The chance of a lifetime: You are asked to start a bike shop. How should it be done?

[aff-man]

Yes I know there are clearance charges etc etc and I'm sure the Kwaka store in America would have to pay them too.Although I honestly don't know if they are vastly different.
These are genuine parts I am getting. And I'm not saying its the end dealers fault but when the goods change hands several times and everyone is taking a cut it does make me want to click buy now on the comp instead of going to the local store.... which then if I was in said local store might do an impulse buy and get a new lid or some fancy stickers etc etc hell maybe even a new bike.

Just saying a perfect store would have competative enough prices for me to get off my ass and go pick something up rather than buying from overseas.

*P.s. sent you guys 2 emails now about my RSV Mille R suspension still no word? *

[Robert Taylor]

but if people think you are going to, thats a PR issue init?

yes in your specialised suspension industry, which I don't think I've refered to once. For parts I don't care about any of that stuff.

And thats what got on my nerves, you were asked to keep your opinions to yourself so there could be a brainstorming session, and when you couldn't manage that, you only gave vague reasons to support your negativity.

Actually, Im not going to let your attempt at ridicule lie unchallenged. I know that Ive got the long experience of the industry as have a number of my contemporaries and I resolutely stand behind what I have said. And have also had the guts to do so with my name to it. That might be counterproductive to some viewpoints but Ive never been afraid to state who I am and what Im about, often that leads to business.
You sir have the answers ( you think ) And you may have some good answers but the reality is youve got little idea of the complex realities and ''games of chess'' that occur everyday in a typical motorcycle business.
Parts supply issues, too many different parts variations, the expectation that parts will be available off the shelf right now or even yesterday. Warranty issues, technical problem solving issues, poor reimbursement rate for warranty correction. Customers who string you out for payment., cash flow. Just to name a few.
Thats not being negative at all, thats reality and its easy to see why staff ( especially mechanics ) get ground down because nothing is ever as simple as it seems or as the customer thinks.
You use the word vague, well the reality is its actually difficult to put into words the number of complex day to day realities that make it a lot harder to put money into the till than you realise. im not going to expend several hours and several zillion words to elaborate just to rattle off all the scenarios and pitfalls that Ive encountered over the years. Industry people who may read this will know exactly where I am coming from, more than a few times Ive witnessed people who were going to shake the industry and they came unstuck pretty quickly. YOU HAVE TO WORK IN IT TO UNDERSTAND WHATS INVOLVED.
Yes this is an ideas thread and some of the ideas put forward have been great, but ideas also have to be tempered with realty and what is also economically possible. The very highest percentage of motorcycle dealers in NZ are in fact undercapitalised, have you also considered that harsh reality?

[bogan]

Actually, Im not going to let your attempt at ridicule lie unchallenged. I know that Ive got the long experience of the industry as have a number of my contemporaries and I resolutely stand behind what I have said. And have also had the guts to do so with my name to it. That might be counterproductive to some viewpoints but Ive never been afraid to state who I am and what Im about, often that leads to business.
You sir have the answers ( you think ) And you may have some good answers but the reality is youve got little idea of the complex realities and ''games of chess'' that occur everyday in a typical motorcycle business.
Parts supply issues, too many different parts variations, the expectation that parts will be available off the shelf right now or even yesterday. Warranty issues, technical problem solving issues, poor reimbursement rate for warranty correction. Customers who string you out for payment., cash flow. Just to name a few.
Thats not being negative at all, thats reality and its easy to see why staff ( especially mechanics ) get ground down because nothing is ever as simple as it seems or as the customer thinks.
You use the word vague, well the reality is its actually difficult to put into words the number of complex day to day realities that make it a lot harder to put money into the till than you realise. im not going to expend several hours and several zillion words to elaborate just to rattle off all the scenarios and pitfalls that Ive encountered over the years. Industry people who may read this will know exactly where I am coming from, more than a few times Ive witnessed people who were going to shake the industry and they came unstuck pretty quickly. YOU HAVE TO WORK IN IT TO UNDERSTAND WHATS INVOLVED.
Yes this is an ideas thread and some of the ideas put forward have been great, but ideas also have to be tempered with realty and what is also economically possible. The very highest percentage of motorcycle dealers in NZ are in fact undercapitalised, have you also considered that harsh reality?

attemp at ridicule? dude, take a chill pill. I called it how I see it, I take this piss every now and then, but attempt at ridicule is a bit strong.

Yes I do feel your responses are vague, as they always relate back to your parts/mechanics industry, for instance what I proposed required very little capital at all. The scheme I outlined is actually different to what you do. And outlining problems that don't even apply to such as scheme (parts available right now, part payments, tech problem soving) I do consider negative

[Robert Taylor]

Yes I know there are clearance charges etc etc and I'm sure the Kwaka store in America would have to pay them too.Although I honestly don't know if they are vastly different.
These are genuine parts I am getting. And I'm not saying its the end dealers fault but when the goods change hands several times and everyone is taking a cut it does make me want to click buy now on the comp instead of going to the local store.... which then if I was in said local store might do an impulse buy and get a new lid or some fancy stickers etc etc hell maybe even a new bike.

Just saying a perfect store would have competative enough prices for me to get off my ass and go pick something up rather than buying from overseas.

*P.s. sent you guys 2 emails now about my RSV Mille R suspension still no word? *

What happens is there will be no tax on an export shipment out of the States ( somebody correct me if Im wrong ) as there would be no gst for an export order sent out of NZ. So if no clearnce and gst is charged at our border then you are doing rather well, thats part of the difference.
US suppliers are also able to bulk buy and get much better buy prices than distributors here, who also incur much heavier freight costs for shipping of containers etc. Stock turn is also much lower here and that has to be factored. Another point of difference.
US suppliers also operate on very slender margins and very high turnover, a pipe dream for NZ distributors. I also believe a lot of their labour may be very cheap ( Mexican immigrants etc who will work long hours at low pay) Compliance costs and government taxes may either be lower or the economy of scale makes their reality less harsh.

There may be a few issues that balloon the end price that could be challenged but I believe that the perception of the ''big bad NZ distributors'' is an emotive one that is not in command of the full realities and facts. Certainly not fully deserved.

The strong exchange rate is also making offshore purchases currently attractive.

Having said all this I priced some genuine fork tubes with a NZ motorcycle distributor yesterday and thought youve got to be kidding!

E MAILS. During the day we have so much work I only sporadically reply to the very most urgent e-mails and then attempt to draft replies during the evening. When I get home at night Ill spend a little bit of time on here first because there are PMs to invariably answer and for some ( perverse ) ''light relief'' Ill spend a little bit of time in the forums.

KB in fact creates a lot of business for me, in spite of my habit of not being afraid to say what I think!

I am in receipt of your e-mails and have a big pile that I have ''bought home with me''. Yours requires a detailed answer ( that I think you will appreciate ) and you will have a reply tommorrow morning.

[Robert Taylor]

attemp at ridicule? dude, take a chill pill. I called it how I see it, I take this piss every now and then, but attempt at ridicule is a bit strong.

Yes I do feel your responses are vague, as they always relate back to your parts/mechanics industry, for instance what I proposed required very little capital at all. The scheme I outlined is actually different to what you do. And outlining problems that don't even apply to such as scheme (parts available right now, part payments, tech problem soving) I do consider negative

Yes what you propose is a little different but would still be beset by problems that you dont foresee. Whatever capital you think is required its not enough. That is good advice and any accountant or experienced businessman worth his salt would tell you something similiar.
You can choose to react however so you wish but I know Im right on this.

[bogan]

Yes what you propose is a little different but would still be beset by problems that you dont foresee. Whatever capital you think is required its not enough. That is good advice and any accountant or experienced businessman worth his salt would tell you something similiar.
You can choose to react however so you wish but I know Im right on this.

exactly the vagueness i was refering to earlier. The point I'm trying to make here is if you are going to knock someones idea or ways, I like to hear some decent justification. For example, people on this site knock the NZ motorcycle industry, rightly or wrongly there is often no justification, that pisses you off (fair enuf too) just as you have pissed off many of us in this thread.

[Robert Taylor]

exactly the vagueness i was refering to earlier. The point I'm trying to make here is if you are going to knock someones idea or ways, I like to hear some decent justification. For example, people on this site knock the NZ motorcycle industry, rightly or wrongly there is often no justification, that pisses you off (fair enuf too) just as you have pissed off many of us in this thread.

Frankly what you have said is not going to make me lose any sleep. This forum is by no means the be all and end all of everything that happens in motorcycling in NZ. The nature of forums is that all too often they can attract a few people who have dogmatic views that are uncompromising of being challenged and dont accept that there are two sides to a story. The worst current example is the police bashing that is going on. If a few people get peeved off by being challenged then so be it. But also there are a good many people on here that are genuine and mild of manner, I enjoy conversing with those people.

Like I said earlier Im not going to waste hours and hours writing screeds of justification just to please you. I could do it but Id rather do something productive that is going to keep my customers happy and my balance sheet in the black. If hard work is a foreign concept to you then I recommend trying it some time, it might alter your view of the world. And in any event I tried to make you understand that you cannot neccessarily put all the issues in writing, that you have to experience it. Clearly I failed.

Now Ive got more customers to reply to and thats what Ive been doing for most of the night.

[bogan]

I'm no stranger to hard work, and I like my view of the world very much as it is, open minded and positive sums it up. Fair enuf that you have your own work to do and can't explain to me why such proposals are doomed to failure, though I'm a little confused as to why you have spent so many post here condemning them with such repetitive answers already if that is the case. You have your opinion that it's doomed to failure, and I have mine that you don't actually have any solid reasons to back that up.

[T.W.R]

Yes I know there are clearance charges etc etc and I'm sure the Kwaka store in America would have to pay them too.Although I honestly don't know if they are vastly different.
These are genuine parts I am getting. And I'm not saying its the end dealers fault but when the goods change hands several times and everyone is taking a cut it does make me want to click buy now on the comp instead of going to the local store.... which then if I was in said local store might do an impulse buy and get a new lid or some fancy stickers etc etc hell maybe even a new bike.

Just saying a perfect store would have competative enough prices for me to get off my ass and go pick something up rather than buying from overseas.

*P.s. sent you guys 2 emails now about my RSV Mille R suspension still no word? *

Kawasaki America and Lyntech holdings Ltd are two vastly different operations
You mention buying a Bike from off shore........ we tried attempting that when KDX200s were finishing up and we weren't able to source through Lyntech so we found a US dealership who had them in stock in good numbers....we made lyntech aware of this and were abruptly told NO do not proceed or there'll be issues and it would have been worse if we'd got them in then Lyntech had been made aware even though we'd brought these bikes out of our own expenditure.

[T.W.R]

Now Ive got more customers to reply to and thats what Ive been doing for most of the night.

Honestly do you have a certain quota to fill to keep Ohlins technical support on board and maintain their requirements to remain a authorised dealer? Similar to Honda dealers have to sell a certain amount of roadbikes per year to gain & retain the Honda Red Carpet Dealership rights ??

[Robert Taylor]

Honestly do you have a certain quota to fill to keep Ohlins technical support on board and maintain their requirements to remain a authorised dealer? Similar to Honda dealers have to sell a certain amount of roadbikes per year to gain & retain the Honda Red Carpet Dealership rights ??

Nothing in writing to that effect no, you just do your very best and adapt to the market pressures as they occur. Right now the $US isnt helping but its a case of ''bending over'' and taking it. Our margins are consequently very thin to as much as is possible shut out the parrallell importing and you work harder and longer for less return.
I have to say that as the Ohlins distributor for NZ we enjoy a very good relationship with the factory. Note that I am talking distributors where you have mentioned it in the context of dealers, but theres much less distinction now!
If you are a motorcycle dealer selling one of the big brands I think you are very much a serf to the distributors requirements, suiting their needs but all too often negatively impacting on your profitability. In turn the distributors are often serfs to the factories. Thats cynical but its the reality.

[T.W.R]

Nothing in writing to that effect no, you just do your very best and adapt to the market pressures as they occur. Right now the $US isnt helping but its a case of ''bending over'' and taking it. Our margins are consequently very thin to as much as is possible shut out the parrallell importing and you work harder and longer for less return.
I have to say that as the Ohlins distributor for NZ we enjoy a very good relationship with the factory. Note that I am talking distributors where you have mentioned it in the context of dealers, but theres much less distinction now!
.

So you've reduced your margins to keep competitive with the current economic enviroment?

If you are a motorcycle dealer selling one of the big brands I think you are very much a serf to the distributors requirements, suiting their needs but all too often negatively impacting on your profitability. In turn the distributors are often serfs to the factories. Thats cynical but its the reality.

We tried taking on a third brand for our farming market because kawasaki had a huge hole in their line up that we could have filled with the acquired brand but were told a very curt NO because it'd conflict with kawasaki

[T.W.R]

Nothing in writing to that effect no, you just do your very best and adapt to the market pressures as they occur. Right now the $US isnt helping but its a case of ''bending over'' and taking it. Our margins are consequently very thin to as much as is possible shut out the parrallell importing and you work harder and longer for less return.

Hope Scorp reads this

life was easier when you were CKE wasn't it

[PeeJay]

Yes what you propose is a little different but would still be beset by problems that you dont foresee. Whatever capital you think is required its not enough. That is good advice and any accountant or experienced businessman worth his salt would tell you something similiar.
You can choose to react however so you wish but I know Im right on this.

Now that is the truth, the first commandment of any new business. And any old business.

Probably the first important business lesson I learnt many many years ago, when ideas and reality meet, you have probably run out of money.

[Robert Taylor]

So you've reduced your margins to keep competitive with the current economic enviroment?



We tried taking on a third brand for our farming market because kawasaki had a huge hole in their line up that we could have filled with the acquired brand but were told a very curt NO because it'd conflict with kawasaki

Essentially yes margins are squeezed and that has neccessitated losing one staff member. That I believe is a common scenario in many businesses within NZ given the factors we have all been haggling about.

Years ago we had three franchises at one stage, the most powerful of those brands made us make a choice to drop one of them.