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Arctic Cat might be bought out by motorsports heavyweight soon?


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http://www.snowmobile.com/events/snowmobile-sales-leaders-through-the-years-1525.html

 

From SNOWMOBILE.COM

Snowmobile Sales Leaders Through the Years

Story by Jerry Bassett Photos by Bassett Archives Jan. 19, 2012

 

Every sled maker has been No. 1 at least once

 

Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, being around the snowmobile business for a goodly number of years — okay, decades! — allows us a unique ability to be less bowled over by “modern” technologies. There have been a good number of creative solutions to make snowmobiles easier to ride and more reliable. Many of those concepts came early on and have become commonplace. And the technology sometimes determined a manufacturer’s sales position.

 

If you can imagine it, every one of the existing snowmobile manufacturers has been Number One in overall sled sales at least once in their corporate lifetimes. Ski-Doo, which essentially created the recreational snowmobile market beginning about 1959, lost out to Arctic Cat by the mid-1970s but has come in this century to reclaim that Number One ranking.

2012-Arctic-Cat-XF1100-0118.jpgDating from the 1960s slide rail suspension to today’s XF1100, innovation has highlighted the Arctic Cat brand.

Arctic Cat stole Ski-Doo’s position with innovative ideas like a parallel rail slide suspension that worked and moving the engine forward off the main tunnel to improve cornering and handling. It was enough to let Arctic Enterprises gain Number One status. Plus, the company used some very clever and innovative advertising that cemented the sled to rider relationship to the point that many Arctic Cat owners claimed they’d give up snowmobiling rather than own a non-Arctic Cat snowmobile. That incredible brand loyalty is what allowed Arctic Cat snowmobiles to rebound from a near death experience that began with the 1981 liquidation of the snowmobile division and continued until the next “Cat” appeared in the summer of 1983 under the Arctco, Inc. banner.

Interestingly, Arctic Cat sales amounted to 38 percent of the entire snowmobile market — the year after Arctic Cat sled production stopped. Cat owners wanted one last Arctic Cat before the brand disappeared and scrounged them from any Arctic Cat dealer who had one available. With that kind of loyalty the new owners at Arctco, most of them former Arctic Enterprises employees and executives, came into the venture with a demand for their sleds if there was a promise of a Cat future.

1989-Yamaha-SnoScoot-0118.jpgIn 1989 Yamaha sought (unsuccessfully) to draw new enthusiasts with its lightweight 80cc SnoScoot.

While Arctic Cat dropped from Number One due to its hard times, Yamaha quietly took over the sales leadership. You would have been hard pressed to know that Yamaha was the new Number One. The company expressed understated modesty, but took its role seriously, attempting to bring innovative sleds like the 80cc SnoScoot to market, which has more demand now than it did back in the 1980s.

While this was Yamaha’s first time as market sales leader, the company had been innovative in the snowmobile business since its earliest days. Part of Yamaha’s entry into the sport came as the company saw snowmobiles providing its snowbelt motorcycle dealers with a product to sell in the non-motorcycle season. Yamaha had to have thrown a scare into the other sled makers in the 1970s. This was a company that built and was known for highly developed two-stroke motorcycles. It was Yamaha that brought oil injection to the sled business. Its Autolube engine injection and slide valve carburetors were standard on the first 1969 SL351 Yamaha. Fortunately for the competition, Yamaha kept many of its performance tricks like reed valve induction and power exhaust valves for its wheeled side of the business — for a while! Yamaha gained quite a reputation from the 1971 Eagle River World Championship Derby when Mike Trapp’s lighter and smaller 433cc engined Yamaha racer beat Ski-Doo legend Yvon Duhamel’s 800cc Blizzard. Still, it took Arctic Cat’s financial disarray to ease Yamaha into sales leadership.

Polaris-Indy-Snowmobile-0118.jpgThe Indy series helped Polaris enjoy more than a decade of leadership as the Number One selling snowmobile brand.

With Yamaha leading the sled business, Polaris was able to evolve from being a division of Textron to a standalone entity run by former Textron-Polaris executives who managed the 1981 buy-out from the large international conglomerate. Riding the popularity of the Polaris Indy, which proved to be the sport’s hottest selling snowmobile, the company earned Number One sales status, holding that title until Ski-Doo’s REV series of sleds brought the Canadian company full circle as Ski-Doo reclaimed the top sales spot once again.

Surviving in the snowmobile industry was never easy even in the “Good Old Days.” At various points in the battle for Number One, the manufacturers have been prone to one-upmanship and corporate intrigue.

2004-Ski-Doo-MX-ZX-440-0118.jpgSki-Doo used racing and its 2004 MX ZX 440 racer to develop its rider-forward REV platform for the trail.

When Textron announced that it was looking to divest itself of its snowmobile group, Bombardier responded by attempting to buy the Polaris snowmobile division. Bombardier planned to merge its Ski-Doo group with Polaris and even had a tentative deal ready in the early autumn of 1980. That deal died when the US Justice Department objected to the sale and threatened action.

Still a corporate infant in late 1981, the standalone Polaris company put in a bid for the Arctic Cat brand of snowmobiles and gear. Since a deal couldn’t be worked out prior to a February 1982 deadline, which would have allowed Polaris time to manufacture 1983 model Arctic Cat brand sleds, the agreements ended.

Ski-Doo-Olympique-0118.jpgSki-Doo was not only the Number One selling brand in 1968 but also was the first snowmobile to reach the North Pole.

Instead of four snowmobile manufacturers, had circumstances gone in slightly different directions, we could have just three or, perhaps, only two existing sled makers.

As you may have noticed, the four sled manufacturers don’t always play well together. It’s an historic fact. Fast-forward to 2011 and you’ll see more intrigue. In the recent past Arctic Cat has sued Polaris for alleged patent infringements on its exhaust system. There has been the evolution of electronic reverse systems for two-stroke motors, which started with Bombardier as RER. And now we have threats of serious legal action over chassis designs. This one reminds us of the many legal actions that accompanied the transitioning from bogie wheel to slide rail suspension designs in the 1970s. And how about all those incredibly complicated front suspension concepts that would go from racetrack and might show up in trail sleds? Seems that Polaris was comfortable with its trailing arm links and the resulting Indy concept evolved gradually. Ski-Doo tried many forms of independent front suspensions ranging from strut types to a progressive rate (PRS) trailing arm design.

Under the hood, much has transformed snowmobiles to the reliable units we ride hundreds of miles in a day. Electronic fuel injection is now standard, but don’t ask Polaris about its early EFI models and the cost of its lawsuit getting there.

2003-Yamaha-RX-1-0118.jpgThe 2003 Yamaha RX-1 and its motorcycle-derived Genesis 150 horsepower quad established a new level of performance for four-stroke snowmobiles.

Four-stroke engines abound on modern sleds. The leader has been Yamaha, which began converting from two-strokers to four-strokes back in the early 1970s when it brought out the XS1 motorcycle with a 650cc single overhead cam twin. Its motorcycle expertise highlighted the RX-1 four-cylinder, four-stroke snowmobile introduced in 2003. This sled brought Yamaha’s Genesis design to a high revving sled. The one-liter engine featured a refined electronic fuel injection that benefited from a 20-valve system that provided two exhaust valves and three intake valves per cylinder. Since the appearance of the Genesis motor, every other sled maker has countered with some form of “performance” four-stroke, but none with the sophistication of that motorcycle derived quad. To get the performance that Yamaha pulls from its normally aspirated Genesis engines, other sled makers took to adding turbos.

With this history it seems that evolution continues and probably we can expect some critical yet-to-come technology to turn sales leadership once again. It will be interesting to see how the next Number One handles its leadership role and what technology or set of circumstances brings it to prominence. When it comes to snowmobiling, what goes around will come around — again!

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I wonder what the sled sales alone are 

 

Here you go. I found this info by looking online at the Annual Reports of each company listed.

 

I didn't get around to looking at Yamaha, but we know their overall sales are bigger than Polaris, BRP and Arctic Cat combined. I don't know if Yamaha breaks down their segments to isolate the value of their sled sales.

 

 

post-22473-0-86642000-1467938319_thumb.jpg

 

PS: BRP's reports are in Canadian Dollars, so for the above table I converted to US Dollars using the average exchange rate for each year.

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Here you go. I found this info by looking online at the Annual Reports of each company listed.

 

I didn't get around to looking at Yamaha, but we know their overall sales are bigger than Polaris, BRP and Arctic Cat combined. I don't know if Yamaha breaks down their segments to isolate the value of their sled sales.

 

 

attachicon.gifmanufacturer sales.jpg

 

PS: BRP's reports are in Canadian Dollars, so for the above table I converted to US Dollars using the average exchange rate for each year.

Rather than sales $'s it would be nice to see number of sleds

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Just read an online article that HD is in trouble.

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Yamaha has some big numbers in there. BTW, Guitars and Keyboards don't count.....

You forgot Honda.....

Honda powersports sales which is motorcycles and quads. Was just under 2000 million USD for 2015 up 15.9% over 2014. Take the sled and marine business out of the picture and I'm sure that makes them bigger then Yamaha.
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Just read an online article that HD is in trouble.

Ya, this on by chance...

https://insanethrottle.com/2016/02/14/harley-no-longer-king-company-in-trouble/

Thier overall customer satisfaction is a whopping 1.9 out of 5 stars by J.D.Power.

Google turns up a bunch of stories since about 2013 on low sales numbers, higher then average recalls and general customer dissatisfaction.

I'm wondering how much the forced change in thier engine design to meat the newer EPA standards has effected them. There were questions if they could take a 1930s engine design and make it meet the new requirements.

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I'm guessing you don't wrench on Honda alot.

 

 

Not lots, they don't tend to break much.  But we don't sell lots of them either, our shop tends to push the Canam line real hard, but will hardly keep a Honda in stock.  A local millionaire sawmill owner has a 5 seat Pioneer 1000 set aside and has a ton of accessories on order, as of yesterday.  The more of them we sell, the more we'll sell after.  I wish they'd push Honda more, it's such a superior product, despite being low on power compared to the Doo line. 

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Bad sign when your sales are down yet others are reporting double digit gains.

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Bad sign when your sales are down yet others are reporting double digit gains.

They turned their backs on their faithful a few years ago by jacking the prices up and then out sourcing work to Mexico and China!!!

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V Rod Boy is at it again. 10 PM & "tuning up" his POS. Moron!

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V Rod Boy is at it again. 10 PM & "tuning up" his POS. Moron!

 

There are noise bylaws.... a visit from the police may be what he needs.

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There are noise bylaws.... a visit from the police may be what he needs.

Hey dude loud pipes save lives... (sarcasm)

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Only ent on for a couple of minutes.

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Wonder how the yammy agreemnet would effect the.sale of.ac.

Being hd and tuning.forks also in direct competition on 2 wheels

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Rather than sales $'s it would be nice to see number of sleds

 

 

Ski-Doo owns 47% of the sled market today Poo around 30ish with Cat in the teens and Yamaha is the single digits

 

posted this a couple weeks ago

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On a non-AC & non-sledding note, I met 2 Slingshots (travelling separately) on 17 between Sudbury & Massey this afternoon. A few Spyders as well along our route.

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On a non-AC & non-sledding note, I met 2 Slingshots (travelling separately) on 17 between Sudbury & Massey this afternoon. A few Spyders as well along our route.

The local dealer here in Belleville has 5 or 6 Slingshots in their yard. They do decide. OS every Wednesday night. Not sure how many they have sold, and haven't seen any around town yet. But with 5 at $27,000 plus each. That's a lot of inventory to have just sitting on your yard so they must be selling.

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saw my 1st BLUE Slingshot today, looks cool, there are a few Red ones driving around here

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Saw another at Hilton Beach last night.

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  • 3 weeks later...

more bad news for Cat and the sport

 


Arctic Cat stock sheds $10.6 million in second quarter
Weaker overall sales and a shift in snowmobile shipments hurt results for the Plymouth dealer. 
By Dee DePass Star Tribune
July 29, 2016 — 10:26pm
ows_146983448045812.jpg?w=525
LEILA NAVIDIA factory worker assembles the 2016 Wildcat X side-by-side vehicle in the Arctic Cat factory in Thief River Falls on Sept. 30.
more

Struggling ATV and snowmobile maker Arctic Cat lost $10.6 million in the first quarter and downgraded 2016 expectations after sales declined amid a delayed shipment and the weakening power-sports marketplace, officials said Friday.

The company’s stock price plunged nearly 15 percent Friday as investors digested the latest disappointment.

The Plymouth-based maker of all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles said its long-term restructuring process remains on track. For example, excess dealer inventories were down 9 percent during the most recent quarter that ended June 30 by offering rebates and extending select financing rate agreements, CEO Chris Metz said.

Arctic Cat also made the strategic decision to launch its 2017 off-road vehicle models in June instead of the traditional August time frame, Metz said.

Yet the numbers still have not turned around. First-quarter sales fell 22 percent to $104.9 million. The company’s loss of $10.6 million, or 81 cents a share, was greater than analysts expected and much higher than the $1.1 million loss reported for the same quarter in 2015.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected an earnings loss of 38 cents a share.

ows_142249669352364.jpg?w=263
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Christopher T. Metz, president and CEO of Arctic Cat

Arctic Cat’s stock price fell $2.66 per share to close at $15.61 Friday.

Metz said in a statement that the quarter’s loss was greater than expected “chiefly due to the timing of snowmobile shipments that shifted to the second quarter as well as a more competitive retail environment that led to higher promotional spending than planned.”

Besides the weakening of the sports market, negative currency exchange rates also hurt profits by 20 cents a share.

Arctic Cat has been aggressively developing new products and launching new partnerships with racing venues, both of which are expected to help sales in this year and beyond, Metz said.

He noted six new product models and 27 updated machines aimed at off-road work and play. The new 2017 lineup includes an HDX Crew six-passenger utility vehicle, a Prowler utility vehicle and the Alterra TRV that features passenger seating for two. A host of new products is also expected during the fourth quarter.

Those are expected to affect sales “in a big, big way in fiscal 2018,” he said.

For fiscal 2017, Arctic Cat will spend $30 million to $35 million on factory and product improvements but expects to reap those rewards later.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, the company’s prior sales forecast remains unchanged at $635 million to $655 million. However, it now expects to lose 70 cents to $1 “due to the weaker power sports market, increased promotional costs and unfavorable product mix.”

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However, it now expects to lose 70 cents to $1 “due to the weaker power sports market

Strange statement since the other manufacturers are reporting stronger then expected sales.

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Polaris stock has taken a huge slide, probably even worse than Cat. BRP stock is also down. There's only so many $30,000 side by sides that you can sell. Especially when you sell them then issue a don't ride and don't have a fix! It will be interesting to see what happens sales wise with the new x3 can am and new xx wildcat.

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There's only so many $30,000 side by sides that you can sell.

That's something I do get, how do you justify $30k for the Slingshot. Do they really cost that much build, of did they overspend during R&D and they are just trying to recover costs. If your going to spend that kind of money on a road toy, and can't ride a motorcycle. 30K will buy you a nice used sports car that you don't need a helmet for and you don't get wet in the rain.

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I don't get the Slingshot either. Way overpriced for what you get! All toys are overpriced but some are just so far out there that I don't know how they ever sell them, and I like toys.

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