INSIDE
By Stephen Metzger
Managing Director
Small Vehicle Resource, LLC
[email protected]
www.smallvehicleresource.com
THE GATED
COMMUNITY
I
f you follow the stock market at
all and the fortunes of compa-
nies listed therein, you will have
no doubt observed the rise and
fall of business dynasties that, as
they were reaching their pinnacle,
seemed unstoppable. Yet, in due
course the upward climb halted for
a variety of reasons and retrench-
ment followed and a fight for sur-
vival. These histories are a testimo-
ny to dynamism of the competitive
market system.
Weathering the competitive
storms
In the vast majority of the cases,
a reversal of a company’s good
fortunes, and even demise, did not
mean the end of the market itself
or the industry supplying it. New
companies picked up the slack with
better technology and product or
superior manufacturing capabili-
ties—or both. At the same time the
incumbent company steps back
and regroups, often with a decision
to revert to their “core competen-
cies”—that is, core markets and
products.
24
WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
Golf Car Manufacturer’
Foray into the Off-Road
Market
And, another favored strategy was,
and is, rebranding—the effort to
find the right market niche with the
right identity. A case in point is the
product rebranding shuffle that has
taken place over the past two years
at Textron’s Specialty Vehicle Divi-
sion, as the company has attempted
to move into the off-road market.
Textron, of course, isn’t the only
golf car company to venture into
this market and take on the likes of
Polaris and the host of other brands
that are competing in this now sat-
urated market. Club Car has also
entered this market, and I note the
different approach of this company,
compared to its archrival.
Golf car manufacturers enter the
off-road market
Perhaps the market entry that
got most notoriety was Textron’s
successive acquisitions of off-road
vehicle players, Bad Boy Buggies in
2010 and Arctic Cat in 2017. Both
brands were subsumed under a
newly-created brand, Textron Off-
Road.
“Arctic Cat is an ideal fit with our
Prowler EV-
Now under Arctic Cat? Or?