July 23, 2007 – Snowmobile Report

swadminJuly 23, 2007

Snosuit Inc. Stays the Course With Its Current Distribution
Chris Leonard, owner of Snosuit Inc., has decided to continue consumer-direct distribution. He had announced earlier that he’d begin selling his one- and two-piece snowmobile outerwear through dealers.
Leonard said he decided to keep control of sales himself, and that he’s not 100 percent confident his brand is ready to go through other distribution channels.
“I need one more year of building brand identity,” he said.
As for his desire never to use packing tape or mailing labels again, he said that despite his dislike for the chore, he’s actually gotten quite good at it.
Dealers Honored at Annual Event
Two snowmobile dealers were honored at the International Snowmobile Congress in June for their business acumen and support of grassroots snowmobiling.
Civic Tire and Powersports of Westlock, Alberta, was given the Outstanding Snowmobile Dealership award from the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (CCSO). Civic Tire sells Ski-Doo.
Handlebar Motorsports of Durango, Colo., was the American Council of Snowmobile Association’s (ACSA) Dealer of the Year. It is owned by Gary Wilkinson, and sells Arctic Cat and Yamaha. Among other things, Wilkinson was recognized as a promoter of clubs, for his work with land-access issues and loaning money to his local club for a groomer. Other award-winners include:

CCSO’s Outstanding Organized Snowmobile Related Company: Zac’s Tracs, Black Diamond, Alberta, owned by Lori and Randy Zacaruk;

CCSO’s award for Outstanding Promotion and Development of Snowmobiling: the Forest Fringe Snowmobile Trail Association, Saskatchewan; and

CCSO’s Outstanding Snowmobile Club: Atikokan SnoHo Snowmobile Club, Ontario.
Klim Releases New Helmet
Rigby, Idaho-based Klim Aggressive Sledwear has added a helmet to its snowmobile outerwear lineup.
The custom-designed helmet features an unusual array of air vents and air scoops on the top and back of the helmet. “We tried to create the most ventilated helmet we could,” said Klim’s marketing manager John Summers. “There are 27 places where air can get in.”
The helmet weighs 2.9 pounds and is Snell-approved. It will sell for $375.
Summers said the helmets are made in Taiwan at a factory that also specializes in aerospace componentry. PSB

swadminJuly 23, 2007