Urban Rider a Top UK Dealership tell their story. Thanks to Will and Andy.

Urban Rider in the UK one of the top apparel stores in the country, hear their story in the Armadillo Dealer Interview Part 2.

How does the shop make money? What is it about Armadillo they love? The owners talk about their experiences and what makes them a top UK Armadillo dealer. Will and Andy at Urban Rider tell you their story.

MRP carries the finest line of scooter clothing available here we interview a UK dealer on his thoughts on the Armadillo Scooter Wear Lineup. A dealer since 2007 he loves the line checkout the interview.

Stay Tuned as we interview US, Italian, Spanish, and UK dealers on our parts and accessories

http://www.ArmadilloScooterWear.com

For US Distribution
http://www.mrp-speed.com

DEALERS MUST ADAPT OR DIE TODAYS RANT

CHANGING THE GAME FOR THE DEALER
I talk to some great people, above you can Steve from the Scooter Scoop http://www.thescooterscoop.com who always has some great ideas on how to keep stores making money, and I've been putting it out there that dealers need to Adapt or Die. It's the first law of business, Arrakis, or whatever place you're from. Darwin didn't exactly explain the scooter world which is a world of passion and insanity, but he did give us that little line which makes you realize you always have to be on top of the game.

DON'T HATE THE PLAYER
The industry is getting smaller, but I was thinking this morning that just means that dealers that are in it for the long run need to be smart about who they pick as their suppliers.

MRP is bigger than ever so despite all the doom and gloom you have someone who will help you get the parts for all the brands you offer: No other distributor has Korean parts, Italian parts, Japanese parts, and Chinese parts in one place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdvPQtwq0LU



THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX:
I also ask that the dealers think outside the box. Read some of our MPN magazine articles on how to stay profitable all year long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HRUokVfsDk


On our site you will find lots of great advice on how to build a better store as well.

BRANDS AND FORECAST
So as a dealer you need to support the distributors that support you. I also think this applies the other way around.

Suppliers need to be smarter as to who they pick to represent them. Talking to companies like Kymco and Honda I get the sense they aren't as desperate to set up any fly by night operation as other companies. Piaggio at one point was setting up ever car dealer that came knocking and in retrospect I think that was a mistake. MRP made some mistakes as well, we lowered our dealer buy in and all it did was bring small repair shops that can't buy more than a hundred dollars a year in parts. Sadly that's not representing a company with 12,000 items and it really does damage to the end user because they want to go to a store that can represent the brands they carry.

If you want to understand the real numbers behind this then support Guidos blog - check out his post today http://blog.guidoebert.com/2010/07/01/japans-powersports-vehicle-shipments-to-us-drop-50.aspx

SHIPMENTS TO THE U.S.

The four manufacturers shipped 4,582 units to the United States from Japan in May, down 49.7 percent compared to 9,116 units shipped in May 2009.

Shipments to the U.S. during the first five months of the 2010 totaled 34,186 units, down 71.1 percent compared to 118,623 units shipped stateside during the same five-month period in 2009.

Exports to the U.S., January-May

2010 2009

50cc & Under … --- 8,236

When I read his report I look at it from the Scooter perspective and it says to me "Honda and Yamaha didn't make any new Zoomers for the USA" that means the dealers are still full of 2009 and 2008 inventory. That inventory is going to sit on shelves until 2011.

Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki have the power to change Scootering in the US, but have always decided to ignore this market. The last ten years they always push after the rush and are the first to stop marketing scooters. It's a real shame because they are the only brands with the marketing power to make urban transportation a reality in the USA. In reality because of their lack of efforts it opened the market to Kymco, SYM, Genuine (LML - PGO), to do such great jobs. It also allowed brands like United Motors, Roketa, TNG, Lance, Tank, Daelim, CPI, Eton, Vento, to grow and take advantage of the boom and bust period the last few years.

This leads us to the midpoint of 2010. I still think some distributors will be leaving the market. I would beware of any scooter brand as a dealer that is still full of 2008 and 2009 models. Some companies are skipping 2010 models altogether and just jumping to 2011. That's a smart move on their part. I would also beware of any company dropping prices below what dealers paid last year in order to move units because it kills the dealer network.

My advice is for dealers to pick the top brands they support and support them well. So if you are going to be a Kymco dealer. Do it the best way you can. Stock the brand, stock the upgrades, stop trying to carry twenty brands of scooters that aren't in it for the long run only to have a cheap Chinese bike.

MEDIA
I've always promoted the media in the industry as the main source of information for dealers, but now I feel its the internet. I write for Motorcycle Product News and I send as many copies of the magazine as I can out to dealers. Everytime we get a new dealer its a new client that has never heard of Scoot Magazine or MPN. So I send them a free copy. You have to give it to Josh Rogers the publisher of Scoot. Every issue is a work of love and he doesn't write articles that are basically free ads or as we call them "advertorials." If he thinks your scooter stinks he will say so, which is one of the reasons I think the magazine has grown beyond Barry's legacy and expanded so well into the modern Twist N Go market we are now in.

This month Motorcycle Industry Magazine (MI Mag) closed. The magazine was one of the first to publish a blurb on the Scooter Maven back in 2001 when we entered the market importing Malaguti scooters with our old company Malaguti USA. Rick Campbell the editor and publisher was a hard worker and I admire his persistence. Any publisher or owner of a magazine good or bad is in a hard spot with the Iphone, Ipad, and the smaller market share of actual print every day. Recently we saw MPN get sold to BabCox media, current issues of Dealer News look as thin as a comic book. I just heard Scooter World magazine closed and that one hurts because I had just seen Bev out at the Kymco ride in North Carolina. I have to say she is a fantastic person and loves scooter as much as anyone else in this scooter world. Her support of the Denver scene including Sportique scooters is legendary. One can only guess how many new scooter owners started riding thanks to her and the Idiot's Guide to Scootering she published.


So as a dealer your job is to support Scoot Magazine. Buy an ad, subscribe, buy a freaking sweater off the Scoot website http://www.Scootmagazine.com

What to carry?
Carry tested and proven brands. Listen to some top dealers talk about what makes them profitable.

Raise the bar and stock some MRP upgrades for the top brands you carry. REPAIRS = MONEY and now we have more Parts than any company in the USA.
NO OTHER DISTRIBUTOR is going to have Daelim, Malaguti, TNG parts. You can find cheap Chinese parts anywhere but someone that isn't selling direct and gives you the opportunity to support 10 brands that have left the market?

So we are raising our standards. I'm done with the $100 clients, yes that is a fact, but that means that the dealers that support us will get more support. We don't want to retail, we want you the dealer to make money. So support us and we will support you.

Listen to some of the top UK dealers on how they sell apparel in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLX1Uz1OEPE



Scoot Tech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92vJgzgarI


For more ideas or comments contact me on Facebook or by email,

The Scooter Maven

Starting late July 2010 MRP will be offering select support for Daelim Scooters. We just acquired the parts this past week so they will not be on our system for another 6 to 8 weeks, but dealers and consumers can finally expect some support for the brand. Since Daelim Motors USA closed in early 2009 there has been little support on the brand as the brand negotiated with potential importers. Dealers and owners had to buy parts from the factory in Korea direct while the US parts warehouse remained in limbo. There are rumors that a new company is in talks with Daelim Korea, but no word yet if it’s serious, but should it be finalized MRP will be working with the new importer.

Manuals

http://www.martinracingdealer.com/WSWrapper.jsp?mypage=Manuals.htm

Stocking Dealer locator

http://www.martinracingdealer.com/locator/index.php

MRP distributes OEM parts for TNG (CMSI), select models of CF Moto, Daelim Motors Korea ( parts should appear on website by mid July) Malaguti of Italy (www.Malaguti.com) Keeway Southeast (Keeway, Vento, QJ, Andretti, Yamati models), CPI Taiwan, Powersports Factory Brands PSF, Diamo, Cubik (matches OEM Vento part numbers), as well as QJ and ZNEN (who manufacture bikes for a variety of scooter importers) such as FlyScooters, Lance, BMS, Qlink models that were ZNEN corresponding to matching TNG parts.

Did you say Daelim? TNG? Malaguti? Linhai? We got them!

Are you driving a Diamo? CFMOTO? TNG? Linhai? Malaguti Italy? Does your local shop not know what these names mean? Well then visit one of our dealers and have them give us a call. We are the only scooter parts distributor in the USA that is solely dealer direct and we are happy to send any potential online inquiries to stocking stores. So any consumers looking for Daelim parts will have to go to a store with an MRP account or have their store buy from another dealer that has an account with us. We also sell top name scooter brands like SN, Duro, Innova, Kenda, Bridgestone, Gates, Powerlink,

Manuals
http://www.martinracingdealer.com/WSWrapper.jsp?mypage=Manuals.htm

Stocking Dealer locator
http://www.martinracingdealer.com/locator/index.php


MRP distributes OEM parts for TNG (CMSI), select models of CF Moto, Daelim Motors Korea ( parts should appear on website by mid July) Malaguti of Italy (www.Malaguti.com) Keeway Southeast (Keeway, Vento, QJ, Andretti, Yamati models), CPI Taiwan, Powersports Factory Brands PSF, Diamo, Cubik (matches OEM Vento part numbers), as well as QJ and ZNEN (who manufacture bikes for a variety of scooter importers) such as FlyScooters, Lance, BMS, Qlink models that were ZNEN corresponding to matching TNG parts.

Armadillo Dealer Interview Part 1

I think some dealers might have missed this and its a very good video on why Armadillo Scooter Gear works for the shops. Watch this video, also read the article from Motorcycle Product News on clothing and apparel and why your store should carry a line like Armadillo to stay profitable.



DEALER INTERVIEW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92vJgzgarI



Another good video on Armadillo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK3W2_lOLcg&feature=related


URBAN RIDER REVIEW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5adZkAuPic

How to stay profitable all year long!

Advice for new stores! Put a Vintage bike in the window!

Armadillo Dealer Interview Part 1

Listen to one of the top UK Vespa - Piaggio Dealers on how to make money working with Armadillo Scooter wear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92vJgzgarI

Make money with the fastest growing segment in the USA - Armadillo Scooter Wear available from MRP

New Exhausts Being Added this week

QUALITY - That's something you don't hear with a nation dying for price. Clients, consumers, stores all you hear is "PRICE" lets buy the cheapest exhaust from the cheapest Chinese parts importer we can find. We'll I'm here to tell you there is such a thing as a quality brand even for Chinese buggies GoKarts and Scooters. TK

CHECK THIS OUT. OVER 1,000KM JOURNEY ON A GOKART
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ror_yutTsRU


That's quality right there and we love TK, plus we just got 10 new styles and applications plus restocked today on sold out models!

I think some of the new Exhausts we are adding are going to get some people really going. TK from Spain ( http://www.turbokit.net ) has sent us some really awesome new big Maxi Scooter Exhausts and I encourage stores to stock these because they will go fast. Again, we're a small company so its not like we have a 100 of each we bring in a few to promote the line and we are usually the first company with any exhaust on the market for new models.

So let's get to it - For Kymco new Quanon II 150cc Flat Black, Kymco Downtown 300i, Kymco Xciting 500c, and more for the Bet and Win 250cc BACK IN STOCK Our best selling exhaust with the Carbon Stealth Finish.

NEW ZUMA 125cc / BW125cc for Yamaha, HONDA RUCKUS 50cc / 70cc UPGRADE RACE TEAM EXHAUST BACK IN STOCK! We had sold out of the Zoomer Ruckus exhaust by TK which is now selling well in Japan, so we couldn't more because the Japanese importer purchased the whole production ( I had to literally get in a yelling match to get these for our dealers ) So STOCK THEM. Because what's going to happen is the one guy on your street will see it on someone elses bike and he will want one and he will go to your store and you won't have them, you will take his money, and call us. So avoid all that, if you sell RUCKUS upgrades stock it because they will go fast and I don't want the end user calling here telling me his local shop doesn't have any in stock. This is hands down the best Ruckus exhaust we have seen and the only FLAT BLACK out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOp7PJJLy-g



LINHAI 300cc IN STOCK!

Also we just got in new Scooter Ninja Sliders for the Kymco 50cc lineup. Make sure to check them out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjKL33NYGKA




RACING DISK ( DISC ) BRAKES NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE KYMCO LINEUP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjEcbaDbosM
COMPLETE LINEUP NOW AVAILABLE SENTO 50, PEOPLE 50, PEOPLE 150, AGILITY 125, BET AND WIN 250, KYMCO XCITING 250, GRAND DINK, DINK, SUPER 9, SUPER 8, QUANON AND MORE CHECK OUT THE DISTRIBUTOR PAGE FOR ALL THE LATEST ON RACE STYLE WAVY DISKS AND MORE www.ngbrakedisc.com

MRP THE ONLY US DISTRIBUTOR WITH EUROPEAN RACING DISKS





MORE FROM TK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5mO_-mc8M

KYMCO MAXI SCOOTER UPGRADES

I get calls every day from dealerships asking which MAXI Scooter line they should carry and lately the only answer I have is KYMCO. Thats right this company has the best Maxi Scooters out there hands down, plus they work with us so we can develop the aftermarket parts dealers want. Everything from Wave style disks by NG to Racing Exhaust from TK in Spain http://www.turbokit.net for a full selection of upgrades from the Quanon 150 to the Xciting 500cc visit your local dealer and ask them to give us a call.
http://www.mrp-speed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOp7PJJLy-g

500cc Scooter Race Finals Adria Italy Malossi Day with MRP - TMAX 500