Florida dealership group expands with fifth location

Newest location will offer  unique brands and an unconventional showroom 

To stand out in a crowded market, the Sky Powersports Group is taking a novel approach for its fifth dealership.

The dealership, which is a new build on a 3.5-acre lot in Sanford, joins a saturated market of powersports dealerships in Central Florida. There are nearly two-dozen dealerships within a 30-mile radius of the new location. But according to co-owner Nate Stickney, this one will be entirely different, and aimed at a new customer base. 

“We’re kind of moving a different direction from your typical powersports design. You walk into your dealership and it’s been the kind of the same rigmarole since the 80s and 90s, there’s product everywhere — it’s kind of a cluttered look,” Stickney told Powersports Business.

Stickney and co-owner Ric Northey worked with a firm to create a more modern layout that integrates products with creative décor, all under an industrial, minimalistic design. 

“We don’t want sale racks, or product plastered all over the place on slat walls. We’re getting away from the old mentality,” Stickney said. 

The plans also call for a customer lounge and coffee bar to create a comfortable space that customers will want to visit regularly.

This unconventional design and philosophy will be supported by brands that also aren’t found in every dealership. While Indian Motorcycle will be a mainstay for the dealership, as it has been for Sky Powersports’ other locations, the new store will also have brands like Royal Enfield and Ural.  

“With these products we may only sell 30 or 40 a year, but it’s a newer customer — there’s profitability there and a uniqueness about it that we want. We want to be the place that you come to that has the different stuff,” Stickney added. 

What’s also unique about the new dealership will be how it reaches potential customers. Stickney, who has been in the Central Florida Powersports market since 2004, plans to do more outreach to the biker community, and partner with other businesses to develop a customer base.

“We’re trying to go out into the biker community and connect with these bikers and then bring them into the dealership,” Stickney said. “You can’t sit here and wait for the door to swing like we used to. That’s just not the case, you have to go out and get them.”

Sky Powersports has previously partnered with Ace Café in Orlando for group rides and meet-ups, and will extend the partnership with the new dealership. 

The overall goal for the new location is profitability, and top-notch customer service. But at the same time, Stickney wants to develop a community around the dealership, to focus less on selling and more on making the dealership a destination for motorcycle enthusiasts.

“We want customers to come there on a Saturday, just to hangout with us and kick tires, drink coffee,” Stickney said. “That was the thing back in the day in the 80s. We  got so caught up in driving retail and selling, selling, selling, that we got away from the culture of it all. We want customers to want to come here and hang out, and at the same time, they’ll open up their wallets to spend a little money with us.”