VOL. 50 ISSUE 25 JUNE 25, 2013
tempt at reviving the Indian brand
but ultimately failing, for various
reasons not necessarily of their
doing. But this time around it's
going to stick. Indian fits right well
with Polaris, we have the capabil-
ride out that storm. But we also
have the experience of running
a motorcycle business successfully for the past 15 years. We've
learned our lessons – so now
we know about product develop-
P83
We actually think that the two
brands are very complementary,
and that if everything fits, we'll let
both brands co-exist in the same
building.
brought all of that acquired experience to Indian, and we believe
we can make a go of it.
In terms of that experience,
do you plan to market Indian
and Victory together as separate but related entities? Will
you ever allow a dealer to have
an Indian and a Victory dealership on the same site?
Yes, we will. We actually think
that the two brands are very complementary, and that if everything
fits, we'll let both brands co-exist
in the same building. So when
ity and the resources to
get the job done right, and
it's going to be that successful comeback story
that Americans and other
people around the world
really love. Count on it.
Why do you think
Stellican failed with the
King's Mountain Indians? Was it because of
the product – too big,
too expensive, too much
vibration? Or because
they were undercapitalized? Or was it run by
financiers from outside
the motorcycle business
who didn't really understand bikes?
I think where Stellican struggled was a function of timing the U.S. economy caved in just
at the time that they were getting ready to launch the product in 2008/2009, and they
didn't have the size and financial
wherewithal that Polaris offers to
you look at Indian, I'd say that
its appeal is to more of a classic
rider who enjoys the story behind
the brand, and can take pride in
owning that bike with its Indian
heritage. With a Victory, they'll
still take pride in their motorcycle,
but it's a younger brand, more
modern, and it's more for those
"
"
ment, about engineering, and of
course distribution, which is a
crucial area we've been working
at for the last 60 years. It's not
that at Polaris we have it all perfect, but we do know the ins and
outs of the business, and Stellican was still in a learning phase
at the time of the crash. So we've
