EICMA came , EICMA went , EICMA conquered
It may only have been " half a show ", half of its former scale in booth and visitor number terms , but though smaller , it was perfectly formed and performed perfectly . Of course , the lens through which I view shows is very different to the one that motorcycle manufacturers and PG & A vendors see through . However , down the years ( 32 ' Milan ' shows and counting ) I have become sufficiently adept at reading between the aisles to understand what is going on . In the case of the 78th EICMA , it can ' t be said to have been business as normal - after all , what ' s normal about a missed show , a global pandemic , booming demand and product shortages ? It was definitely not a return to normality - in fact , it was an abnormally big leap into the unknown . But maybe we have now had our first insight to the " new normal " that people have been talking about . One that will prove to be a business landscape in which the sands shift with even greater and more unexcepted speed and outcomes than ever , and one in which market instability really is the " new normal ". There has always been change , of course . Indeed , although it is a cliché , the time to worry is when there is no change . Change is the engine room of the business dynamic , the driver of progress and the builder of profits . But the kind of changes that the current complex matrix of generally conflicting and often counter- intuitive pressures is producing takes a lot of careful analysis - the suspension of orthodoxies and the embrace of the unknown is emerging as the new platform for business planning . We here at International Dealer News ( and our sister magazine American Motorcycle Dealer ) were as incredulous at the apparent closedown of business activity that we appeared to be facing in March 2020 . Now we are just as incredulous about how this particular so-called ' recession ' has played out . I know we all have to cope with the law of unexpected outcomes , but where we are now is off the scale compared to where many , myself included , initially thought we would be by the end of 2021 . In our case , demand for both editorial content and advertising space is running at post 2007 / 2009 financial crisis record levels . In our case , the ' Now More Than Ever ' message has resonated and IDN ( and AMD ) has provided a much needed lightning rod , channel of continuity and communications platform at a time when all appeared likely to go dark . In the case of the industry we serve , dealer inventory shortages and vendor supply chain issues have resulted in a business picture that is quite unlike anything I for one can ever recall experiencing throughout my 32 years of visiting EICMA . It is tempting to say that what we are seeing currently simply does not compute but , in fact , there is underlying logic to what could otherwise be interpreted as weakness - and therefore the potential for market strength and opportunity . The fact is that we are in an industry where demand for our primary products is robust - this is a good thing . This is an awesomely good thing . At a time when the greater transport industry of which we are a small cog could , theoretically , be facing potentially existential challenges , ours are the challenges of growth . Rather than failing to meet the challenges , we are turning them into opportunities . For example , one of the most striking trends we saw at EICMA wasn ' t the panic that impending sustainability requirements were inducing , but the willingness to
an awesomely good thing
reshape , rebuild and embrace the opportunities that sustainability represents . Reduce , reuse and recycle , as Mauro Orlandi of GPR Exhausts puts it . Far from being the end of the world , we are in fact eyeing the birth of a whole new way of building and judging balance sheet health - and the air smells good . From exhaust and brake pad manufacturers to apparel , helmet and , yes , even performance engineers - EICMA provided a much needed and timely showcase for so many new directions that it was as if it had always been thus . When ( not if ) shows like EICMA do ' build back ', they really will be better . I am perfectly sure that if we look back at pictures of EICMA 2009 through the lens of 2030 , the change that the show will bear witness to will have been dramatic . One advantage of seeing EICMA ' cut down to size ' was that the increasing number of forward-facing businesses , especially the electric vehicle makers , are shown in stark relief against a much smaller vendor head count . In particular against an OEM sector that is proving to be a lot less agile in its response to future business opportunities than one would have hoped and expected . Only a very small percentage of the electric vehicle start-ups we are seeing today will still be around in a decade , and a large percentage of those that will be around haven ' t even started up yet . However , in among the slew of poorly designed , ill-conceived and clearly undercapitalised budget-spec ' me too wannabees ' was a reassuringly growing number of well capitalised , well conceived and very promising entrants from which tomorrow ' s market leaders will emerge . The brand values that consumers are already showing that they expect from an electric vehicle maker , in the PTW industry especially , are already making it difficult to see how all but a very small number of the existing motorcycle and scooter brands and factories are going to be able to ' crossover '. Brands associated with internal combustion engine transport solutions will likely be able to sell to their existing customer base - they will be able to leverage their brand meaning with their dealer network footfall . But will they any longer be able to compete with other manufacturers of the same pedigree ? Will a Honda dealer be able to lure an historically loyal Yamaha customer , or will any of the existing ' players ' be able to compete for non-brand loyal , nonlegacy new generations of customers looking for vehicles in a competitive environment that will reward platform-specific credentials and authenticity ? Some , no doubt , will square the circle and leverage their existing status and resources . But of the other established manufacturers , only a few will survive . Add into the mix the say that returning legacy brands are likely to have in the future OEM line-up , alongside the winners from the purpose-specific entrants , and ten years from now EICMA will indeed look very different compared to ten years ago - it already does .
Robin Bradley Publisher robin @ dealer-world . com
4 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022 www . idnmag . com