The Powersports Industry & M/C Roadracing

People actually buy their stuff?

 

Yes I understand how it works. My point is very simple and here it is again. Most if not all NA industries have always had sales incentives (read in discounts/spiffs/exchange programs) in one type or another. Calling out tire companies for the cause of the problems in our industry is not accurate. Why not bitch the same way about helmet, battery, or oil discounting?

 

Nothing from them but I sell very few stones compared to the other main brands. It’s a Dunlop and Michelin world on the street side these days in my area.

 

CR, you just don't get it. Not everybody can retail everything in a franchise dealership (or independent) and they shouldn't. My point is and always will be if you want to be successful commit to it. And I sorry but if a store has 4 tires and 6 helmets on the shelf they aren't a tire or helmet shop.

 

I meant with MAP pricing?

 

Sorry I meant nothing from them on the MAP front. I’m sure they will fall in line as basically all the other top brands have done it.

 

Ehh, keeping much inventory doesn’t make sense these days. I will typically match what people can buy good tires for online and can have them as quick as they can.
I only ever keep stuff that will fit my bikes. If you start stocking different sizes and brands you WILL end up with old shit sitting on the shelf and that drives up the price of what you can sell other tires for. We don’t do near as many tires as we used to though. May be due to some of our customers no longer riding, may be caused by other shops opening in the area.

 

LOL

 

But motorcycles are dangerous,......

 

The contention was always with the distributors that the tire manufacturers supply, not any specific product. You made it a tire manufacturer issue. These screwings of the suppliers aren't new and they aren't going away. Where you manufacturers contribute to the screwing of the shops is that you know full well the distributors are doing it and have the nerve to blame the shop for the result.

 

Jeff,

I have been inside dealers that are large enough, and do stock plenty of tires, and the if they buy on program Pirelli and the customer comes in and wants brand dunlop or brand Michelin than the dealer either makes no money on the tire or so little its costing him money to ring it up, and he makes just a little on the install. The problem does not go away no matter how you look at it, If the manufacturers of tires do not enforce a MAP tire price and I mean enforce it. Developing a MAP policy and promoting it is worse than doing nothing at all. So it's simple you can say we don't need to do a MAP policy and enforce it because pricing is the dealers problem or the distributor's problem. You can say I don't care about dealers that don't stock tires, but the facts are I can see pricing all over the place for tires online, and go into a dealer and look at what dealer costs is and it's ludicrous. Now if that dealer buys enough from said distributor and buys "on the program" he can do OK, but that's my point and that's why dealers hate doing tires because tire companies don't take care of them. I have been involved in 2 and 3 step distribution for over 25 years in several industries both with and without MAP pricing policies and I can tell you MAP policies work when they are enforced and drive revenue for the Dealer, Distributor and Manufacturer, show me a case where MAP pricing had hurt a manufacturing company if it is done right and enforced. It's OK to offer incentives everyone does that, but when the norm is now margin and buy on the program it does not work...

 

Never said or suggested that. My point is as always if you want to succeed in any business do it well. Take advantage of the distributor's programs of the products you want to sell. Figure it out, buy right, market your services, know your shit, then sell and service your customer base well.

 

A long standing problem in the industry has been the lack of MAP across the board. Sure, it's not a problem with "riders looking for a discount", but the sales it generates hurts the industry as a whole.

MAP across pedal-bike products has been eye opening. Bikes, parts and pieces that cost just as much as motorcycle parts (hundreds to several thousand dollars), with the companies able to work together, rather than firebombing each other, trying to win a customer for one sale by selling at 5-over cost to someone. It's much more organized. And we're talking bikes that cost what an R6 costs.

 

Without MAP it’s a race to the bottom and devalues the product in the eyes of the consumer. Once you’ve hit bottom how do you go back up without replacing the “model” of the product?

How a dist or dealer choose to discount to their customer is their biz. But a mfg should try to maintain value in their product.

 

When I was fresh off the boat and got my first job at a dealership, I was blown away.
First the size of the PU catalog - then when I went to quote my first tire and was told to completely disregard the pricing listed in the catalog.
I remember thinking "what kind of games are these guys playing?"

Not to keep picking on the tire industry but it is such a highly visible and important product to sell, and it means a lot to a dealer's bottom line.
It is also something that the consumer is very price conscious about so they shop around.

My point is that I believe that it would benefit the industry if sales programs are made more attainable for the average dealer, to help them become more competitive.
It could be an accumulative program where they don't have to be loaded up but if they stick to one brand they get rewarded.

It is also nice to see that they care enough to implement MAP policies, finally.

Among the 1000s of dealers I have visited over the years, some have told me that they are not interested in being in the tire business as it is a lot of work for very little money.

 

Think there is no MAP on oem parts and they seem to do fine.

 

What is the difference of margin on a tire that everyone gets vs. the margin on an OEM part that only a dealer gets?

 

Totally different animal.

The two biggest difference are: dealer costs are the same/no tiered pricing or programs and OEM parts is a mixed market.

 

Depends on brands I gues but you can buy both tires and oem parts online or at dealer.

 

Not true...