Indian Motorcycle Australia will sell their bikes through six more dealerships owned by Motorcycle Holdings Ltd who operate TeamMoto dealerships.
Last month the company surprised its customers when it announced it would close its four company-owned dealerships in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Sources told us it was part of a long-term plan to move from company-owned dealerships to independent dealerships.
However, rather than independents, they have now signed an agreement with the biggest dealership network in Australia. We believe it does not preclude the company from signing on more dealers, including independents.
MotorCycle Holdings has 48 franchises operated from 31 dealerships and eight retail accessory locations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and The Australian Capital Territory.
MCH went public in 2016 at about $2.50 a share, reached a peak of $5.22 at the end of 2017, hit a record low of around $1.25 in May last year and was today trading at $.175.
Today’s announcement has bumped the share price about 5c to $1.80.
New dealerships
MotorCycle Holdings will sell Indian motorcycles at the following locations: Springwood in Brisbane, Nerang on the Gold Coast, Penrith and Auburn in western Sydney, and Keilor East and Dandenong in Melbourne.
A statement on a dealer for Perth will be made “in the near future”.
Perth store opened in 2016“All locations are anticipated to be operational by mid-2020, a transition that will see a smooth supply and service for existing and new Indian Motorcycle customers as each company-owned Indian Motorcycle dealership closes,” an official Indian Motorcycle Australia statement says.
“The expansion of our dealership network and moving out of the central city locations will give our customers greater and easier access to our dealerships nationwide and provide more than one location in each of the state capitals, providing more options for our customers.
“We have very high standards when it comes to how and where the Indian Motorcycle brand is represented and the level of service our dealerships offer our customers,” the statement says.
“We will be working with MotorCycle Holdings to leverage both companies’ vast retail experience to provide our customers with the exceptional customer service and premium dealership experience that you’ve come to expect from an Indian Motorcycle dealership.
“Each dealership will have a full fleet of new and demo Indian Motorcycles, sell parts, apparel and accessories and be a factory-trained Indian Motorcycle workshop for all your needs.”
The statement says parent company Polaris is working with MCH to keep current staff employed at the new dealerships.
No other market around the world had experienced the luxury of palatial company-owned Indian dealerships which offered a heightened customer service for the revived brand.
Many in the industry and in the company, as well as customers, acknowledged that it was an excessive and unsustainable business model.
2020 vision
The year ahead looks good for Indian wth the extra dealerships, and the launch of the new Challenger touring range.
It has already got off to a god start wth 69 bikes sold in January which is a 13.1% increase on the previous year in a month when road bike sales tanked were down 5%.