Alpin Haus – Amsterdam, NY – March 10, 2007

CONTACT
Alpin Haus
4850 State Hwy. 30N
Amsterdam, N.Y. 12010
88/426-1393
www.alpinhaus.com
OWNER
Bud Heck
BUSINESS PROFILE
Not unlike an octopus, Alpin Haus has many arms, all connected to the same body. In Alpin Haus’ case, however, the arms are different leisure pursuits. In addition to selling powersports, the four-location company sells RVs, boats, pools, spas and snow skis and snowboards. In fact, the New York dealership started out as a ski shop in the mid-1960s and its skiing roots lent Alpin Haus its name, which translates from German as Alpine House. Over time, RV sales have come to dominate the chain, but ATVs, snowmobiles and PWCs play an important role at Alpin Haus’ Amsterdam location. Snowmobiles were the first power products to land in the dealership, starting with Ski-Doo in 1968. The company has since added Can-Am and Sea-Doo lines to round out its BRP offerings. Alpin Haus also carries Yamaha snowmobiles. It has twice been named one of New York’s Business Review’s “Great Places to Work in the Capital Region” for companies with 151-500 employees. In 2006, it was named the RV Dealers Association Top Quality Dealer of the Year. Given its diverse offerings, the company’s vision statement is quite appropriate: “Everyone is family in our Haus.”
GREATEST CONCERN
The changes and adjustments that have to be made following government regulation is one of Alpin Haus’ top concerns, says Dave Lindsay, sales manager at the Amsterdam location. Particularly in the vehicle arena, government mandates have been tough to keep up with, but “manufacturers have been very proactive and reactive as to the technology that they’ve made available,” Lindsay said.
WHAT’S HOT
With a healthy snowfall finally having arrived in the region before late in the season, snowmobile sales have been uplifted. The Ski-Doo brand has always been popular with Alpin Haus customers. This year, anything with the sled’s XP chassis is flying out of the store, Lindsay says. “We haven’t had a lot of snowfall for the last three years, but the big storms we had last February and March got people thinking about snowmobiles again and early snowfall this season made them come out and buy.”
CUSTOMER BUYING TRENDS
Savvy customers use the Internet to do a vast amount of research before walking into the store, Lindsay says. They learn endless details about the machines they’re interested in from OEM Web sites and enthusiast sites they participate in. “It’s brought their level of education up, and they can tell you just about anything about the model they want, and they can chat back and forth with other riders.”
PARTS AND SERVICE
Alpin Haus has service centers at each of its locations, but the Amsterdam location is home to its stable of highly trained powersports technicians. All are factory trained. There are three personnel in the shop who work solely on snowmobiles. In all, the Amsterdam shop has nine technicians who work on snowmobiles, ATVs, boats and PWC. “Because we carry a wide array, you have to have specialists,” Lindsay said. “As technology improves and gets more complicated, you have to have technicians that specialize in certain areas.”
PROMOTIONAL HOME RUNS
Alpin Haus favors events that not only draw in customers but also help support the community. Its annual custom car, truck and motorcycle fundraiser is a prime example. The company also participates in Toys for Tots events, and it worked with a Make Strides for Breast Cancer walk.
WORDS OF ADVICE
“Control your inventory and train every day on product knowledge and sales techniques,” Lindsay noted. “You have to know your competition as well as you know your own product. Customer service is No. 1. Everything else takes care of itself.”
— Lisa Young