While several sectors of the powersports industry are in decline, you wouldn’t know it by looking at 2Wheel.com. The aftermarket PG&A retailer just tripled its California-based operating space after increasing revenue by more than 500 percent in the past 24 months, and 1,800 percent in the last 36 months.
When the company founder began divesting his chain of dealerships in 2008, he had a vision for a streamlined brand-to- consumer process.
“Product shouldn’t need to be shipped and stored three or more times before finally reaching the customer,” said Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Peters. “In today’s world of commerce, consumers want selection, they want low prices, and they want things NOW. An automated model can achieve that.”
Unlike the predatory practices of some online retailers, 2Wheel.com says their model actually has the ability to unite the powersports industry.
“Right now, we see the industry cannibalizing itself,” said Chief Operations Officer Gavin Trippe. “Online players are pushing out dealers, retailers are bypassing distributors and someone’s supplying fly-by-night sellers who ignore industry policies, like MAP pricing.”
In 2Wheel.com’s vision, everyone plays their unique roles.
“Brands develop the product, retailers support the customer and the distributors ship the product,” said Peters. “Software automates the process, so transactions take place instantly and product moves without redundancy.”
Kenan Ikels, vice president of sales at the powersports distribution brand, Tucker, attests that the model is improving customer experience: “2Wheel.com’s significant investments in technology, aimed at improving the consumer brand experience, have positioned them for continued growth and success.”
Greg Blackwell, president of MTA Distributing, reported that the new model is creating business process efficiencies: “2Wheel.com is a technology-driven company with whom we’ve seen strong growth. By directly connecting our IT systems with 2Wheel.com, we have minimized mistakes, improved order input/output and have been able to get product to the customer faster.”
When asked how dealerships factor into 2Wheel.com’s vision, Trippe hinted something big is in the works: “Dealerships have always been the cornerstone of the industry. We’ve been reaching out to dealers on how we can best support each other. We’ll be releasing information about that in the coming months.”
As the market continues to shift and closures out-number success stories, 2Wheel.com has faith in the long- term success of the industry.
“I’ve spent my entire life around bikes and powersports,” said Trippe. “We always come together when we need to.”
Link: 2Wheel
