June 1 Power 50 application deadline for dealers is near
Power 50 applications are coming in at an impressive pace as the dealer awards program enters its fourth year. This year’s Power 50 — with the support of sponsors CyclePro, Manheim Specialty Auctions and EFG Companies — promises to be the best yet, and we’re eager to begin shuffling through the applications this summer.
But you can’t be selected if you don’t apply, so make sure your dealership is “on this” prior to the June 1 deadline for applications. You can find the application online at www.powersportsbusiness.com/power-50, or send me an email and I can provide it to you in a different format.
We took the program to new heights in 2015, with the Power 50 dealer list being featured in full-page advertisements in recent editions of both Rider and Thunder Press, sister publications of Powersports Business. It’s one more value add that the Power 50 dealers experience. We’re proud to help tout and promote the dealerships that we believe set themselves apart with exceptional business operations and customer service. And by placing the advertisements in consumer-facing magazine as riding season begins, hopefully the tide rises even more. Large or small, multi-franchise or no franchises at all, all dealerships are encouraged to complete the application. The application process itself is a tool that will make your dealership better for having participated.
The 2016 Power 50 dealers will once again be announced at the Power 50 Awards Dinner, held Oct. 13-16 during AIMExpo in Orlando.
A SOLID TOP 4 PERFORMANCE
I was anxious to see how Powersports Business would fare at the 62nd annual Connectiv B2B magazine awards luncheon at Chelsea Piers last month in Manhattan. Of course, any short junket into Manhattan is bound to create some memories, and this one was no different. The hotel was directly across from Madison Square Garden, where the NIT championship was being played. Cool enough. But I’m a hockey guy, so I hopped aboard the subway at Penn Station and headed to the Islanders-Blue Jackets NHL game at Barclays Center.
PSB’s selection as an award finalist became serious business upon picking up the program. Our category of Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence) was second only to the presentation of the Grand Neal Award. Chief Investment Officer magazine came away with the top award in our category, and Advertising Age won the Grand Neal Award. Automotive News won the grand prize last year. So yes, it was incredibly cool to be sitting alongside some major players in the magazine publishing industry. But I still think we have more fun than any of them!
NIFTY INDEED
It’s time for a couple of more shout-outs to our 2016 Nifty 50 winners. Jason DeArmond from PRP Seats sent in a photo of some of the company’s team with the Nifty 50-winning Yamaha YXZ1000R overhead bag. Meanwhile, Ilar Paul Meeks of Great Day Inc. gathered his team to celebrate the company’s Nifty 50-winning product, the Quick Draw UTV Overhead Gun Rack. Keep those Nifty 50 team photos coming to dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com.
GET CONNECTED
It’s always a treat to go through our bi-annual audit statement from BPA, which shows that PSB is, in fact, reaching the audience of industry members that we say we reach. BPA also started including subscribers of the PSB digital edition into its analysis. Here are the states with the most subscribers to the PSB digital edition: California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas and Georgia.
AND THE SURVEY SAYS…
We present the results of the Q1 PSB/RBC Capital Markets Dealer Survey throughout this edition. As the only dealer survey of its kind in the industry, we’re able to provide the industry with a look at the successes and challenges that dealers are facing. Of the 120 dealers in the U.S. and Canada who took the survey, 31 of them chalk up more than $10 million in annual sales. Another 32 of them ring up between $5 and $10 million annually in sales. And 18 of them register $3-5 million in sales each year. Similarly, 28 of them are in the $1-3 million range in annual sales, and 11 of them have sales of less than $1 million each year. So it’s a wide swath, and we’re thankful for each one of them for participating in the survey. Send me an email if you are a dealer and would like to participate in the survey for Q2.
Here are some comments from dealers who completed the survey:
- We have had the wettest winter on record and it has dampened sales.
- Snow sales will suffer huge because of the 2015-16 winter here. Very little interest in motorcycles. Less interest in Slingshot than this time last year.
- Oil prices are killing us; they need to stabilize around $50-60 per barrel.
- Foot traffic and Internet leads are way off from last year.
- Our growth has less to do with OEMs and more to do with our aggressive forte into the used bike business. Half of my sales in Q1 have been used bikes.
- Anticipating 10 percent growth in street legal motorcycle sales, also UTV growth with Kawasaki and Honda.
- Business is busy in early March and looks promising.
- War on coal continues to hurt our market; we don’t see turnaround until Trump becomes President.
- Election year always has a big effect on us. The loss of coalminer jobs is hurting us.
- Some brands are bringing new products to the market and promoting them, Honda on the other hand has a very stale line of motorcycles! The model years they are selling does not match the selling year/season! Thus it’s all about discounts!
Dave McMahon is editor in chief of Powersports Business. Contact him at 763/383-4411 or dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com.
