Polaris issues statement on transfer of dealership’s ownership
Following is a statement dated June 17 from Polaris regarding the transfer of ownership of one of its dealerships.
“Last week, comments attributed to the owner of a multi-line dealership were posted that do not align with Polaris’ commitment to welcome all riders.
“The dealership has published an apology, and the owner has agreed to step aside in favor of new ownership who would maintain operations, thereby preserving the livelihoods of nearly 100 dealership employees and supporting the Polaris customers that rely on the dealership.
“Should that transfer not occur, Polaris will terminate our relationship with current ownership.”
A Bloomberg.com article goes behind the scenes of a similar-type scenario during the same time frame at Abernathy’s in Union City, Tennessee.
Read the Bloomberg article here.
— Dave McMahon, editor, dmcmahon at powersportsbusiness.com
Sounds like a first amendment law suit is coming to the doors of Polaris very soon. Polaris cannot consider itself speech police, regardless of how people might feel in the heat of the moment, and how they might react under their 1st amendment right. Polaris has no authority to force its opinions an ideals upon independent Americans.
Polaris might not agree, Heck I might not agree with what was stated. But America is a free nation with freedom of speech. Sometimes that speech goes against the grain of others beliefs, however its still allowed.
America is not Polaris America… It does not need Polaris taking action against independent business people in order to force its speech control agenda upon Americans. What Polaris did was wrong, and they should never be praised for such Communistic action
Polaris needs to immediately apologize for its unconstitutional actions..
If Polaris does not want to be associated with the dealership because of their ideals. let things stand at that juncture. Polaris went too far, forcing the dealership to align with its personal ideals in violation of the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.
The 1st amendment applies to the government. Polaris can Certainly pull its relationship with a dealer fo what a dealer says or does. It’s not a 1st amendment issue.
Each manufacturer has a “morals” clause that they can point to in situations like this. I disagree with the previous comments regarding over stretching by Polaris, but applaud them for seeking an amicable solution to keep 100 people employed. One can only hope that it is not simply a smoke screen by the dealership ownership to retain the franchise.
I would expect my manufacturer to uphold the value of the brand as Polaris did. You may not like how Polaris or Harley have handled this, you as an independent business person have the option to represent the brand properly and if you choose to violate policy then you must live with the consequences.
Don’t care if your Polaris, McDonald’s, Ford or any other franchise, when you sign your name you commit to following the agreement and acting responsibly.