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For starters, WSM turns to branding for new ProTorque electrical line

Distributor’s new ProTorque line gets merchandising enhancement

Step one. Develop the product.

Step two. Brand it and bring it to market.

WSM Distributing, Inc., owner Harry Benanti knows all about doing both, as his Bohemia, N.Y.-based company has been manufacturing and distributing performance products for 40 years.

Benanti’s latest undertaking is establishing a brand for the company’s new line of starters and alternators for the ATV, UTV, dirt bike, PWC, scooter and street bike segments. WSM also services the marine industry.

ProTorque Premium Electrical Products will be landing at dealerships soon, with a box that includes appealing colors and graphics. It’s a step that Benanti knows is important to the product’s success.

“Our starters had been in a plain white box. We’re going to try to establish a brand for our starters, which have a good maintenance history,” he said. “It’s a high-quality starter, and eliminates the need for lower-priced starters that are not very reliable. That’s our intention.”

WSM Distributing, Inc. has given its starters and alternators an improved image with a new merchandising approach.
WSM Distributing, Inc. has given its starters and alternators an improved image with a new merchandising approach.

And while the program for the new starter brand is geared at making the product more appealing to distributors, WSM will continue to offer the product to its own dealers as well.

“We’ll be importing it and it will be our brand, which will allow us to establish a level of reliability,” Benanti said. “We have other products that we brand already. Too many products I believe have no name, and therefore there’s no responsibility to deliver a quality product.”

Benanti reports that about half of the U.S. powersports distributor base has agreed to carry the starter and its new look.

With WSM catering to four product lines — PWC, motocross, ATV and inboard/outboard boat engines — it now has four warehouses with locations in Arizona, Florida and New York, along with a facility in Puerto Rico that targets the extensive number of PWC that are registered there.

 

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