Why did GG US lose the enduro distributorship?

[Dave]

Why did Gas Gas USA lose (or drop) the enduro line in the first place?

[lukachuki]

yeah! why did they?

[Berkyboy]

Here is my interpretation of basically what happened. I've spoken to a lot of people involved in the demise of Dixie Sales being the US GasGas distributor but I think I have a handle on what actually happened. Here’s the short of it.

Barrett Marketing Group (a Canadian company) and its US distribution company, Dixie Sales, the actual distributor of GasGas enduro motorcycles and Husaberg motorcycles in the US, got out of the off-road motorcycles distribution business when basically three things happened.

Either all of Dixie Sales, or at least the controlling interest of Dixie Sales, was acquired by Freeplay Energy, a European company that normally markets "green technology," namely wind up flashlights and wind up radios - think of them as a company that Al Gore would own stock in.

Freeplay energy acquired Dixie Sales mostly to give them a distribution company that would give them a much needed worldwide distribution system for their wind up gadgets, the problem was that Dixie Sales also distributed “environmentally destroying and air polluting dirt bikes.”

In order to appease stock holders Freeplay Energy decided to get out of the business of selling dirt bikes, probably earlier then they expected to when KTM's ownership group, who own Husaberg as well, decided to give the Husaberg US distribution rights to KTM USA.

When this happened Freeplay Energy was in a position to clean up Dixie Sales' operation portfolio by getting rid of GasGas motorcycles at the same time and thus saving themselves from the embarrassment of being a "green technology" company that also distributed dirt bikes.

This left GasGas without a US distributor which completely caught of guard GasGas Spain who had thought they had a solid long term distributor with Dixie Sales as they had imported and distributed Husaberg motorcycles into the US since 2003.

It appears that all is well with the newly named GasGas importer, Dale Malesek, who already was the GasGas trials importer for the last 17 (or so) years. Ironically Dale originally imported GasGas enduro motorcycles back in the mid to late 90's before concentrating solely on the GasGas trials bikes.

Rest assured Dale has the experience to keep the GasGas marquee alive in the US.

[Bandit9]

Steve,
I think they were asking about Dale's first go around as the GasGas distributor. As in, why did Dale lose the Enduro bikes in the first place?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Bandit9

Steve,
I think they were asking about Dale's first go around as the GasGas distributor. As in, why did Dale lose the Enduro bikes in the first place?

That's the question I'm asking.

[gasgasman]

A lot has changed in the past 12 years.
Dale probably did not want to take a chance with a bike line that was virtually unknow in the U.S.

[skid jackson]

but hey the whole run down on dixie sales was good to know anyway!!!

[Berkyboy]

Sorry for my Dixie Sales response. I've given it so many times in the last 3 months it just comes out.

I don't know the exact timeline as others here can probably fill in the exact dates but Dale became the US GasGas enduro importer basically because he was the GasGas trials importer first.

Dale started importing GasGas trials bikes about 17 years ago. Shortly there after he started bringing in the GasGas enduro bikes as well.

Sometime around 1997 Don Knight (GasGas North America) got involved and eventually took over the GasGas enduro bike importing as Dale's interests were with the trials bikes.

Knight's business plan fell apart after 5 year's when he was unable to to cash flow his operation and GasGas Spain didn't renew his importing contract.

Juan Romero (a GasGas Spain employee) oversaw the importing of GasGas enduro bikes from 2002 to 2006 (GasGas Motors America.)

Both GGNA and GGMA struggled to achieve enough sales to support their overhead as each of them had stand alone operations with as many as 10 employees.

In 2007 Dixie Sales became the US GasGas enduro importer as they were already a large US distribution company and it was thought that their existing distribution infrastructure could easily handle the importing duties.

At the time when Dale gave up the rights to importing GasGas enduro bikes, US Gas Gas trials and enduro bikes sales were exploding. His operation was getting overwhelmed by expansion and he felt he had to concentrate on one or the other. Because he was a trial's guy he felt it was best that he concentrate on GasGas trials.

Dale acknowleges that it takes about 500 bikes to reach "critical mass," the amount of sales needed to run a sussessful importing operation, as a distributer. Back in 1997 US GasGas trials bikes sales figures alone were on track to meet that number and by 2002 Dale was actually importing nearly 800 trials bikes a year.

Since that time competition for trials sales in the US (between GasGas, Beta, Sherco, Montesa etc.) has increased were GasGas has lost some of their US trials market share and that combining both GasGas trials and enduro bikes again will actually help both lines through volume alone.

[roostafish]

Thanks for all of the information. It's funny how things can come full circle. I remember back in about 1995 a dude showed up at a ISDE qualifier with this bizzare looking flourescent yellow/green bike. I was riding a Husky at the time, and it had the same color fenders, but his bike was different. It had this cool looking, Kawasaki like "chrome" frame, and a black seat, and it said "Gas Gas" on it. I had never heard of it, but I remember really checking it out that day. Then a couple of years later I saw Dennis Sweetin on one and he suggested I ride it. It wasn't long after that I had my first GG (a 200 EC) parked in my garage. As luck would have it, we had a dealer pick up the GG line right here in my home town, so I could just go down and look. That, combined with the fact that the dealer knew who I was, and wanted me on one really badly, so he offered me a heck of a sponsorship put me on the GG.