Indian Motorcycle dealer network update

The transformation of Indian Motorcycle's Australian dealership network is in full swing, with new outlets up and running as company-owned stores close their doors

The restructure of Indian Motorcycle's Australian dealership network is continuing apace, with some of the brand's glittering company-owned dealerships already closed and new independent outlets up and running.

There's a lot going on with Indian Motorcycle in Australia at the moment, with its corporate dealerships closings amid a major overall expansion of the dealer network

Indian Motorcycle parent company Polaris announced in February that the historic American brand's dealer network was in for a major shake-up in this country, with a shift away from the mega-dollar corporate flagship stores to a wider network of independently owned stores that would ultimately expand the brand's national footprint while lowering overheads.

That process is now well underway; the corporate dealership in Cannington, Perth – a huge 1750 square metre facility that opened in 2016 – closed its doors at the end of March, while the Elizabeth Street store in Melbourne followed suit this week.

When it opened in 2016, Perth's Victory and Indian dealership was the biggest outlet for the two brands in the southern hemisphere, if not the world...

Then the Parramatta Road store in Ashfield, Sydney, will be shuttered from the end of May, with the Fortitude Valley store in Brisbane to complete the closures when it shuts at the end of July.

TeamMoto/MCAS deal

Instrumental to the transition is a deal inked with major motorcycle dealership group MotorCycle Holdings, owner of the TeamMoto and MCAS (Motorcycle Accessories Supermarket) chains found throughout Australia's eastern states. MCAS, previously owned by Cassons Pty Ltd, was sold to MotorCycle Holdings in late 2017.

While TeamMoto in Canberra was already selling Indian, it's now joined by MCAS Dandenong and MCAS Keilor East in Melbourne and TeamMoto Gold Coast. Indian will also be sold by MCAS Penrith (Sydney) from mid-May and MCAS Auburn (Sydney) from late May, along with TeamMoto in Springwood (Brisbane) from June.

MCAS in Keilor East, Melbourne, is now up and running as an Indian dealership, with more MCAS/TeamMoto outlets to follow

Bikesales understands that, where possible, MotorCycle Holdings is extending employment offers to staff in the affected corporate stores.

Independent dealerships to continue

All of Indian Motorcycle's existing independent dealerships will remain within the network, although Indian Motorcycle National Marketing Manager – ANZ, Tom Mendey, said some arrangements are still being negotiated, including those for Melbourne agent, Antique Motorcycles.

Antique Motorcycles has served as a satellite dealership in recent years, with sales brokered through the store previously channeled through Melbourne's company-owned Elizabeth Street store.

"We've introduced Johnny [John Gee] to the MotorCycle Holdings team and asked them to touch base to develop the relationship," says Mendey.

"He's a great ambassador for the brand, a very knowledgeable bloke, and he essentially worked as an offshoot to our Melbourne dealership – all the sales went through the Elizabeth Street store. Obviously with that dealership shutting that changes things for Johnny, so we've said to him it's best he touch base with MotorCycle Holdings and try and establish a similar relationship with them."

When contacted for comment, John Gee said the discussions were still on-going, but he remained hopeful the relationship [as an agent for Indian Motorcycle] would continue.

"But we've been involved with and selling Indian motorcycles for over 30 years, so either way that's not going to change," he said.

Interim solution for WA

And the situation is evolving in Western Australia, where West Coast Automotive Group in Mandurah has been appointed as an interim dealership and is presently handling all sales and servicing matters for the brand.

"We're currently working with a couple of different options over in Perth," says Mendey.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to control [the transition] quite as we'd like due to COVID-19, which is probably the worst time to be launching all these new dealerships, so there's a bit of an overlay.

"We were hoping to have these new dealerships set up by the time we closed the Perth dealership but that didn't happen, so we've had to set up an interim dealership with the guys in Mandurah. We're still in talks with a couple of different options in Perth. Once we've got confirmed permanent dealerships there we'll communicate that."

The opening of the Perth dealership was a gala affair; discussions are presently underway with two potential outlets in the west

Net increase in outlets

All told, the changes will see the Indian Motorcycle dealership network increase from 12 outlets at the start of 2020 to 16 by mid-year, even with the closures of the four corporate stores. And there are more new appointments to come…

"We're still looking to appoint a number of new dealers between now and the end of the year," says Mendey.

"We've just appointed a new dealer in Emerald in Queensland [Central Bike Centre], an existing Polaris and Yamaha dealer. We're also in discussion with a couple of opportunities in Geelong, and I wouldn't be too surprised if we start seeing some more provincial dealers in the likes of Wagga, maybe Dubbo, and places like that."

The company-owned dealerships were lavish affairs, but the business model ultimately proved unsustainable

Mendey says Indian Motorcycle is hopeful the new-look network will stabilise by the end of 2020.

"But that's depending on how COVID-19 progresses," he says.

"It [the COVID-19 pandemic] is being very disruptive, obviously not only to us but to the entire industry. People with whom we were in talks with to establish a dealership, some of those things have gone a bit south in terms of financing, so it's really hard to say.

"But our goal at the moment is to have everything stabilised by the end of the year – by then we should have a pretty solid number of dealers across the country."

Corporate model

Australia was the only market globally to feature a network of company-owned dealerships – lavish, opulent affairs in central capital city locations that were both costly to establish and to run.

Indian and Victory Motorcycles Brisbane will be the last of the company-owned outlets to close, shutting its doors from late July

"While that may have been the right decision at the time, to launch the brand in a big and beautiful way, it's done what it was required to do and now it's time for growth," says Mendey.

"When we take a look at the likes of Harley, and the sheer amount of dealerships it's got compared to us, we've had our customers screaming at us about access to Indian – customers saying, 'I want to buy an Indian but the nearest dealer is three hours away'.

"So we're trying to get into as many places as make sense to us – that make sense from a business point of view – and we're just trying to grow our customer base, because we're coming off a pretty small base."

More Indian dealers for NZ

While there's a fair degree of upheaval within the Australian Indian Motorcycle dealer network at present, the New Zealand network is undergoing a somewhat more restrained expansion.

The recent appointment of Wanaka Powersports on the county's South Island has brought the number of outlets across the ditch to four, while discussions are continuing to appoint another one or two, most likely in central locations on the North Island.

The restructure will give Indian a much bigger footprint in Australia, hopefully laying the foundation for growth

Wider network

Mendey says that ultimately the transition in Australia will mean that customers will have easier and better access to Indian outlets, but stresses that the quality of those outlets will be key.

"We're dedicating the next couple of months at least to expanding our dealership footprint in Australia and trying to get into as many locations as we can so we can provide better service to our customers," he says.

"That's our strategy for this year in terms of our dealership structure, and making sure we get the right dealers in the right locations – we're not going to be putting in a dealer who isn't going to represent the brand well.

"We're coming from the Taj Mahal of Indian Motorcycle dealerships, so we need to make sure that when our customers go from one of those stores to a new dealership they still sense those premium brand elements and feel comfortable buying a $50,000 Roadmaster from us."