Colorado Powersports – Boulder, CO – June 5, 2006

CONTACT
Colorado Powersports Boulder
1880 55th St.
Boulder, Colo. 80301
(303) 447-3500
Colorado Powersports Denver
2050 West 104th Ave.
Thornton, Colo. 80234
(303) 427-9000
www.copowersports.com
OWNER
Colorado Powersports Inc.
BUSINESS PROFILE
In 1998, Kurt Finley, Roger Shay and a group of other investors created Colorado Powersports Inc. to become part of an industry they enjoyed. Finley, Colorado Powersports’ president, loves to take a cruiser over the Colorado mountains. Since its inception, the company has made several changes in an effort to find the right formula, from working with different product mixes to surviving a recessed economy to figuring out how many locations is “just right.” At one point, Colorado Powersports had five retail locations. Today, the company has two: one in Boulder, Colo., the other in a northern suburb of Denver. Colorado Powersports is an authorized dealer for ETON America, Honda, Kawasaki, KYMCO, Polaris, Schwinn Motor Scooters, Sea-Doo, Suzuki and Yamaha products. Through those lines, the dealerships are able to offer a variety of ATVs, motorcycles, scooters, snowmobiles, personal watercraft and utility vehicles. Depending on the season, Colorado Powersports employs up to 60 people.
GREATEST CONCERN
“My greatest concern is the strength of the local economy,” Finley said. Why? Because it seems that everything else flows from there. Colorado was particularly hard hit by the recession earlier this decade and is still recovering, Finley said.
WHAT’S HOT?
“For us, probably the hottest things are the sport bikes,” Finley said. “Yamaha, Suzuki, some of the new [Kawasaki]. That’s usual for us in the spring time, but this year it’s been particularly strong.” ATV sales also are up this year and scooter sales rise as gas prices go up, Finley said.
CUSTOMER BUYING TRENDS
Utility ATVs, sport bikes and dual sports have long been consistent sellers for the company, Finley said. He’s also hoping that cruiser sales will take off in the near future as the local economy becomes stronger.
PARTS AND SERVICE
“Number one, we want to take care of our own customers, to be the provider of choice for people we sell motorcycles and ATVs to,” Finley said. “Secondly, we’d like to conquer other people’s machines. But first and foremost, we want to take care of our own and make sure they don’t want to go elsewhere.”
PROMOTIONAL HOME RUNS
Although Colorado Powersports holds a number of events throughout the year, one thing the dealership just started last year was to sponsor the AMA Nationals when they came to town. The dealership threw an evening party and brought in some riders. The dealership also set up a space at the actual racing event, which drew positive reaction from customers, Finley said.
WORDS OF ADVICE
“(Dealers) have to work on becoming students of the industry,” Finley said. “Get to know fellow dealers, (participate in) 20 groups, read trade magazines. Know what’s going on in their own store and in the industry. Join their state dealer association. (Dealers) have interests in common that need to be protected and pursued.”
— Lisa Young