PSB Q&A

Q&A: Paul Prudhomme Product manager, Can-Am Spyder

Paul Prudhomme Product manager,
Accessories and clothing for Ski-Doo snowmobiles,
Can-Am Spyder

Paul Prudhomme
Paul Prudhomme

After starting his career with BRP in 1991, Paul Prudhomme has been serving as product manager for clothing and accessories at BRP, a division that accounts for approximately 16 percent of the company’s revenue. His portfolio covers the Can-Am Spyder and Ski-Doo snowmobiles. Powersports Business caught up with Paul while working the company’s massive new PG&A display at the Haydays snowmobile show in Minnesota.

1. What’s the purpose of this fancy display semi truck you’re showing off?
“We wanted to create the ultimate platform for our dealers to be able to provide the necessary tools and product for them to communicate to their customers … getting customers to be able to come in, have a wide selection of product on hand of all different sizes so that the consumers can try stuff on. It’s not easy for the dealers to do that, to bring this type of setup to an event like this.”

2. All products you sell here go to the local dealers. What’s in it for the parent company?
“It’s great for us, too, because we’re able to learn from it also as far as the feedback. We wanted to change the perception of the tours. The product we have here is all brand-new 2014. It’s retail pricing. There are no closeouts here, and our focus is being able to talk on current product. Typically when you come to these shows it’s a non-current flea market. We want to be able to show our brand positioning of our clothing and our accessories is in alignment with what the consumers expect as far as our brand.”

3. Where else will this semi truck be traveling?
“This truck is transformable. We’re doing snowmobile events right now, but we can convert it into Can-Am ATV and we’ll have this at our Can-Am Spyder owner events. It’s multifaceted how this trailer is able to function, but overall it’s to provide more knowledge to our consumers, supporting our dealer network and giving them a great tool to work the local shows and support what our brand is all about at a professional level.”

4. Is such an expanded footprint here a sign of PG&A’s growing importance?
“For sure. Our PG&A business has grown significantly in the last 10 years, specifically in the last five years. This is a reflection of it, but it’s also a reflection of how serious we are about the business. It’s not only that we’re building cool product. It’s the experience that we want to bring with it, too.”

5. Have the other OEMs been checking out your setup?
“It’s been interesting. They’ve been walking through and touching and feeling a lot of our product, which is cool. It’s great for the sport; it’s great for the industry.”

6. With products, tastes and trends constantly changing, how do you keep up?
“It’s challenging for me with my job to be able to one-up all the time what’s out there, or to be able to think of new ideas that never existed before, addressing consumer irritants and stuff like that. It’s really cool to be able to talk to consumers and sense how excited they are about products you’ve done with them in mind, enhancing their experience, making their ride even better or making them go further or explore longer or just enjoy their vehicle.”

7. Some shows have fallen off in recent years. What do you think about Haydays?
“Whether attendance is up or down, Haydays is an extremely important event for us. Anyone who’s anyone in the business is here, so it’s for sure an excellent spot to be present and also interesting for us to be able to poke around, walk around and see what the competition is doing, because everyone’s at this one event. It’s obviously a very important and special event for us to attend.”

 

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