Dealer gets creative with WaveRunner addition
RJ Performance expands product offering to grow customer base
RJ Performance, a dealership in southeastern Iowa, has added Yamaha WaveRunners to its inventory with the hopes of attracting a new customer base.
RJ Performance sells a variety of powersports and outdoor power equipment, but the 2018 Yamaha WaveRunner lineup is its first foray into watercraft sales. Without another nearby competitor selling personal watercraft, owner and president Rick Canode believes that he can attract more customers from around the area this season, and even in nearby Missouri.
“It’s a small niche but I believe that there’s one there, and it gives my business a new customer walking in the door,” Canode said. “Yamaha was not so overbearing on our orders; it wasn’t laced with a bunch of requirements that we couldn’t handle.”
Canode said that the dealership plans to offer entry-level and mid-price range models, but will work to fill any order.
RJ Performance isn’t near any major bodies of water, but being in Ottumwa, Iowa, it is less than an hour’s drive west of Iowa’s two biggest lakes: Red Rock Lake and Rathbun Lake. Both see a lot of visitors from Des Moines and the surrounding region. Both lakes also have personal watercraft rental shops, and Canode himself has seen a number of them on the water while boating. He added that major bodies of water such as Lake of the Ozarks are only a few hours away, adding to the list of lakes where the WaveRunners could be used.
To develop this new side of their business ahead of the peak selling season, Canode recently renovated a section of their showroom to house the WaveRunners, complete with a custom painted floor that resembles water.
