American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 180 July 2014 | Page 15

<< new Factory models, and it was under John’s guidance that this strand of the business
first developed. When he first joined the operation Arlen Ness products were
beginning to come onto the marke,t and Warr’s began to look at fitting these parts
to new bikes before they went on sale.
Realizing that he could generate greater profits if he did not have to buy custom
parts in, John began to explore options for doing as much custom work as possible
in-house, and today Kings Road Customs is a business within Warr’s H-D, which has
become well known for its Softail based Bobbers, but the style of builds that have
passed through the workshop include everything from traditional Choppers to Cafe
Racers.
It is not just custom builds and regular service work that passes through the Kings
Road workshop as Warr’s does regular restoration work on older H-D models and
has an extensive collection of old Harley models as part of its museum.
The Warr’s museum is made up of older Harley motorcycles that the family has
acquired over the years. Talking about it, John said: “The museum is an obvious
extension of our passion for bikes, but it is also good business. We utilize them having
them on show as museum pieces, but it also endorses the fact that we know what
we’re talking about and that we really like Harleys too.
“They are also a solid investment, we’ll never lose money on them. It has also led
to us acquiring over time a huge stock of vintage Harley parts that we are known
for worldwide, and that gives us additional sales opportunities.”
However, the bikes are not simply bought as investments as John was quick to
point out: “I’ve got a 1912 Silent Gray Fellow Harley-Davidson sitting in my office.
It’s there because I like it, not because we’re short of storage space. It’s an example
of how we couple a passion for the brand with excellent customer service, and it
works as witnessed by our high level of returning customers. They realize we’re just
as passionate about Harleys as they are!”
aving a collection of old bikes and displaying them in-store is not the only
example of how Warr’s Harley-Davidson differs from the vast majority of
motorcycle dealers. The business also takes a different view to clothing sales,
so much so that at one time it had a separate retail outlet at a different site just to
sell Motor Company clothing. John said of that aspect of the operation: “The Warr’s
Boutique developed because H-D has always had a nice collection of clothing. In the
mid-90s, when I became the Managing Director, we took the decision to open a
separate store near Sloane Square just for H-D clothing. That was very successful
and ran for about 10 years, we only closed it due to the excessive cost of the rent
on the property. We realized we could transfer the experience of shopping there to
right here in the store, and that’s why we have the Boutique now on the mezzanine
level. Through having that store on Sloane Square we learnt how to run a clothing
business - in a location like that you simply cannot afford to make mistakes.
“Unlike other motorcycle dealers we have made a feature of the apparel, we
merchandise it like a clothing store and rotate stock. We keep everything fresh and
current. We treat it almost as a separate business, but that works as we are the
biggest retailer of H-D clothing in the UK, and the biggest retailer of Harley T-shirts

H

outside of America,” concluded John.
The changes to the business continued under John’s guidance with him being
able to buy back the original site at 661 Kings Road and oversee the building of a
state-of-the-art facility. Created by architects Kilburn & Nightingale, the new
showroom was soon winning awards for its innovative design, which featured ideas
that were considered new at that time, such as polished wooden floors and exposed
brick work walls.
When talking about the showroom, John said: “This is a venue as much as it is a
motorcycle dealership, we get tourists visiting every day of the week. If any Harley
enthusiast comes to London, then they’ll make a point of visiting us too.”
isitors were one thing that was not in short supply at the beginning of June
when Warr’s Harley-Davidson held an Open Day to celebrate its 90 years in
business, and at the same time announced its ambitious plans for the future.
A key part of the celebrations was the unveiling of designs for a new facility to be
built on the existing Kings Road site.
Over the next two years the current building will be demolished and completely
rebuilt as a far bigger facility. However, rather than relocating, or relying on the
business’ second showroom 14 miles away at Mottingham, Warr’s will continue to
trade at 661 Kings Road, as the plan is to carry out the redevelopment in two halves
to provide continuity for the business and its loyal customers.
“We have a big site here, and when this facility was built we did what was needed
then, and now we are looking ahead and things need to change again,” said John
of his master plan for the showroom. “We need more space and we’re going to take
the opportunity to redevelop the entire site and create a stunning new showroom.
“Fourteen years ago, when this building was designed and built, it was done so
that we could put an extra story or two on top, but given the high level of property
prices now we have had to start with a clean sheet this time. The new plans include
going down into the ground two stories as well as going further up above ground.
“We are going to be very careful with the new design. Although it will be
considerably bigger we don’t want to create a showroom that feels like an aircraft
hangar. We want to retain the character of the current building and the atmosphere
we have.”
Not only will the new build include more space for motorcycle and apparel sales,
it will also house a larger custom and restoration