Polaris 2015 Annual Report Download - page 6

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SHAREHOLDER LETTER
towards our goal of a $1+billion Motorcycle
business, we also expect to be on a path to
meet or surpass company-average margins.
Steve Menneto has built a talented team,
and their best eorts will be required to
win in an increasingly competitive global
Motorcycle market: a task made easier by
significant upgrades to our paint and delivery
capabilities that will allow us to introduce
new bikes and improve our cost position.
Craig Scanlon has led a successful eort to
remove weight and cost from Slingshot, and
is using innovative marketing techniques
to drive much-needed improvements
inproduct awareness. Expectations and
excitement remain high for Slingshot as
weenter yeartwo.
Profitability is also a primary focus for our
International business, which saw operating
profit decline significantly in2015, largely
driven by the strengthening U.S.dollar, but
also hurt by weak markets in Russia and the
Middle East. Mike Dougherty was promoted
to President of International last year, and
his wealth of experience in both creating
organic growth, and developing partnerships
and acquisitions, will lead us towards our
long-term goal of generating a third of our
sales from International markets.
Two areas where inorganic growth has,
and will have, a substantial impact are our
Parts, Garments and Accessories (PG&A)
and Global Adjacent Markets businesses.
Steve Eastman and his PG&A team continue
to move one of our fastest-growing
businesses forward, most recently adding
509 to our broad and deep lineup of apparel
and accessories. While light snowfall and
diminished ORV volume impacted 2015
sales, there is a lot of runway for Steve’s
business in2016 and beyond. Similar
potential exists for Global Adjacent Markets,
where we actively seek opportunities to
augment our range of non-Powersports
vehicles and accessories. Aixam delivered
outstanding performance in2015, and
theirongoing success, along with the launch
of our first-ever, all-new GEM vehicle, has
us excited about the potential of our Work&
Transportation portfolio. Polaris Defense
continues to gain traction with our vast
array of military equipment, with especially
high interestin—andopportunitiesfor—
ourDAGOR vehicle.
Most of our military sales support
U.S.Special Operations Command (SOCOM),
where performance and reliability can be
life-or-death concerns. SOCOM’s consistent
success in dicult and often treacherous
environments is largely attributable
tooutstanding leadership and incredible
discipline in planning, training and
execution. The battles we fight at Polaris
unfold on a less consequential stage, but
our commitment to strong leadership and
improved execution is equally steadfast.
Wehave an unwavering resolve to begreat—
forour customers, our employees, our
shareholders and all other stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Scott W. Wine
Chairman and Chief Executive Ocer