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OVER 5,000 CUSTOM BIKE PHOTOS ONLINE AT WWW.AMDCHAMPIONSHIP.COM
Advance visitor registrations for V-Twin Expo running ahead of 2010 statistically according to organizer S the market eyes 2011, and its established annual primary trade show with nervousness, V-Twin Expo Sales Manager Jim Betlach has told AMD Magazine that on a comparable basis advance visitor registrations for 2011 are running “substantially ahead of those we had this time last year”. Betlach told AMD that “it looks like dealers are intending to come to the show in increased numbers compared to February 2010, but it is interesting that the increase in advance registrations is not reflected in Cincinnati hotel take-up. “My hunch is that many more dealers are deciding to make the trip, but for a day only, to save themselves the costs of overnight accommodation”. Always a bellwether of the state of the market, V-Twin Expo will again be at its usual downtown Cincinnati venue, on February 5, 6 and 7th 2011. In 2010, as in 2009, the parts and accessory vendor community left the show somewhat reassured that here was still business to be done. Many commented that the reduced
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overall attendance actually improved the quality of the booth encounters that vendors had, with a much higher percentage of visitors being dealership owners or employees with real buying influence and responsibility. As has been the case worldwide, the performance and service sectors have emerged at V-Twin Expo as signposting where dealership revenues remain strongest, and Betlach says he expects that to be seen again in 2011. “There’s no doubt in my mind that part of the market change we are seeing is the re-emergence of workshop revenues as the most important aspect of custom dealership activity. There’s no rocket science to such an observation, but from our point of view, as show managers, it is graphically apparent in the increased percentage of exhibit space taken up by performance and workshop revenue focused vendors. “Along with the trend back to bolton customizing of stock or near stock Harleys, and the continuing popularity of so-called retro-styling in parts and accessory design, these are the primary trends we continue to see.”
Commenting on the size of what will be the 11th annual V-Twin Expo, Betlach is characteristically candid. “Yes, the number of booths sold this year will be down on 2010, but the decline is nothing like as dramatic in number or percentage terms as it had been since the show maxed out on available space four years ago. “While everybody had hoped that 2010 would have seen a bottomingout of market conditions, that didn’t happen; but the signs we are seeing and the feedback we are getting from the exhibitor community suggest that it may well be the case in 2011. “There are some businesses that have continued to grow in 2010, no question. Market leaders continue to increase their share of the declining market, and in some cases have actually increased sales revenues as well. V-Twin Expo will again feature an extensive program of relevant and expertly moderated seminars and vendor education sessions, and if Betlach is right about attendee numbers, it is to be hoped that in addition to taking reassurance home, the industry will also be able to leave Cincinnati with orders, too.
JAN 2011 ISSUE #138
2011 MODELS
PRODUCTS
‘Walton’ Blech & Drüber travelled from Austria to Sturgis for the World Championship of Custom Bike Building to enter this traditionally, styled Chopper called ‘Walton’ and were rewarded with 6th place. Full story on pages 67-68
MILAN SHOW HOSTS ‘CUSTOM CITY’