Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/803676
6 • April 3, 2017 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com MAVERICK X3 MAX In addition to the new Ski-Doos, BRP intro- duced its Can-Am Maverick X3 MAX in Reno. The four-passenger X3 has a 135-inch wheelbase, which is 15 percent longer than the closest competitor, according to BRP. The length, which caught the eyes of many dealers on the showroom floor, is designed to provide confidence to the driver at higher speeds and to give more space to both rear passengers. Like its two-passenger predecessor, the X3 MAX comes in three versions: the 64-inch- wide Maverick X3 MAX and Maverick X3 MAX X ds, as well as the 72-inch-wide X rs version with two painted color options, 22 inches of suspensions travel and full adjustable FOX 3.0 Podium RC2 bypass shocks. RETAIL ENVIRONMENT Also at Club BRP, dealers were shown the latest in BRP Retail Environment plans by the Dealer Image team. A project that started with concepts and pilot stores about five years ago has now come to fruition, and BRP has begun rolling out its new Retail Environment at a number of deal- erships. Within the Club BRP display, dealers were able to see all of the new features; learn about how each aspect is designed for profit- ability; order racks, mannequins and other materials; and meet with designers who could explain how dealers could fit the new Retail Environment into their multi- or single-line stores. "The idea behind what we're doing is trying to entice the dealer network into investing in their showrooms to help make their shopping experiences unique," Delton Bohlman, director of Global Business and Dealer Development for BRP, told Powersports Business. "This 'shopping environment done right,' like most retail shows us, it increases sales; it increases profit; it gets customers to spend more time in the store; it gets them a little more committed to the store." He said the new environment has also been found to increase employee morale, as the staff and even dealership owners see the store in a new light after a redesign. A few of the elements highlighted at Club BRP included black racks and fixtures that can be used with hooks and shelves that dealer- ships currently have to their stores, a sales sta- tion designed to sit on the showroom floor and a new parts counter. Just beyond the parts counter display, deal- ers could learn more about BRP TV, which uses MotoTV technology to allow dealers to share BRP videos along with their own messages on TVs within their showrooms. At the Reno event, the Dealer Image team was also soliciting feedback on a new touchscreen version of BRP TV that the OEM is testing. In the center of the display, BRP showcased its Showroom Kit, which dealers can use in a single-line store or add to a multi-line dealer- ship. It includes a focal area with a large graphic that matches the vehicle in front of it, which is then put on stands to raise it off the ground and make it the centerpiece. "Basically you can take this, drop it into a showroom and create a BRP zone. And it's nice. It's not real expensive, but it gives you lots of flexibility. I can be moved; it can be stationary; it's your choice," Bohlman said. Dealers were also able to see the difference in lighting in a display that pitted traditional dealer lighting with the new BRP-suggested lighting. "You can see the difference, how the clothing pops with the right light, the right temperature, the right Kelvins versus traditional fluorescent lighting," Bohlman explained. "Our [product] designers spend lots of time picking the right colors, combinations, making things work, and if it's not well lit, it kind of falls down." Once dealers made it through the entire display, they could sit down with experts from Optima Design to discuss how they can incor- porate the new Retail Environment into their dealerships. After seeing Optima's success with Harley-Davidson dealerships, BRP hired the firm to help it build the ideal BRP spaces. "They know retail. They know powersports. When you start to get stores designed for retail, they start to look a lot different. So when you walk into a Harley store, you can feel somebody knew the customer path, somebody under- stood what they're trying to show, and the same thing for us. Optima has been really important for us, in helping us to do some very incredible projects," Bohlman said. Within the Retail Environment area, dealers could also see and order the new exterior signs BRP has developed. "We hadn't really worked on our signage for — it's embarrassing to say — but it's been about 15 years. We worked with Pattison (Out- door), who helped us design our new signs, and we made a commitment to our dealer network that for sure we will not change it for at least 10 years, and with that commitment, and with the technology that we brought that Pattison has helped us bring, the LEDs, the materials, the cost is actually really good on the signs, and a lit- tle more than a third of our network has already adopted the new sign," Bohlman explained. The whole Retail Environment program allows dealers to order everything from BRP and get help from experts to implement the Retail Environment. "Having been a dealer myself, I know the importance of turnkey, and when you're going to make an investment like this, the last thing you want to do is be responsible for trying to find your mannequins or pick out your graph- ics or try to figure out how to assemble some- thing," Bohlman said. "Our solutions are fully turnkey. We can do everything from design, pre-site assessment, shipping of all the product there. We can provide either an oversight per- son to help you, if you have your own labor, or we can do full install. We put a project manager on each project that follows it start to end." BRP's Dealer Image team originally tried to take on the monumental Retail Environment project themselves before bringing on Optima and Pattison. Original beta tests included racks CLUB BRP CONTINUED FROM COVER Check out videos from Club BRP on the PSB YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/powersportsbusiness1. Dealers were quick to step into the new four-passenger Maver- ick X3 MAX at Club BRP in Reno, Nevada, in February. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" presented Ski-Doo's new SHOT engine starting technology at Club BRP in Reno, Nevada. BRP's Dealer Image team showed dealers the difference between traditional florescent lighting (left) versus their sug- gested LED lighting (right) in their display at Club BRP. See Club BRP, Page 9