Woods Fun Center – Austin, TX – Dec. 4, 2006

Contact
Woods Fun Center
11405 North IH 35
Austin, Texas, 78753
512/459-3311
www.woodsfuncenter.com
Owner
America’s Powersports
Business Profile
Woods Fun Center was started more than 30 years ago. In 1999, it became the first acquisition by America’s Powersports, which has become one of the industry’s largest dealership groups. Woods has a 32,000-square-foot facility and houses Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Polaris and Sea-Doo brands. It carries motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, PWC and boats. Woods has 85 employees.
Greatest Concern
Woods General Manager David Pearson said “our continuing relationships and coordination efforts with the manufacturers is key. Operating with the same basic guidelines and industry protocols is going to allow us to get better and more efficient within this industry,” he said. “If you take the supply chain dynamics that come out of any other industry, like the car industry, there is a lot more efficiency in the process and they can operate on the lower margins they’re dealing with now.”
What’s Hot
Although the off-road season is starting for Woods, Pearson said sports bikes and cruisers are the dealership’s biggest sellers. What’s the top brands for each segment? “Suzuki certainly is top of the market these day (in sport bikes) followed by Yamaha and Honda,” Pearson said. “Our Yamaha line dominates the cruiser market and the Honda Gold Wing is still a pretty powerful unit so it depends upon the niche you’re talking about.”
Customer Buying Trends
The most obvious one for Pearson is the increase in motorcycle sales to women. Cruisers and middleweight naked sport bikes are the top bike segments among female consumers, Pearson said.
Parts and Service
Woods has created a prepaid package for service as well as parts and accessories. The package can be purchased by consumers at the time of the new unit sale or afterward. Pearson said the package has even enticed consumers that have purchased their new units at other dealerships.
Promotional Home Runs
“Connecting with a lot of the charity organizations around here seems to have some good benefits for us because the community is very charity-driven,” Pearson said, noting the dealership has worked with the American Heart Association, the Katrina fund and other organizations.
Two years ago, the dealership hired a full-time marketing manager. When that move was made, the dealership also stopped working with an outside advertising firm. “It’s more manageable for us,” Pearson said of the store’s advertising, “and allows (the marketing manager) to be more involved in events and promotions. We have open houses going on and VIP nights and our bike night events that (the marketing manager) can influence significantly.”
The dealership also recently starting using a tracking device to get a better idea of what kind of traffic those marketing events draw.
Words of advice
“It’s all about the people,” Pearson said of his staff. “If you don’t have the right people onboard, it doesn’t matter how much cool stuff you got. It’s not going to go anywhere.”
— Neil Pascale
Powersports Business’ Power Profiles are conducted on powersports dealerships throughout the nation. If you would like your dealership profiled, contact Editor Neil Pascale at npascale@ehlertpublishing.com or by phone at 763/383-4422.