Huntsville, Al dealer dropping Triumph

[twowheeladdict]

Took a nice countryside mountain ride today and dropped in on the dealer I bought my  trophy from.  They are a multi-brand dealer, carrying Triumph, BMW, all Japanese, Polaris, Indian, and Victory.

They have around 30 triumphs on the floor.  Said they have issues with Corporate Triumph.  Sending all crated bikes back.

Sucks, is all I can say.

[Bludy L]

Sorry to hear that. My understanding is that if you're not a high volume dealer they can be difficult to deal with. The dealer network down in that part of the south looks a little thin. Where will you go for service? I'm lucky in that I have 6 dealerships within 90 minutes, but I must admit that at least two of them don't seem to have their heart in Triumph. I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of the disappear in the future.

[azgman]

I heard the same complaints about BMW when I rode one. Some dealers dropped BMW or closed completely, yet others thrived and expanded. I think it may be more about the dealer management (and passion?) and less about the OEM.

[twowheeladdict]

Originally Posted by Bludy L

Sorry to hear that. My understanding is that if you're not a high volume dealer they can be difficult to deal with. The dealer network down in that part of the south looks a little thin. Where will you go for service? I'm lucky in that I have 6 dealerships within 90 minutes, but I must admit that at least two of them don't seem to have their heart in Triumph. I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of the disappear in the future.

They say they will still do warranty work and service.  I do my own maintenance,  but if I am not confident in the bike at the two year mark, it might get traded off to whoever will give me the most for it.

[twowheeladdict]

Originally Posted by azgman

I heard the same complaints about BMW when I rode one. Some dealers dropped BMW or closed completely, yet others thrived and expanded. I think it may be more about the dealer management (and passion?) and less about the OEM.

This is the second dealership in my area that dropped Triumph.  The first said they put to many demands on them regarding the showroom and the dealer didn't sell enough to justify the expense.

The mega dealer has them in the back of the store , behind the BMW, and Triumph is probably not happy about that.

[Volfy]

One of the local dealers here lost their Triumph franchise a couple of years back, and I was not surprised.  I stop by quite often, and even bought a bike there, and most of the shoppers I see there are much more interested in the Kawis, Suzuki's, and Victory's on their showroom floor.  Triumphs sitting at the back of the store looked like unloved redheaded step children.

Their sister store, which is a lot larger and more of a mega store, kept their Triumph ticket, but I wonder for how long.  It is painfully clear where their focus lie.  Walking into their front entrance, BMW and Ducati proudly flank the two sides, taking up a good 1/3 of the overall floor space.  The whole center is dedicated to the Japanese brands.  Poor Triumph is shoved to the far left side, next to the used bikes in the back.

IMO, Triumph is right in closing off some stores that treat Triumph as an also-ran, and not their bread and butter brand.

[Bludy L]

Originally Posted by azgman

I think it may be more about the dealer management (and passion?) and less about the OEM.

I think you're right on. In four dealership "near" me, two have Triumph front and center, in another Triumph seems to be an after thought in the back of the store. In another, just a small dealership.

Customer base too. If the customers come in looking for crotch rockets or Harleys you might not sell a lot of Triumphs.

[Volfy]

One thing I did hear from a sales rep at the dealer that lost the Triumph franchise... is that Triumph USA doesn't help out much in clearing out non-current inventory.  They would have unsold 2yr old stock sitting next to brand new current yr machines, and they got no little to no factory incentives to move them.  In contrast to other brands, particularly the Japanese brands, which would offer huge rebate/discount to help dealers blow out old inventory.  Kawasaki does this a lot.  Good and bad, depending on your perspective., but maybe some dealers does have a legit gripe.