to discuss an exit strategy and their succession plan. Shortly thereafter, we were hired to move forward with a sale.” Continued from page 13
“After speaking with several buyers, we ultimately negotiated a deal with Steve and Anne Deli of American Road Group. With the help of Brian Daly, CFO of American Road Group, and my Associate, Courtney Bernhard, we were able to work through agreements and negotiations to successfully reach an outcome where both parties were happy.” The dealership will retain the name Pocono Mountain HarleyDavidson and remain at its current location at 110 Hill Motor Lodge Road in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.
DEALER NEWS: A PAIR OF EX-EXECS PICKS UP POCONO HARLEY
Jim and Linda Schlier have decided to retire and sold Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson of Tannersville, Pennsylvania, to Steve and Anne Deli of American Road Group. The Deli’s are certainly familiar with The Motor Company: In 1985, Steve Deli was Managing Director at Dean Witter Reynolds in Chicago, and was asked to refinance Harley-Davidson Motor Company. After successfully completing the refinance, Deli went on to build HDMC, now known as Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Anne was hired by Harley-Davidson as a consultant and went on to become the Vice President of Global Brand Management & Marketing, making her the first female Vice-President at HarleyDavidson Motor Company. In 2000, Steve and Anne Deli decided to take their combined experience and become dealership owners. They formed American Road Group and purchased a Harley-Davidson dealership in Orlando, Florida. For the past 20+ years, they have built an extremely successful family of Harley-Davidson businesses across the United States. Meanwhile the Schliers started as a blue collar couple with a shared love of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They bought Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson in 2013, which was then located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania. In 2020 the Schliers decided to build a new facility in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. Nestled on the side of a mountain, no detail was left out, including an outdoor patio overlooking the Pocono Mountain landscape. “We would like to thank all of our family, employees, customers, and suppliers from our businesses throughout the years,” said the Schliers in announcing their retirement. “If it wasn’t for all of you, our success and drive would have never been attainable. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank and will miss every single one of you. Ride safe and see you down the road.” “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jim Schlier for more than 10 years,” notes George Chaconas of Performance Brokerage Service. “I previously helped him buy fixed assets from a dealership in New Jersey, which I also helped permanently close. Jim invited me to meet with him and his lovely wife, Linda,
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HEADS UP!
Bell Splits With Bullets Division Heads up! Bell Helmets parent company Vista Outdoor announced it is splitting its Outdoor Products (Bell, CamelBak and Giro) and Sporting Products (Federal, Remington, CCI, Speer, Estate Cartridge and HEVI-Shot ammo brands) into two independent publicly traded companies. “This strategy has delivered incredible results and has built a strong foundation for Outdoor Products and Sporting Products to unlock further tremendous value and succeed on their own as separate and distinct independent companies,” explains CEO Christopher Metz. As part of the plan, the Outdoor Products segment, to be renamed at a later date, will be led by Metz as CEO; and Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, Vista’s current CFO, will serve as CFO. Other members of the Outdoor Products leadership team will be announced at a later date. In addition to Bell and Giro helmets, the business unit includes Camp Chef, Bushnell, Bushnell Golf, Foresight Sports, Stone Glacier and QuietKat with sales of $1.3 billion in FY22. “Each company will have a single strategic focus with resources to support specific operational needs and growth drivers,” claims Metz. “Additionally, each company will have tailored and discrete capital allocation priorities that are better suited to support its distinctive business model and long-term goals.” Vista Outdoor plans to distribute 100% of the stock of the Outdoor Products company to its current shareholders as Outdoor Products becomes a new, independent, publicly traded company. The distribution is intended to be tax-free to U.S. shareholders. The company said it expects the transaction to be completed in 2023. News of the planned separation came as Vista reported another strong quarter, with sales up 36 percent in the fourth quarter to a record $809 million. Sales topped Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $764.6 million.