CONFESSIONS OF A CUSTOMER

By Eric Anderson

Confessions Of A Renaissance Man

The Revival Of 21st Century Powersports

After 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. 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.

More challenges will likely come from lack of supply. Companies who pulled the plug on production during the pandemic will not be able to turn on the spigot quickly so be prepared to look elsewhere for products to sell. The container ships anchored in Long Beach harbor serve as a visual reminder of the fact that “on the water” doesn’t always equate to “being delivered.” There will also be the ripple effect of the Suez SNAFU which further clogged a crippled shipping system.

Consider alternative suppliers, brands, distributors and manufacturers when you are planning your own business renaissance. It is not only a chance to renew old supply chains, but to explore new ones whether it is a e-bike line or a secondary UTV brand which you never previously considered. On the aftermarket side, it is worthy to note the watercraft, e-bike and apparel expansions of Tucker, Parts and WPS indicate a rebound. Out of darkness comes light!

Since my world-history teaching father challenged me to become a “Renaissance Man” in college, I have continually pursued as many disciplines as possible in the short time I have on Earth. I had never thought of it, but the word “university” comes from the Renaissance quest to gain a diverse and “universal education” as a base on which to begin living a more productive life. Leonardo da Vinci was the original R-Man because he had what was labeled an “unquenchable curiosity” and “feverishly inventive imagination.” That is what it is going to take for all of us to emerge into the growing “light” in front of us — curiosity and imagination!

Some of the emerging light sources are brighter than others or at least closer. Without sounding too evangelical here, be sure to look toward those illuminating success stories from peers and learn from them. Emulate them, adapt them and absorb them into your constantly evolving brand culture. Remember that a “jack of all trades” is a master of none—a Renaissance Man is a master of all.

What obviously cannot work for any of us any more is doing business the same old way we used to. After all, those last 14 years were the Dark Ages of our powersports past. It is now time to step into the new role of becoming your own reborn Renaissance Men and Women of Powersports. Catch another gear and throttle up! Imagine how da Vinci, Pythagoras or Galileo began to explore where no man had explored before. It had to have been considered odd, for example, to think the world was round while surrounded by flat-Earth believers. Time to expand your world view… NOW!

You now must be able to break your old business traditions and become more curious and imaginative. A Renaissance Man knows how and when to relax, but also how and when to focus. Seriously concentrating on these fundamental drivers of human behavior will get you down the road toward beginning a new future in powersports retailing.

Fill in your own definitions of what each of these ABCs means to you and your business:

CURIOSITY (unquenchable) A) Learn B) Ask questions C) Study parallel industries and join other dealers.

IMAGINATION (feverishly inventive) A) Be creative B) Think different C) Experiment