Power Profiles

Fay Myers Motorcycle World – Greenwood Village, CO – Sept. 29, 2003

CONTACT
9700 East Arapahoe Road
Greenwood Village, CO 80112
303/744-6632
www.faymyers.com

OWNER
Gary Myers

BUSINESS PROFILE
“In January 2002 we suffered a catastrophic fire at our Alameda location,” says Jim Krebs, advertising manager of the dealership founded in 1948 by Fay Myers, Gary’s father. “The fire completely burned our showroom, took out 450 brand-new motorcycles, and just rocked our world.

“In the following months, it was imperative to do as much business as we could as quickly as we could. We found a closed Hugh M. Woods building materials store in Greenwood Village, 10 miles away. In January 2003 we finally shut down the Alameda Avenue store because the business came with us to Greenwood Village.

“That wasn’t all that happened. In March 2003 a blizzard left three feet of snow on the roof and it collapsed. We lost half our showroom and another 150 brand-new motorcycles. We’re pressing forward and will come out of this bigger and stronger than ever, because of the tenacity of the people who work here.” Carries Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Ducati, and Aprilia. “Motorcycles are our mainstay,” says Krebs. “Kawasaki makes us take six PWC per year, so we do offer them.” About 100 employees in Spring/Summer, 65 in the off-season.

GREATEST CONCERN
“We are fighting a somewhat sluggish economy,” says Krebs. “That’s our real battle right now.”

WHAT’S HOT?
“The Honda CBR 600RR is doing very well for us, and the Suzuki GSXR 1000 is one of the hotter models,” says Krebs. “We have a very large parts and accessories department with everything from leathers to helmets to gloves to T-shirts to kids’ apparel.”

CUSTOMER BUYING TRENDS
Krebs says the dealership’s target is a 23-year-old male, “but we have people across the board. We’re in a business center, so we get a lot of professional people in suits, and blue-collar guys who work in the sweatshops.
“We have always accessorized units and have always brought our customer back to the parts and accessories department upon completion of the sale. Just about every motorcycle is financed. Although a lot of customers don’t qualify for the special OEM financing incentives, we have our own financing. We work with five credit unions and four banks. We can get just about anybody financed.”

ANTI-POWERSPORTS ISSUES
“Our closest anti-powersports issue was on Lake Powell in Utah, but I believe that has been resolved,” says Krebs. “I don’t think we have any political issues that are holding us back, but the Denver area is a few months behind in terms of the economic recovery that the rest of the country seems to be experiencing.”

PARTS AND SERVICE
Fay Myers has 18 staffers in the parts department, and 12 in service (eight full-time mechanics, three service writers, and “a lot
kid”). “Since the roof collapsed, we are breaking ground this month on a major facility renovation and expansion,” says Krebs. “By this time next year we’re going to really be a Taj Mahal of motorcycle dealerships. Greenwood Village didn’t like the architecture of the old Hugh M. Woods building, so we’re remodeling and bringing this building up to the standards that the city would like to see.”

WORDS OF ADVICE
“Hang on through the tough times because there always seems to be a silver lining,” says Krebs. “We have had major setbacks here, but if you just stay focused and realistic, I think you can pull through just about anything.”

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