From doing paperwork, I started doing a lot of the ordering for raw materials and components. I also handled a lot of walk-in customers and eventually dealers. As we grew, we hired people for those positions and I became the general manager. How long have you been with LeMans? I’ve been with Lemans for 24 ½ years. I was working as General Manager of Kawasaki of Riverside in Riverside, CA when the late Wayne Cornelius convinced me to talk to Fred on one of his trips to California. They needed buyers and since I had been the assistant purchasing manager for Malcolm Smith Products for a couple years prior to Kawasaki of Riverside, Wayne thought I should talk to Fred Fox. That conversation and the subsequent visit to Janesville convinced me that if I ever wanted to get back into the wholesale part of the business, I needed to be in Wisconsin. Fred gave me the tour of our Janesville facility and I was hooked.
From there I advanced to director of purchasing until Roger Dolan retired. At that time I became vice president of purchasing. What are your responsibilities in your new role as president and CEO? I see my main responsibility to be the team leader. No one person can run a company. It takes a hardworking, enthusiastic and capable team. We have that team in place. My job is to make sure we are going in the right direction and that we are making changes where changes need to be made. Just as important, we will work together to make certain the core values of our company do not change.
MIKE COLLINS
Eventually, the owner Marv Hall found out I could type and I started doing the UPS paperwork for all our shipments. Webco was one of our biggest customers at the time, as well as a lot of chopper shops.
What are your thoughts on efforts to bring a younger demographic of customer into the world of motorcycling? I’ve heard people say, “Kids these days would rather have a cell phone and a gaming station than a motorcycle.” I don’t believe that. They want both. I have teenagers and they are glued to their phones and games just like every other teenager. They still beg me to take them riding as often as possible. The key is introducing young people to the excitement of riding a motorcycle. I don’t believe it is any less thrilling for them than it was for us. We have to create and support those initiatives to help them experience it. What market segments hold the best promise for growth? I believe all segments hold promise for growth. Currently the obvious areas are the UTV market and the entry-level motorcycle market. The V-twin aftermarket, dominated by Drag Specialties, certainly still offers significant growth because of the number of used units in the marketplace. How important is the aftermarket for powersports retailers?
Mike Collins (right) and Drag Specialties National Sales Manager Jim Matchette at a recent industry trade show.
What positions have you held during your tenure at LeMans? I was hired as a buyer, specializing in off-road product since much of my experience was in that part of the market. As the company grew I became a senior buyer, and then a purchasing manager overseeing a group of several off-road product buyers.
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The aftermarket is more important than ever. There are a huge number of used vehicles being sold in the marketplace and they all need parts and accessories. Not just replacement parts, but parts to personalize and customize them to their owner’s liking. We all need new bike sales, but it is the aftermarket that offers riders the ability to continually improve and update their bikes. I’m excited about the future for our industry. We have a lot of work to do but there’s nothing new about that. As Fred likes to say, “If it were easy everybody would be doing it.” ■
OCTOBER 2017
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DRAG SPECIALTIES MAGAZINE
17