Mark Berg - CPD
Site Sponsor
Long time coming
I was beginning to wonder if anyone even saw the announcement I posted a couple weeks back because I thought for sure it would bring a debate!
Ever since we got involved with GasGas back in 2003, I have been passionate about the brand. Met some fantastic new friends in Spain and enjoyed being a part of a small motorcycle family company. Times have changed and people have moved on from that family of friends but the passion for the company is still strong, maybe even stronger.
Having said that, when asked to take over parts distribution only in 2007, we had to ask ourselves a lot of questions. 1. Why is GG in so many pieces in the US. 2. Why do so many customers complain about parts availability? (we always got calls from customers complaining about their existing dealer not having in stock the parts or complaining their dealer told them it was out of stock, but yet we had plenty) 3. Can this be profitable as a stand alone business?
These questions were never really resolved or answered and the day to day operations have been mediocre at best. Dealers were not happy with us selling retail and distributing at the same time, but yet a lot of dealers wouldn't stock essentials and costs of shipping, import taxes, and employee staff just to maintain the "enduro parts" only were not profitable to say the least! Relying on another entity to sell the bikes, and another entity selling parts was not working, we lost money!
Starting in 2011 another distributor came aboard and we again agreed to help until the amount of bikes sold surpassed a goal and that distributor would buy our invested parts or it would be profitable enough to maintain itself by doing dealer only. The distributor at the time and us made some agreements that sadly fell through once again with the long delay in bike sales for 2012 and the poor parts supply that GasGas had at the same time. Not his fault, not ours but some dealers again would put the blame on GoFasters. I don't have that thick of skin to blow off the implications so this is why I save and store every email, letter, or fax correspondence with the factory and dealer alike.
I will admit I was less than confident to keep ordering more and more parts for stock when the uncertainty of GasGas and the relationships they have had with other importers through the years weren't the most trusting, transparent relationships. I stocked what we had to keep the brand alive but never committing to the hundreds of thousands for large orders via ocean because quite honestly, never knew from one month to the next if GasGas would change direction, or with the Spanish economy, just close the doors?
At the end of 2013, when I was approached AGAIN by Spain in regards to more changes, I begged them not to continue in the same direction they have done for 6 different distributors since 2001 and they have listened.
This new subsidiary is starting small but now that GasGas has the vested interest I am seeing them to step up, get involved, and help us brand, market and sell their great EC enduro bikes in the US! In the months to come, you will see a new website, full page advertising in Dirtbike, Trailrider, and the AMA offroad magazines. We will be sponsoring regional race circuits, and hope to have a satellite team for the National Enduros, and much, much more. Eventually we will be helping Canada as well, then perhaps Mexico. Its too big of a continent and potential market not to have a corporate or branch office in the center of it all and GasGas is getting stronger and wants to be a part of it.
So now is the opportune time to change it to the way it should be. Our dealers have always been allowed to drop ship parts, and they will continue to be able to starting November 1st. They will however incur a drop ship fee, this is too help separate the dealers that want to be passionate about GasGas and stock parts for their customers versus those that want to play from their garage! Rod Overstreet has been implemental in signing new serious dealers and our business plan is a solid one.
I have been working and researching with shopatron to allow us the potential perhaps in a years time to have a shopping cart that allows customers to log on, order their parts, ships direct from the warehouse and the closest participating dealership gets a percentage of the sale (basically what Jakobi was suggesting and what Subaru is doing). Arctic Cat has done this in the past, and Yamaha just signed up with Shopatron as well, but this will be a ways down the road however.
We will try to make this transition as painless as can be for everyone, I will direct you to a participating dealer and a specific parts person that I will be working with on a day to day basis. If said dealer doesn't work well or there becomes issues, I will need to hear about them from you the customer to resolve issues, train parts guys, and make the flow work better. The new microfiche will be a big step.
Referral is the best and cheapest way of promoting ones product! So please tell your buddy's about the bike, let them ride yours, sell them yours and buy a new one!
GasGas is a translation of Accelerate, Accelerate! So "accelerate your passion" and help us move forward! If you have a local dealer you feel would be a great fit for GG, contact us!
I was beginning to wonder if anyone even saw the announcement I posted a couple weeks back because I thought for sure it would bring a debate!
Ever since we got involved with GasGas back in 2003, I have been passionate about the brand. Met some fantastic new friends in Spain and enjoyed being a part of a small motorcycle family company. Times have changed and people have moved on from that family of friends but the passion for the company is still strong, maybe even stronger.
Having said that, when asked to take over parts distribution only in 2007, we had to ask ourselves a lot of questions. 1. Why is GG in so many pieces in the US. 2. Why do so many customers complain about parts availability? (we always got calls from customers complaining about their existing dealer not having in stock the parts or complaining their dealer told them it was out of stock, but yet we had plenty) 3. Can this be profitable as a stand alone business?
These questions were never really resolved or answered and the day to day operations have been mediocre at best. Dealers were not happy with us selling retail and distributing at the same time, but yet a lot of dealers wouldn't stock essentials and costs of shipping, import taxes, and employee staff just to maintain the "enduro parts" only were not profitable to say the least! Relying on another entity to sell the bikes, and another entity selling parts was not working, we lost money!
Starting in 2011 another distributor came aboard and we again agreed to help until the amount of bikes sold surpassed a goal and that distributor would buy our invested parts or it would be profitable enough to maintain itself by doing dealer only. The distributor at the time and us made some agreements that sadly fell through once again with the long delay in bike sales for 2012 and the poor parts supply that GasGas had at the same time. Not his fault, not ours but some dealers again would put the blame on GoFasters. I don't have that thick of skin to blow off the implications so this is why I save and store every email, letter, or fax correspondence with the factory and dealer alike.
I will admit I was less than confident to keep ordering more and more parts for stock when the uncertainty of GasGas and the relationships they have had with other importers through the years weren't the most trusting, transparent relationships. I stocked what we had to keep the brand alive but never committing to the hundreds of thousands for large orders via ocean because quite honestly, never knew from one month to the next if GasGas would change direction, or with the Spanish economy, just close the doors?
At the end of 2013, when I was approached AGAIN by Spain in regards to more changes, I begged them not to continue in the same direction they have done for 6 different distributors since 2001 and they have listened.
This new subsidiary is starting small but now that GasGas has the vested interest I am seeing them to step up, get involved, and help us brand, market and sell their great EC enduro bikes in the US! In the months to come, you will see a new website, full page advertising in Dirtbike, Trailrider, and the AMA offroad magazines. We will be sponsoring regional race circuits, and hope to have a satellite team for the National Enduros, and much, much more. Eventually we will be helping Canada as well, then perhaps Mexico. Its too big of a continent and potential market not to have a corporate or branch office in the center of it all and GasGas is getting stronger and wants to be a part of it.
So now is the opportune time to change it to the way it should be. Our dealers have always been allowed to drop ship parts, and they will continue to be able to starting November 1st. They will however incur a drop ship fee, this is too help separate the dealers that want to be passionate about GasGas and stock parts for their customers versus those that want to play from their garage! Rod Overstreet has been implemental in signing new serious dealers and our business plan is a solid one.
I have been working and researching with shopatron to allow us the potential perhaps in a years time to have a shopping cart that allows customers to log on, order their parts, ships direct from the warehouse and the closest participating dealership gets a percentage of the sale (basically what Jakobi was suggesting and what Subaru is doing). Arctic Cat has done this in the past, and Yamaha just signed up with Shopatron as well, but this will be a ways down the road however.
We will try to make this transition as painless as can be for everyone, I will direct you to a participating dealer and a specific parts person that I will be working with on a day to day basis. If said dealer doesn't work well or there becomes issues, I will need to hear about them from you the customer to resolve issues, train parts guys, and make the flow work better. The new microfiche will be a big step.
Referral is the best and cheapest way of promoting ones product! So please tell your buddy's about the bike, let them ride yours, sell them yours and buy a new one!
GasGas is a translation of Accelerate, Accelerate! So "accelerate your passion" and help us move forward! If you have a local dealer you feel would be a great fit for GG, contact us!
