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Kee: 'Ooze optimism in your dealing with customers'

dave89252

By Bob Kee Chair, NPDA

 

Welcome to 2025! What will the New Year bring? I won’t try to predict too much since the polish level of my crystal ball is no better than average.

I feel fairly confident that high dealer flooring costs will remain for most of the year. As inflation is still an issue, I think consumers that are already currently stretched financially will continue to become more cautious on discretionary purchases.


I’d like to think that the OEMs in the powersports industry would learn a lesson from the marine manufacturers and start working more closely with their dealers about building the appropriate level of inventory to ensure dealer profitability (but I won’t hold my breath on that one too long!).


In our first NPDA Board call of the New Year, I asked the dealers on the call to share what they saw happening in the coming year. The H-D dealers, still visibly battered from a very rough 2024, voiced very little optimism, but seemed determined to make every effort to survive whatever lay ahead. The main consensus amongst the powersports dealers, especially those with an off-road focus, was that it would be a challenging year for smaller stores that lacked processes and quality people to implement them.


Want some good news?


Kim Harrison, our Secretary/Treasurer, runs several stores in the Virginia area outside of Washington, DC. In addition to moving a lot of units from all the major brands, she finds the time and bandwidth to run what has to be the largest independent rider training program in the country, training over 5,500 new riders in 2024. She shared that enrollments are at a record high level coming into 2025, and this with close to a foot of snow on the ground! This speaks well to future consumer demand.


Justin Alpiser, Team Powersports, North Carolina is our newest Board Member. His answer to my question was that he was looking forward to a great 2025 because he was ignoring those things that he and his team had no control over, and focusing on what went on inside the four walls of his dealership. Things like quick responses to customer inquiries, clean and well displayed machines and P&A, smiling faces to greet prospective buyers and more. By creating an enjoyable and memorable buying experience for his customers, Justin will undoubtedly succeed in the coming year.


Make solid plans, ooze optimism in your interactions with customers and employees, remain nimble, and constantly keep your eyes open for opportunity. When the weather warms up a bit, take some personal time on the motorcycle, UTV, ATV, or watercraft of your choice to remind yourself of the reason we do what we do. Then share that enthusiasm!

NPDA Chairman Bob Kee
NPDA Chairman Bob Kee

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National Powersports Dealer Association

Address: 435 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046

Phone: 1-844-673-2266

Email: info@npda.org

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