Confessions Of A Customer® By Eric Anderson
Confessions Of A Renaissance Man The Revival Of 21st Century Powersports
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fter the Fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, a 900-year “Dark Ages” period in history followed. Now referred to as the Middle Ages, the reference to “dark” referred to the lack of control and a stagnation of culture… that bout with the Black Plague also colors the reference. The unifying power of the Romans was now gone, leaving behind somewhat of a cultural vacuum and a population decimated by the bubonic plague pandemic. Gradually academics, humanists, philosophers and mathematicians in Italy began to re-kindle ancient knowledge combined with an influx of new ideas promulgated by the silk trade with Asia. The Renaissance was born out of darkness. Fortunately things move faster nowadays as we look forward to a powersports revival after emerging from somewhat of a dark time for the past 14 years. Let the pandemic and the recession now give way to a renaissance in powersports, leading us into a new era of fresh ridership, economic growth and renewed adventuresome spirits. If we get the concept right, the money will come.
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It is all too often however the venture capitalists, outside investors and money lenders get that backwards making it about the “money first” then getting the concept right… later. Many of the dealers out there had a terrific 2020 sales years if you had dirtbikes, watercraft and UTVs on the floor. However, it remained a tough year with new sales protocols, delivery mechanism delays, inventory gaps, curbside pickups and Zoom selling. It is now time to look ahead while we are enjoying having a breather. As I inhale clean outdoor air this April, I look around at the spring flowers, blue skies, my new grandson, and a growing vaccinated population. I have confident feelings for growth and adventure coming out of our own recent version of Dark Ages. A Renaissance of sorts is now beginning. There will be challenges, too. One of them will be to understand the newly sprouted shopping habits of the American consumer. Are more people really shopping on Amazon? I also hear an equal number of rebellious consumers are boycotting the E-comm giant for monopolistic reasons. Where else will they obtain their goods—elsewhere online or in old-fashioned stores? I suspect door swings to brick & mortar retail establishments will bounce back quickly, but likely not to pre-pandemic levels immediately. Let us hope being pent up for a year indoors becoming “zoom zombies” may have a springboard effect to get people back out grazing in stores and restaurants because we all have missed the interactive, social aspects of “getting out.
