G&S Powersports opens doors in Missouri
Purchased in March during the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, G&S Powersports of Marshall, Missouri, has officially opened its door to the public. Powersports Business staff reporter Nick Longworth takes us onto the showroom floor.
Situated on the lot of a former Casey’s Genral Store, G&S held its “soft” grand opening, with plans for a complete event in the spring.
“We love the location as it offers great visibility on a major street in town along with a large display area for motorcycles and also a place for test rides,” said Shane Gooden, part-owner with business partner is David Slusher. The two met at church.
“Once it was purchased we had to jump through a ton of rejections from banks on financing the project until we located Bud Summers with Exchange Bank of Missouri, who was able to put a package together for financing the project that made sense,” Gooden said. “But then COVID-19 struck and everything slowed to a crawl due to the Pay Check Protection becoming priority for all banks to process first. Our deal got pushed to the back burner, but eventually in late July we were able to close on the loan and get to fixing the building up and ordering inventory.”
However, due to COVID-19 and the consumer rush for powersports machines, there hasn’t been much of any. G&S offers new models from brands including Bloomer, Tao Tao, Vitacci and Wolf.
“The biggest challenge for opening this location has been what I call ‘COVID delays’… Delays in getting material to remodel the building, delays in getting supplies, signs, business cards, and delays in securing inventory,” said Gooden. “To overcome this we located a middle man distributor who buys in bulk directly from the manufacturers and he has helped up get inventory. To date we have purchased around 90 scooters, 45 four wheelers, 25 side by sides, and another 25 dirt bikes in the three months of operations. We are carrying inventory not many days at all before they sell.”
According to Gooden, the duo plans to open multiple locations in the future to become a premiere powersports dealer throughout Missouri.
How has COVID-19 impacted your progress for expansion? Drop us a line at NLongworth@PowersportsBusiness.com and let us know your story!
