I received a note last week from a good friend of mine expressing concern that many dealers were feeling that the National Powersports Dealer Association was going too “Orange and Black”, with a heavy current membership of H-D dealers. The good news is that the data shows our initial membership is growing nicely and is not nearly as imbalanced as people seem to think.
As of this writing, we are sitting at about 180 paid dealer members, with roughly half that number being franchised Harley folks. While this is obviously a higher ratio of H-D presence than the powersports industry at large, even as a non-HD dealer I think it is well within reason for our first 10 months of existence. When the NPDA was formed we tried to have it represent the retail mix of the industry as best we could. As such, our founding Board is made up of roughly 50% HD dealers. We in turn reached out to our friends and peers to get them to join the NPDA as well and have successfully recruited a wide variety of dealers in similar businesses.
I believe people’s perceptions tend to start somewhere, and I think there are a couple of key reasons why people may perceive NPDA as having more H-D dealers than the numbers show. First, H-D dealers seem to talk amongst themselves with a much higher frequency than Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda or other non-Harley dealers. More H-D dealers seem to be long-standing members of 20 groups, and have thus developed a more deeply rooted comradery that encourages these conversations. This is not a criticism by any measure, just a means for more chatter to occur.
Second, HD dealers currently have a very high level of angst related to recent decisions from The Motor Company that directly impact the profitability and daily operations of their dealerships. As such, they are very vocal right now and many have been wanting to join an organization that seeks to represent dealers with a unified collective voice versus that of a single dealer.
The NPDA was created to give all dealers a voice and advocate for them, regardless of the brands they represent. Fortunately, the founding Board anticipated that from time to time there would be issues that affected a certain segment of our membership, be it off-road trail access, laws infringing rider freedoms, or, as is the case today, concerns with a specific OEM. We set up within our bylaws the concept of “Councils” that could be formed as needed to address these unique concerns without having to involve the entire membership. The Councils can operate as a subset of the broader NPDA, raising funds, having their own elected leaders, and reporting to the larger Board. This allows a Council to focus on those issues important to their members, who are also NPDA members that share in our larger vision for all dealers.
Due to the recent concerns of H-D dealers, the Board approved the formation of our first council this past week for HD dealers to work together on their unique issues under the NPDA’s council structure. If people have only heard about the new council, this could be another reason they may have mis-perceived NPDA as being H-D-heavy. I anticipate that as things roll along, the NPDA will have the need and desire to establish additional Councils to direct focus as needed for other groups of dealers within our membership.
As we grow, our ranks will be joined by powersports and “metric” dealers and H-D dealers alike and our membership balance will align with national norms. I am confident that every powersports dealer in the country will someday see the benefits of joining the NPDA.
Having used the phrase “metric”, a designation that Wall Street analysts invented to refer to the non-H-D dealer universe, I am reminded of a recent trip to the hardware store. I needed an extra 10-inch adjustable wrench for the toolbox of one of my tractors. I picked up an inexpensive example, and as I was looking at the wrench while waiting to checkout, I saw that one side of the wrench was marked in metric measurements, millimeters. Flipping the wrench over, 1/16-inch graduations were present. How can a wrench be both?
At the end of the day, we, as dealers, are much like that ingenious adjustable wrench. We are designed for the task of helping customers select and purchase the machine of their dreams, hopefully developing a long-term relationship supported by service and support after the sale.
We do this regardless of the brand signage on the front door of our stores.
We’re all in this together and NPDA is here to support the entire powersports industry. Please join us as we move forward.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support.
Bob Kee, Dealer Principal
Destination Cycle
