VOL. 54 ISSUE 11 MARCH 21, 2017 P115
neering investment needed to de-
velop new products in the future,
which would probably entail new
platforms because the Victory
Freedom V-Twin engine had been
with us for almost 20 years, and
there would be untenable costs
entailed in meeting the new Euro4
and Euro5 regulatory standards.
So we presented those findings
to the Board, and at their meeting
in the first week in January they
moved to approve an 18-month
wind-up of Victory, which we then
communicated publicly at 8.15
a.m. on Monday [January] 9.
One of the most frequent com-
ments that we've been hearing
since then especially from Vic-
tory dealers, was why didn't you
give us any more notice? Well,
you have to remember we are a
publicly traded United States com-
pany, and when you make a deci-
sion of materiality as significant as
this, there are certain procedures
you're obliged to follow. Where
decisions that could affect stock
prices are concerned, market
rules are strict—they must be
made public straight away. Some
dealers and a good handful of
consumers sent emails that were
pretty unfavorable, but while they
didn't like our decision I can as-
sure you that it was not one taken
lightly. It was a tough decision to
make, but the right decision, and it
was painfully and carefully arrived
at after a great deal of discussion.
It's no secret that the motorcycle
market is tough here in the United
States right now, and we have
to look at where the best return
can be found on capital invested.
We can get better returns for our
stakeholders—and our dealers,
too—by focusing on the excellent
business that Indian Motorcycle
represents for us, so in the end
market conditions made it a
simple but tough decision. Some
of the emails I received told us
we ought to have put more effort
into growing Victory, but when
you look at the two decades of
continuous hard work that we've
invested in the brand, the diverse
products we came out with, and
the way they were judged to be
number-one for quality in the U.S.
motorcycle market, you can't say
we didn't put everything we could,
Spirit Lake's motorcycle
factory workforce will be
relatively unaffected by
the Victory shutdown, as
Polaris has committed to
a 10-year support program
for Victory owners.
