June 28, 2004 – MC Stuff goes to Europe

Motorcycle Stuff’s expansion into Europe kicked off this spring with a major show. “Attendance by dealers was good,” David Scott, director of communications for Global Motorsport Group, Inc. (GMG), told Powersports Business. “I’d say they have about 250 signed dealers, but more than 4,000 retailers from all over Europe attended.”
MC Stuff is a subsidiary of GMG, along with Custom Chrome. Custom Chrome already runs a distribution system in Europe, based in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, and the plan is to have MC Stuff’s warehouse and distribution functions piggyback the Custom Chrome operation.
Previously known only as Custom Chrome Europe, work is underway to name the new unit Global Motorsport Group GmbH. Operations are headed by Holger Mohr. The firm’s facility, 50km from Frankfurt, recently underwent expansion and now offers 8,000 sq. meters.
An inside and outside sales staff has been appointed for the MC Stuff operation, which is led by Dirk Nickel. Scott says product will be made available for sport bike, cruiser and ATV markets. Targeted markets are Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands.
Brands featured in MC Stuff’s new 500-page catalog, available in German and English, include Teknic, Motorex, Ferodo, Scorpion exhausts, K&N, Corbin, Crane Cams, Arlen Ness, NGK and M2R, among others. MC Stuff says it expects an updated catalog to be available at Intermot in September.
“Not everything we do will be available over there, just because it may not apply to that market,” Scott said.
GMG currently employs 70 people for its European operations. Other Global facilities include its headquarters in Morgan Hill, Calif.; the MC Stuff Operational Office in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Custom Chrome Far East in Taiwan; Santee manufacturing in Sylmar, Calif.; and warehouses in Visalia, Calif.; Harrisburg, Penn.; South Bend, Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas.

Fox Racing Updates E-Business
Fox Racing, arguably one of the most recognized brands of motocross apparel in the world, selected the Unify NXJ application platform as its solution to provide real-time, on-demand catalog and inventory management information to its outside sales force and dealers.
Like many companies that are expanding their business, Fox Racing had several manual business processes that needed to be automated to improve their operational effectiveness. The Unify NXJ platform gives Fox Racing a way to automate processes, extend existing applications to gain greater efficiencies in its operations, and obtain instant access to corporate data, notably catalog information and inventory supplies, via the Web.
Fox says a key goal is to have the Unify NXJ platform speed response time and service levels of its catalog order processing unit by automating key business processes, enabling the company to have accurate information on their apparel inventory as well as timely reports distributed to the field.
“Fox Racing selected Unify NXJ to rapidly deliver Web-based solutions that will provide our customer service, field sales team and dealers with real-time access to our apparel inventory system,” said James Haskell, CIO, of Fox Racing. “Using Unify NXJ, our IT organization can quickly build integrated applications that provide a real-time view into our back end and inventory management systems, saving considerable time in the field and allowing us to significantly increase our responsiveness to our outside sales staff and dealers.”
Headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., Unify Corporation leverages its 24 years of software innovation to more than 2,000 customers worldwide, focusing on mid-size to large companies, including Cast & Crew Entertainment, Inc., Credit Lyonnais, Citigroup Inc., Documentum, GE Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Heineken, PCN, Pioneer Electronic and TravelCenters of America.

Dunlop/Goodyear Aims for ATVs
Goodyear and Dunlop have been together as a brand for 20 years. Goodyear has long served as a supplier of ATV tires to vehicle manufacturers, and Dunlop, just finding traction in the realm of quads, has kept a relatively low profile with its offerings. That is about to change.
“We’ve created an ATV-only business group in Goodyear North America, and we are separating ourselves from the motorcycle side and the Goodyear side,” said Dennis Teed, director of ATV sales and marketing for Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America, Ltd., told Powersports Business. “We have to address the aftermarket, but there’s been a disconnect and so you’re going to see a drastic change. By this time next year, we’ll be discussing some exciting new product.”
“This is a unique segment that we felt needed a unique approach,” said Phil Waters, national sales manager for the group’s ATV division. “One of our goals is to continue OE strength — we are on 75% of all the quads coming off the production line — but to also gain adherents through our run-flat technology, radial offerings, and other obvious strengths.”
To develop better recognition, the Dunlop brand will be marketed as a sports oriented tire and the Goodyear brand will be more recreational. Teed says advertising will follow what Dunlop has done in the motorcycle market.

TR Photography Services
Tucker Rocky vendors seeking a way to obtain high quality product images now can contact the Texas-based distributor to take advantage of a newly-offered service.
TR says its photographic professionals can produce high-resolution, color-corrected, digital images of everything from a table-top picture of a wheel bearing to full-action bike shots for its vendor partners. Have shots that need improvement? TR can also provide color-correction or digital retouching.
“In an ongoing effort to provide added value to our vendors and assist them with developing effective marketing communications, this service offering was born out of a desire to share our truly outstanding photographic talent and state of the art photography resources with our vendors,” Stephan Ulbrich, TR director of marketing told Powersports Business. “Our goal is to provide them with superior photography at a price that cannot be found elsewhere in the marketplace.”
Tell TR what is needed, and a price estimate will be returned within 48 hours.The offering also involves the purchase of existing images from Tucker Rocky catalogs. Priced at $85 each, the images come with quantity discounts.
For more information, contact Ulbrich at 800/283-8787 x9212.

FMF Revises Operation
Saul Elias, senior customer service rep and export coordinator for FMF Racing, Inc., says the company, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is spinning off its 909 brand to serve as a separate entity under the same roof.
“FMF’s 909 brand is being separated from FMF to function as its own line, and will have its own catalog to show controls, bars and graphics,” Elias told Powersports Business. “We’ve had so much growth in that area, it was beginning to overwhelm the set-up we had. Now we’ll have separate groups taking care of certain functions.”
Visit FMF’s Web site, www.fmfracing.com, for complete updates and a recently revised Technical Support page.

ITP Boosts Production
ITP’s Craig Peterson says the company has started to increase production of its Mud Lite tire to meet demand.
“Mud Lite tire sales have been phenomenal this year; taxing our supply,” Peterson told Powersports Business. “In fact, we’re doubling production as of June 1 through the fall.”
Not content with the recent increase in demand, however, Peterson said he wants to do more point-of-purchase marketing, and points to a new ITP wheel display available from distributors as an example of his intentions.
“We recognize the need for the consumer to receive as much information as possible, and so we’re also working on an easy-to-read sizing chart dealers can mount on the wall as another tool,” he said. psb