Polaris 2004 Annual Report Download - page 21

2004 Annual Report 17
The Polaris Power Store concept brings the riding experience right into the dealership — with ATVs
and snowmobiles parked amid a rocky mountainscape, and a highway running right through the
Victory motorcycle display. Mies Outland, Watkins, Minn. (pictured above) saw sales increase 110%
percent after receiving a capital assistance grant to upgrade to a Power Store.
The Polaris Dealership Development team
designed this ATV Experience Center as a more
attractive model for merchandise presentation.
The ATV Experience Center debuted in 200
Polaris dealerships in 2004 and will appear in
200 more stores in 2005.
Managing a more
profitable dealer network
Our concerted effort to improve the
sales productivity of our dealer
network is showing excellent results.
Defined dealer territories and
business planning processes have
created needed structure for our
dealer network. Each dealer in North
America is now assigned a cluster
of zip codes — their area of primary
responsibility (APR). This gives the
dealer focus in their sales efforts, and
eliminates intra-network competition
among Polaris dealers. Each dealer
meets with their Polaris district sales
manager to review market trends in
their APR, devise a marketing plan
for the year, and set clear sales goals.
The result is better coordination
between Polaris and the dealer that
leads to industry-best sales efforts.
Helping dealers
be more profitable
Supporting our dealers means more
than helping them set goals — it also
means giving them the tools to
achieve them.
PG&A incentives. Parts, garments
and accessories sales carry the
highest margins for Polaris — and for
our dealers. We further incent dealers
to sell PG&A with wholesale discounts
on parts and apparel based on
volume sold. And, we make sure our
dealers’ shelves stay stocked. We
have a 97 percent fill-rate on PG&A
orders from dealers; 99 percent of
dealer PG&A orders received by 3 p.m.
are shipped out in the same day.
Marketing support. From pre-
designed ads to easy-to-host events,
Polaris provides dealers with ways to
capitalize on corporate marketing
and tangibly boost sales. More than
80 percent of our North American
dealers participated in the 2004
Polaris Open House promotion — and
saw a 16 percent average increase in
weekly retail sales as a result.
In contrast, non-participating dealers
saw their business decline 15 percent
during the same period. We also
support our dealers by providing them
with the names of potential buyers in
their APR. During 2004, more than
80,000 names were gathered through
Web site registrations, brochure
request or other corporate marketing
interactions that were provided to our
dealers as potential sales leads.
Capital assistance. The Polaris
Capital Assistance Program (CAP)
continues to run strong. Over the
last four years, CAP grants averaging
$40,000 have been awarded to about
160 dealers for store improvements.
Fifty-six dealers used their CAP
money to upgrade to a Power Store
— the new role model for Polaris
dealerships (see caption) — and
power up their sales.
CAP Grant Dealers Sales Increase
Van Wall Equipment, Olathe, Kansas
New Building
137%
Zack’s V-Twin Cycles, Hyde Park, New York
New Building
59%
Mid-America Moto Plex, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Power Store Conversion
58%
33%
ATV Motorcycle
66%
Snowmobile
59%
Percentage of Polaris North American
Star Dealers by Product Line
Polaris dealers are considered a “Star” dealer if
they exclusively sell Polaris products in a given
line. Star dealers receive special benefits such as
product financing and cooperative advertising
for each exclusive Polaris line they sell. So the
more a dealer specializes in Polaris products, the
more benefits they receive from Polaris.