AMD 253 August 2020 American Motorcycle Dealer 253 | Page 22

BUILDING FROM
THE CORE
<<< Continued from page 64
how important we see the V-twin market as being to
our future and how important its revenues are to us
right now. Nobody should believe any rumors they
may have been hearing - Tucker Powersports is not
about to walk away from the custom and
performance V-twin parts and accessories market -
neither from the great business we are doing, nor
from the great opportunity I believe it represents for
us.
"Everyone knows that it is service and consumables
that have been the hero for most businesses
throughout the COVID-19 emergency, and they are
likely to continue being of great importance, not least
in the V-twin sector. Our service and workshop
consumables and related sales have been a huge win
for us since around the time I came in at the end of
March this year, and that is core business that we can
build on.
"We need to get back to all our core business
strengths and build on the undoubted foundation
that Tucker still has. That means prioritizing Brick and
'logistics are a mature
science now'
Mortar dealers as well as our online re-sellers.
"Far from being outdated, in our industry the Brick
and Mortar outlet is of critical importance. It is our
interface with our customers. Ours is an experiential
market, and one that new adopters can find
intimidating. Unless you grow up in a family engaged
in motorcycle culture one way or another, breaking
down the barriers to participation can be difficult.
"Dealers are the only way to shepherd people into
the industry - they are a learning center as well as a
social space and a shopping experience. This
multifaceted opportunity makes the Brick and Mortar
outlet a unique and uniquely powerful business
opportunity in what is, at the end of the day, a
uniquely person to person business, lifestyle and
buying decision.
"I see it as the job of the distributor to help the dealer
to help the inexperienced consumer to 'soft-land'
into that buying decision. If we don't help our dealers
to help their consumers to buy, and if we don't
Marc McAllister, President and CEO knows
"there's a lot to do" at Tucker Powersports.
recognize the fundamentally different nature of a
decision to engage with riding a motorcycle, then
new entrants will not be able to surmount the
barriers they can otherwise encounter.
"The store is everything in this process. No dealership
can deal with north of 400 plus vendors - the
distributor adds value by providing the easy-to-shop
solution, and we must do everything we can to help
the dealer to make it easy to buy - and that includes
drop shipping, why not?
"With logistics being the mature science they are
now, and with consumers accustomed to getting
what they order the next day, drop shipping for the
dealer, on behalf of the store the customer visits, is
a dimension to the buying experience whose time
has come - in the motorcycle businesses just as it has
in so many others. The COVID-19 experience has
decisively pushed doing so for dealers past the top
dead center of historic industry reluctance and firmly
into the realm of consumer expectation."
In fact, McAllister appears to be firmly of the view
that "a lot of stuff that was focussed on needs to be
stripped away" and that that likely applies to most
distribution businesses in most markets. In his world
view, comparing how a business like Tucker is doing
now to how it did a decade or more ago is no longer
valid. It is being fit for a new future, a post COVID-
19 world in which the process of consumer change
has been massively accelerated, it is the only way for
anyone in the industry to be able to embrace the
opportunities that future could have.
"COVID-19 represents an opportunity to reset the
baseline in a way that enables people to let go of the
past. Sure, there are difficult decisions to be made,
there always are - everyone needs to be sure they
'opportunity-rich
environment'
have the right structure going forward."
Asked if that was part of the story behind Greg
Blackwell's leaving, McAllister said yes. "His leaving
was driven by a number of reasons. After I'd been
here for around six weeks, I could see that we could
streamline the management structure still further,
and that we could be better at embracing a number
of new opportunities. I sense that we will benefit
from fresh eyes and energy where the sales and
marketing structure is concerned, and there had
been considerable churn before 'lockdown' anyway
- some instigated by prior management, some driven
by some personal choices, so I wanted to be sure that
we exited furlough with all the people we needed
and a clear understanding of our direction.
"We have now done that. All the people who are
coming back are now back [this interview took place
at the end of June 2020], and I think everyone has a
good sense of that direction and a clear path to help
achieve the objectives. We have a solid team with
solid momentum."
22 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - AUGUST 2020
www.AMDchampionship.com