The Powersports Industry & M/C Roadracing

I'm sure someone in the industry can explain this but I am pretty sure Walmart DOES NOT PAY FOR THE STOCK ON THERE SHELVES UNTIL IT IS PURCHASED AND LEAVES THE STORE.

An auxiliary to this is, if there is stuff taking up shelf space (not profitable enough) for the retailer they just ship it back to the supplier. Tough luck.

The big retailers (Walmart, Target) are the thousand pound gorillas in the room. They have so much authority to make or break a supplier they get arrangements small retailers can only dream about. I used to work for a company that supplied Walmart. They called their suppliers "venderslime" and meant it. Their vender negotiation rooms at the Bentonville headquaters main entrance were epic in their smackdowns.

 

I think, you’re spot-on. That’s exactly how I stocked tires.

I kept common size ME880 for cruisers, as they’re a good tire with an identity with the cruiser crowd. All the Gold Wing options, because those guys are picky. Several 120/180/190/200 sets of sport and sport-touring tires. Never a day went by we weren’t putting tires on stuff. And, if we had them, most likely, the bike owner wouldn’t balk much at pricing. I had what looked like a lot of tires in stock, but, it was about the minimum to provide decent service. ATV/UTV was order-only, since there are so many varieties. But, did keep 4-5 big wheel kits.

 

Todd is good people! And Nick is not so bad either...

 

I’m not certain on your opening statement. I do know for fact, Target bought the products we supplied. Our seven lines resulted in ~$1.4M in annual sales. I no longer work where I did, so not sure what things are like, today.

An independent Frito-Lay driver once told me he bought the shelf space for his products. There were small marks on the shelves, denoting vendor spaces. He was throwing another brand’s products on the floor, which is what prompted me asking about it. Dude was lit.

Walmart treats vendors, suppliers, and anyone else the worst of any company I’ve had to work with. Their arrogance and behavior is despicable. It’s terrible when an employee takes on that attitude, when they only receive a paycheck from the place; they don’t own it. Even then, there’s no excuse for being a shitty human being.

 

What I find odd is that while the parts business is going to hell (the bicycle business is in the same basket) one would think the service industry would be taking up the slack.

Shit, people can't change their own chain anymore, never mind changing a tire.

Is there not enough money in that service part of the business?....

 

The service side is tough right now, there are not enough trained mechanics to fill the need, getting the right information to the mechanic to make the repair is difficult as well, there are so many ways that information is delivered by the OEM's. There seems to be two types of work being done right now in the OEM dealership service department. Regular Maintenance, and then heavy repair. The B level and upper C level work has mainly gone away with how good bikes are these days. The work across the board has shifted to offroad in SXS, ATV then Dirtbike.... So it will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years. I predict dealers will continue to consolidate locations, and the ones that make it are the one that focus on customer service and service sales.

 

I sure miss the Old Yamaha of Canton...Alta, LauraAnn, Rob & Sean, Step, and the boys.. was like buying from family.

 

I try to keep my shop like the shops I used to hang out at when I was a kid in the 70's. We have beer and coffee and races on TV. Some people stop by after work and hang out a bit before going home. We are nearly 100% making $$$ off of labour.

 

Yes, and for the tire business which is more of a service/sale business you need the proper equipment, a decent inventory, willing to mount tires for a fair price while they wait. So in other words act like a real tire store and know your tire shit inside and out. And by the way this is was "commitment" comment I was roasted about in previous posts. Doesn't sound to hard to me.

 

That's the one arena the internet can never take away from the local shop. There will never be a "click here to install" feature. Parts can be bought from a warehouse, but the vast majority of owners can't do anything with it once it arrives.

 

Then sell it to the tire store at a fair price. Doesn't sound too hard to me.

 

They do.

 

The only thing you can count on in this world is change. Like every other industry ours has continued to change over the years as it should. There are several factors that are affecting the motorcycle industry at this time. IMO one of the biggest is the lack of interest in riding shit from the millennials. They have grown up during a time when technology was exploding and that is typically where their interests are concentrated. They would rather have a new iPhone than a GSXR1000.

That shit is what it is and it's not going to change. The focus needs to be on the Post Millennials moving forward. Collectively we all need to work to bring new riders into the sport. You get this done by showing people how kick ass this shit is not by crying about how shitty you think things are because they are different than they used to be. Even if things are not amazing in the moment you need to broadcast a positive image. We need to give people reasons to want to invest their time and money in motorcycling and racing. Ask yourself if reading this tasty thread makes you want to be part of the industry or go buy a new bike?

Be part of the solution, not part of the fucking problem. Personally I love being part of this industry, riding the bike (especially with the kid) and plan to be right here for the next several decades.

 

I’m trying, brother.

This past fall on a Saturday, I invited a friend to ride along to my former employer for spark plugs. While at the counter bullshitting with my former co-worker, I turn around to see my friend sitting on a Gold Wing, while talking to a salesman. He said after 5yrs of being off motorcycles, he was ready for another. I encouraged him to do it and it was all he talked about on the way home. That night, he fills out an online credit app with the dealer. Tuesday morning, they called him with approval. When he tells me, I’m thinking he’s buying the Gold Wing. Pfft! He bought an MT-10, of which he’d never even seen in person. Haha. Since then, he’s bought complete gear, head-to-toe, and we’re having a blast. Next year, we’re going to get him setup with a suit and hitting the track. That’s been a longtime dream of his and I’m happy to take him to do it. It’s not quite the same as you and Max, but, enjoyable just the same.

I appreciate all you’ve done for me, others, and the industry.

 

I used to say the same thing... until you say why the hell not. It’s nice to have unstriped bolts. I still pick my knee up to save knee pucks.

 

But where is Brand B with this?

 

Great notes Spooner, and finally comments from somebody actually in the industry besides myself and a few peeps that are working at shops/dealers.