TUCKER CEO TALKS

Marc McAllister On AIMExpo, New Team & What’s Next

Back in September 2022, the wheels were put into motion for some strategic changes at Tucker Powersports. President and CEO Marc McAllister told company employees that he was planning to update the sales and marketing functions to create a “more focused organization” and laid out the company’s longterm strategy of becoming an “outfitter for powered, outdoor adventure.”

“Now is a natural time to review the structure of our sales and marketing functions,” he said at the time. “We need to start with strategy, and I believe that moves us to a focused sales and marketing organization operating under a strong leader,” said McAllister as Tucker’s former VP of Sales Brad Turner had just left the company for a new position earlier this month. More recently, senior staffers have been announced (see sidebar), and the overarching game plan has been expanded upon.

“We ARE a company that is built on adventure. Powered adventure. Usually that power comes from internal combustion, sometimes it’s from electricity, and sometimes it’s human power. We have products that support the owners of motorcycles, UTV’s ATV’s, watercraft, and snowmobiles…it’s our products that make our customer’s adventures even better,” said McAllister. “But customer demands are evolving and we need to evolve to meet those changing customer needs.” With everything coming into focus in conjunction with AIMExpo, Dealernews took the opportunity get the story straight from McAllister.

A lot of things have happened in the weeks leading up to AIMExpo including the fact that you were elected to the Motorcycle Industry Council’s board of directors. Congratulations.

It is great to have good representation from the aftermarket industry on the Board. I am proud and honored to be that person. And I appreciate all the MIC members that voted for me, obviously.

Between the transitions with Tucker, new lines being added and your support of AIMExpo it seems like you are at the nexus in Las Vegas in February!

I’m really looking forward to it. As our industry recovers from COVID, and returns to some level of normalcy, I think this is going to be our first show, we’re all coming off an air quotes “normal” year. I’m looking forward to seeing everybody and talking about what’s new, what’s happening and what we all have to look forward to in 2023.

Well, speaking on what’s new and what’s happening, Tucker has led the charge with eBikes —and you personally have led the charge for the electrification. But you have also said that it doesn’t matter if we’re burning electrons, burning gas or we’re burning carbs, the dealers remain the central point for all of that to come together. What is Tucker’s relationship with that dealer? And how do we provide more fuel to stay on the gas here?

We firmly believe in the dealer network and the important role that dealers play in serving consumers and riders all over the country. Dealers keep customers engaged and active in our sport, whether it’s on two wheels or four wheels; whether it’s ICE-powered or EV-powered or even calorie-powered. Dealers are that clubhouse for people to get engaged with their sport and continue to find new ways to tweak or personalize or accessorize their vehicles so that they get out there and enjoy their outdoor adventures wherever they choose to have them. So yes, we’re actively supporting dealers.

As we all know, 2022 was a tough year, because inventories were very weird… It was a tough year for availability. But going forward, as we look at 2023, we’re getting availability and inventory lined up. We’ve got our sales force realigned to better serve the dealers. We’ve invested in marketing and activity around events, and getting Tucker house brands out there, as well as representing our distributed brands. We’re pretty enthusiastic about what 2023 holds for us.

And you’ve got some exciting new lines added to the Tucker family of brands. Forcite helmets come to top of mind, literally, but there are more products being added to the family of brands almost daily.

As a distribution business like we are, we’re constantly looking at how we curate our categories and make sure that we’re offering great products that drive demand into the dealers and satisfy consumers and what consumers are looking for. So what we’re focused on are brands that have high quality and innovative solutions to satisfy consumers. The Forcite helmet is an excellent example of something that’s really leading the charge in where we’re going within helmet electronics and in helmet audio.

Another great example is our new announced relationship with Dainese. One of the most recognizable apparel brands in our industry, with a long history of high-quality innovative riding equipment for riders both on the track and on the road. It’s not just new products, but it’s brands that resonate with consumers and offer our dealers a collection of products that are going to drive customers in their front door and move inventory off their shelves. So that’s what we’re targeting.

You sat in on the MIC Aftermarket Summit. We had some pretty interesting information presented to us. It’s like the old curse: “may you live in interesting times” – We’re definitely facing some interesting times going into 2023. The direct-to-consumer trend that Dr. Leinberger warned us about could be problematic. Can you address the future as you see it?

It was very interesting data. I think some of the macroshopping trends that he presented really gave us pause for thought. Some of the other trends like where consumers are getting their information from are also concerns. Primary shopping locations are basically off their handhelds, whether it’s on a brand’s site or off a shopping site like Amazon, that’s where consumers are going first for information. What was interesting though, is that they are still very interested in getting an in-store experience so they can try on, fit and experience the product. And the store is the first line of defense for service or support post-purchase.

So I think we still have a strong reason for — and need a strong commitment to —brick and mortar dealers, because clearly consumers are still reliant upon them. We have to think of how we’re selling things, and how we’re getting brands in front of consumers… and if we’re meeting them in the places where they are looking for us. I think it’s more about how you position your brands, than it is about necessarily where things are transacted. That was my takeaway, but we probably all got something different out of the Aftermarket Summit.

But we also talked about some of the things that are less impactful, like print materials in catalog form. It wasn’t necessarily the first thing on anybody’s list… and that’s an interesting tidbit, because we at Tucker have taken a bit of a stand on catalogs this year. And we’ve gotten feedback on it from a number of different sides… certainly, it seems that the consumer is somewhat aligned with that.

As you also said, the dealership is the “clubhouse” where we engage our existing riders. That’s where we cultivate our new riders. That’s the center of our universe, collectively. So kudos for supporting the dealers. In addition to Tucker University and other in-house resources for dealers, you have also been talking to the folks at the National Powersports Dealer Association. We can’t really talk too much about that yet, but philosophically, how do you view NPDA?

For me NPDA is a necessary element in our industry. I think the dealers need a collective voice, regardless of what brands the dealers are representing. Dealers do provide that very critical service to consumers. What I mean by clubhouse is, it’s where people go not just for information or for purchase, but it’s also to make them feel good about their commitment to our sport. We need people to be re-energized on a regular basis.

At the end of the day powersports, no matter which way you look at it, is a discretionary use of time and money. People have choices, and they can go elsewhere and do other things. I’m sure they get pressure to spend their time and money elsewhere. So we need to continue to make them feel like that is a great choice of using their time and money to spend it riding a motorcycle or riding their Side-By-Side, getting outdoors and enjoying this beautiful country wherever they live.

The dealer is the linchpin in making that happen. So we need to keep the dealers healthy, and make sure that they have a voice in our industry. We need to make sure we’re supporting them. As I have mentioned before, there is this kind of three-legged stool between the consumers represented by the American Motorcyclist

Association, the MIC representing the OEMs and aftermarket manufacturers in the industry… And then we need this NPDA to represent the dealers. That’s the whole ecosystem. If we’re all strong, all boats rise, and we’re all better off as a result. That’s my thought and in 2023 we’re going to demonstrate our commitment to our dealers. There will be more to follow next month on that from Tucker at AIMExpo.

Pardon the analogy, but you’re “all in” for Las Vegas at AIMExpo. Bringing in your reps and you have expanded your reach with the EV demo area like never before.

The EV segment is very fashionable at the moment and it gets a lot of attention because it is the new and exciting propulsion in our industry. However I have to say that Tucker’s business is to support all riders, whatever propulsion they choose. But yeah, the EV space is growing and it’s been an excellent investment for us. We continue to invest in that space because, even in a year like 2022, it grew significantly.

But in the grand scheme of things, EV is only a small part of what Tucker does. We’re here to represent our whole business. We hope through the AMExpo platform we will be able to demonstrate to dealers that we cover all corners of their dealership, and we’re able to help them drive their businesses, regardless of what the propulsion is, regardless of what kind of ride the consumer is coming in with, we were able to help them.

You mentioned supporting the dealers… behind the scenes, there’s still Tucker university, you still have a rep force, you have people and programs in place to support dealers. Sometimes this doesn’t get everybody’s attention.

We’re using AIMExpo as a platform to kick off our 2023 learning. We’re bringing all of our sales force to Las Vegas this year… they will all be there to support our customers and the dealers that show up. We’re putting a much bigger investment into AIMExpo with both money and bodies to make sure that we have our whole team there to support our dealers. As we go into 2023, the industry itself, and Tucker in particular, we’re resetting our business.

As we look at what 2023 holds for us, we’re looking forward to a good spring season where we get a lot of units back out on the road. We continue to have the kind of participation rates we experienced in 2021, and 2020, which is obviously success over where we were a decade prior. We are looking forward to finding ways to get people out and keep them riding. The more people that find a reason to use their vehicles, the better off we all are.

I encourage dealers to think through how they are getting their customer base back out on the road. How are they re-engaging with their customers as we get into spring 2023? Get those units out, because miles traveled make for more consumables… and more importantly, more engagement points. Customers getting out there and telling stories about how great it is to be in this sport benefits us all. It drives more enthusiasm and creates more customers… it builds on itself. So I look forward to a strong 2023.

The last selling feature for the dealers is that we are hosting the Industry Party on Wednesday night at AIMExpo. Make sure to get yourself there and we’ll host it for the evening and make you feel great about your choice to be in this industry!

The strongest part of this industry has always been the people. Dealers learn more and enjoy fellow dealers’ company because nobody knows what they’ve gone through, except somebody who’s in their shoes. Hosting that gathering at AIMExpo is key.

I would say that fellowship is at the core of our industry and it’s amazing how global and how consistent it is everywhere you travel. Everywhere you meet dealers, it’s the same level of passion, engagement and camaraderie that we all know and love. When I was at EICMA last November, I met with dealers that I’ve worked with over the years —from Asia, from Europe, from Latin America —And it’s always a warm welcome with a great story exchange. It’s something that’s truly great about this industry. So yes, the Wednesday night party will be another opportunity to experience this.

Since many of the OEMs are downplaying their dealer meetings or in some cases, not having them at all, dealers really miss their social interaction with other dealers. The industry party at AMExpo is now one of the few chances to be in the same place and socialize with a large group of fellow dealers.

Even more reason to be at AIMExpo, I know NPDA Is organizing their own get together for a specific group of dealers, which I really look forward to attending as well. I think we are all looking at this as a way to get together and have that social moment. Just as the dealers enthuse our consumers by those interactions when they’re in the store, I think these shows enthuse us all to stay engaged in the industry, particularly the dealers.