While it was business as usual for the most part, the focus did seem to shift from distributed brands to in-house products, new players and exclusives. In fact, the first day of the 3-day session was devoted to WPS Exclusive Brand Presentations. The 40-minute presentations allowed for a deep dive into Aplinestars, Fire Power, FLY Street, FLY MX, GMAX, HardDrive, Highway 21, Open Trail, Scorpion, Sedona, Shinko and UClear among others.
WPS ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET
Back To Boise Ahead Of Schedule
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lthough it seems like we were just in Boise for the annual national sales meeting, a lot has changed in the intervening 8 months since we covered the September shindig. With a changing of the guard as Western Power Sports became part of the Arrowhead Engineered Products group, the emergence from COVID and the onset of a new riding season, WPS shifted the dates of their national sales meeting far forward.
Despite the internal changes, WPS continues to accelerate out of the pandemic and has been ahead of the curve addressing some of the supply chain SNAFUs. “We saw it coming and tried to stock accordingly, but like everyone else, the length and breadth of the issues was more than we expected,” says Ryan Bush, the new Shinko Brand Sales Manager. “However, 94% of all SKUs were in stock for Shinko as of 5/18/22. We have nearly 200,000 tires on hand and in stock. Dealers can order with confidence.” Shinko was also one of the tire and wheel brands to roll out stringent new MAP policies at the sales meeting. House brand Sedona and distributed partner RaceLine were among the other tire and wheel brands to roll out MAP plans at the show.
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