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38 • April 3, 2017 • Powersports Business MOTORCYCLE www.PowersportsBusiness.com back on the showroom floor because now we have parents coming in with kids because they can afford to buy them something," Ratz said. SSR sales also boost the morale of the sales department, as Logan Motorcycle Sales sells 8-15 of the bikes each month, and salespeople are excited to see new faces in the dealerships. He's also found that once parents buy an SSR bike for one kid in a neighborhood, soon other parents will be in looking for the same bike. As a sales manager, Mercer is glad she can send a family away with an SSR with little concern about the quality. She said the units rarely come back for anything but maintenance. "As far as something for a child to use and it to be inexpensive, that's the route to go," she said. All of the SSR and Benelli models are manufactured in China, and quality control is assured from the factory all the way to the delivery to the dealership, Harris explained. "Quality control is in two phases: 1) SSR Motorsports employs a quality control staff in China to review product before shipments leave the manufacturer's plant; 2) All ship- ments from the factory are checked at our U.S. warehouse to be sure the product is exactly as we expect before we ship to dealers," he said. In addition to the quality, dealers appreciate the price and the margin. Ratz and Mercer said it's easier to sell a family on a $440 50cc bike than one from a competitor that's three times the price. The same goes for the entire SSR lineup. "Value-wise, when you get up into their 250s and 450s, they're cheaper and they look just the same," Ratz said. Though the MSRPs are less expensive than those offered by SSR's competitors, the com- pany leaves room for a generous margin for its dealers. "The SSR Motorsports business model is unique from the other manufacturers," Har- ris said. "We offer dealers a larger than normal dealer margin, up to 55 percent. We stock parts for daily shipments. We stock inventory, so dealers can order daily, weekly or monthly as they need product, and with reasonable floor- ing terms, a dealer can control his inventory and never pay flooring costs or very little pay- ments with good product movement at retail, reducing a dealer's largest expense." The initial buy-in for accessories, parts, décor and signs costs about $1,000 per dealer, and most start with $18,000-$50,0000 of inventory. Credit-worthy dealers can qualify for 120 days free flooring. In 2017, SSR is hoping to expand its dealer network by another 100 dealers. Through early February, SSR was on track toward that goal, with a dozen new dealers signed up and more starting the paperwork to apply. This year SSR plans to add two new Benelli models and youth ATV models. PSB SSR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 Mel Harris (third from left), VP of Operations for SSR Motorsports, expects 2017 to be another profitable year for the brand's dealers. PSB editor in chief Dave McMahon (fourth from left) visited Harris and SSR during AIMExpo. In celebration of Military Appreciation Day on January 14th at Petco Park in San Diego, Suzuki Motor of America donated a brand new 2017 Suzuki RM-Z250 to be auctioned off during the fourth annual Military Appre- ciation Race. Proceeds from the auction are funneled directly to the non-profit USO to help fund the programs, services and live entertainment provided to United States ser- vice members and their families. Supercross fans at the race and from across the world could bid on several items such as race-worn gear and the premier prize RM-Z250 during the annual fundraiser. On Feb. 28, Suzuki Motor of America presented winning bidder Derek Swaid- ner of Fort Wayne, Indiana a brand new 2017 RM-Z250 at R & D Powersports in Columbia City, Indiana. Derek, a senior at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in aviation technol- ogy, has been an avid amateur racer for two decades. He was ecstatic to see his new bike and plans to race the RM-Z250 at events in the Southeast. Swaidner comes from a military fam- ily, with both grandfathers having served in the Navy and the Marines, a sister and an uncle in the Air Force and cousins cur- rently serving in the Army and Marines. His appreciation for the military are deep like his roots in motocross. "It just came to me as a great opportunity to help the USO and all they do for military members and their families, as well as a good chance to get a great deal on the new RM-Z I wanted," Swaidner said. "I'm so happy to have won it and can't wait to go racing and win some contingency money." CLASSIC MOTORWORKS MERGES WITH ROYAL ENFIELD OF FORT WORTH Kevin Mahoney, owner of Classic Motor- works, and his staff announced that its parts and accessories division is moving to Royal Enfield of Fort Worth in Texas. "Royal Enfield of Fort Worth (REFTW) has been the largest Royal Enfield dealer in North America for many years while Classic Motorworks has been the largest supplier of parts and acces- sories. The joining of these companies will give Royal Enfield owners great access to old, current and future Royal Enfield parts and accessories," Mahoney said. Mahoney will be working alongside Michael Baker, the owner of Royal Enfield of Fort Worth, at the store in Fort Worth on an ongoing basis to help assist the customers. Classic Motorworks brings exten- sive knowledge of Royal Enfields from the mid-1990s to the present day, while REFTW brings the strength and commit- ment of a great dealership with access to the latest genuine RE parts and accessories. Classic Motorworks will continue to be the U.S. supplier of Cozy sidecars, which will become its core business. BMW MOTORRAD USA NAMES MURDIE TO HEAD SALES Michael Peyton, vice president of BMW Motorrad North America, announced that Gregg Murdie has been named department head, Motorrad Sales Operations in the U.S. In his new role, Murdie will be responsi- ble for implementing the planning, achieve- ment and execution of the BMW Motorrad business in the USA. He will also work closely and collaboratively with Motorrad AG on sales strategy, retail support, and portfolio and inventory management to enable delivery of BMW Motorrad's long- range growth plans. Murdie comes to BMW with 24 years of strategic and retail business development experience in the powersports and auto- motive industries. He was most recently at Harley-Davidson, where he held a motorcycle sales operations role leading a team responsible for planning sales per- formance and supply requirements for the Americas region. He additionally held leadership roles with overall responsibility for all aspects of dealership and company performance across the eastern seaboard of the United States. Prior to that, Murdie spent 14 years with Ford Motor Co., in various field- based roles developing his retail experience, learning the dealership business model and focusing on combining processes with cus- tomer satisfaction to drive significant retail growth. He worked diligently to develop win/win solutions within the corporate and dealer relationship. He also worked in Ford's Product Devel- opment and Ford Motor Credit business units with a focus on international markets and non-automotive financial products, respectively. PSB DIGEST Indiana Suzuki dealer presents bike to USO fundraiser winner R & D Powersports in Columbia City, Indiana, was proud to hand over the winning Suzuki RM-Z250.