing emissions to where they start choking the little guys out,” then the overall economy loses. “There’s so much American technology that comes from small business, not major corporations,” Britt said, noting that without that innovation from the small U.S. business owner, more jobs will be lost to overseas companies.
WHAT’S HOT?
“The custom metric industry is, I have no doubt, one of the fastest growing markets in our whole industry right now,” Britt said. “All of the American builders have decided they’ve done everything they can do with a Harley.” Now, Britt said, they’re looking at the metric market. “In the American market, there is a whole lot more of a buzz than there was even six months ago,” he said.
CUSTOMER BUYING TRENDS
Within the past five months, Britt became a dealer of Ridley motorcycles, bikes that feature automatic transmissions and often are marketed toward female riders. “I think Ridley in the last year has changed directions,” Britt said. “I certainly see them growing in the marketplace.
“I got the Ridleys not for people who may step up from a scooter, but some of these guys who buy the upper-end American motorcycles have wives that would like to ride also. It’s a business we see growth in.”
PARTS AND SERVICE
Britt’s new Wilmington store will feature a high-profile tire and lube center. The center will have four bays separated from the rest of the service department. The bays will be visible through big glass windows that will be located near the customer lounge area. “As I’ve been taught by Ed Lemco, people that are wearing out their tires are riding their motorcycles, and if they’re riding their motorcycles, we want them talking about Britt Motorsports. So we’re really going to go after the tire business in our community.”
PROMOTIONAL HOME RUNS
For the past three years, Britt has put on up to three bike nights a week and numerous poker and toy runs. “I try to do anything I can do to be involved with the local community of motorcycles,” he said, noting that he doesn’t care what brand of bikes are involved or where the riders purchased them.
Britt also firmly believes in advertising, especially radio advertising. Up to 60 percent of his advertising budget goes to radio as his ads run on one to three stations every day. “It has created a huge business awareness, not brand awareness,” he said. “They hear Britt over and over.”
WORDS OF ADVICE
“Get active in your community,” Britt said.
“I just think community involvement with supporting your local motorcycles is such a huge project.”
— Neil Pascale