Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 28 JULY 14, 2015 P91 thing we're actively looking at doing. As KTM has demonstrat- ed, that strategy works well. To the point that you might have a joint venture with Eicher on producing a Victory or Indian range of single- cylinder motorcycles in India, or entry-level V-twins like the Harley 750cc Street that's made there? That's always a potential route to take. Might Polaris end up im- porting Royal Enfields into the U.S., for your dealers to sell them alongside Indian and Victory? We haven't gotten that far in deciding that yet, and I don't know if Siddhartha [Lal, Royal Enfield's CEO] has decided whether he needs our help in that area. That's one of the several things that we're talking over with them. Polaris Corp's develop- ment as a company has seen your share price ramp up exponentially from less than $8.00 in 2008 to over $160.00 today. You've consistently posted ever-in- creasing profits, which have in turn allowed Scott Wine and your board to pursue an expansionary acquisition strategy. Would that include acquiring another global mo- torcycle brand that could be ripe for purchase? Yes, it could. Scott Wine and the board have done a great job of assembling the talent here at Polaris to grow the business at a rapid pace. Part of our strategy has been organic growth, but part has also been acquisitive in adding on non-organic business- es, and the motorcycle sector is a space that we've defined as being a place we want to be in like to have a conversation. The apparel and aftermarket accessories sector has tradi- tionally been a highly profit- able one for dealers. Are you focusing more closely on that? Yes, we're ramping that up in both areas—accessories and apparel. Both are growing rap- idly, and growth in the apparel segment especially is really phenomenal. But we're not at the levels we want to be at yet. It takes investment over time to produce results, and when you look at Harley-Davidson's thick book of accessories, that didn't happen in just one year. It hap- pened over time as new prod- ucts were created. So you'll see us develop that over time, but it's a major part of our overall strategy to grow that side of our business, since as you correctly say, it's a huge profitability lever for our dealers. Related to that strategy, Harley-Davidson has devel- oped a series of small volume high-end custom bikes. Is that something you're plan- ning to do, especially with Indian? We think customization is a big opportunity for Indian, but the challenge that we have is to get through the initial ramp-up with the brand—with bringing on so many new dealers, and introducing several new models. So while we're looking at getting focused on customization, at this point in our history it starts to throw a pretty big wobble into "IN ANY CASE, THEY WILL BE BRANDED AS VICTORY. BRAMMO MOTORCYCLES AS A BRAND HAS CEASED TO EXIST AS FAR AS COMPLETE MOTORCYCLES GO, THOUGH THE POWER TRAIN WILL STILL BE BRANDED AS BRAMMO." as a significant player over time. So nothing is off the table in motorcycles. Would that include mak- ing John Bloor an offer he couldn't refuse for Triumph? I don't know about an offer he couldn't refuse, but I would say that if there's an opportunity for our companies to speak, we'd

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