April 21, 2003 – Parts Pro
MOTO PRIMO MOTORSPORTS, LLC
2610 East 32nd St.
Minneapolis, Minn. 55406
612/729-7200
www.motoprimo.com
PARTS MANAGER
John Petersen, who also oversees PG&A at Motoprimo South LLC, Burnsville, Minn., and Vespa MN, Minneapolis, Minn.
THE STORE
Moto Primo has been open one year; showroom is 8000 sq. ft.; service and non-showroom is 10,000 sq. ft. Carries Ducati, Triumph, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta and Vespa.
CAREER
Employed in biology prior to moving to Minneapolis. Started working for Trackstar Motorsports in 1994 in the dual role of parts counter attendant and parts manager.
THE PARTS DEPARTMENT
About 2,000 Sq. ft. Parts department accounts for 30 to 40% of the dealership’s business.
MANAGEMENT
“I’m the parts manager for Moto Primo, LLC, and then I kind of overview Moto Primo South and Vespa MN. Our goal is to eventually have a centralized PG&A distribution center at Moto Primo. So I’ll have overview of all that, but still have people in position at each location.”Uses Lightspeed.
LAYOUT
Parts counter runs along the back of the store, but the dealership does have accessories spread throughout the building. “We kind of divide them by vehicle manufacturer, and we’ll place the accessories based on what’s in a certain location.”
DEALING WITH DISTRIBUTORS
Works with Parts Unlimited, Tucker Rocky, Lockhart-Phillips, Graves Motorsports, Spiegler.
THE PURCHASING PROCESS
Purchasing from Japanese manufacturers and Triumph is all done online. Petersen says he likes Ducati’s new online ordering program that allows him to check stock and communicate with the manufacturer’s parts warehouse in Ohio.
WHAT’S HOT
Moto Primo moves a lot of Sidi, Alpinestars, Arai, HJC, Joe Rocket, First Gear, and Ducati Corse gear and sportswear.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE
“The thing I’ve found hardest to cope with is making sure that there is a procedure of how parts get to these other locations and get billed. It’s easy to grab a part to check if it fits on a bike, but it seems real hard for some people to make sure that that part makes it back to my department. So, now, everything gets cashiered to other departments before it passes over the counter. Nut, bolt, fuse, everything.”
