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By Lee Parks
Parts: What differentiates Del Amo from its regional and national
competition in terms of both sales success and customer service? Parts: How important is the website in your marketing mix? Veglia: I believe it is very important although I don’t have metrics to verify that belief. We have a full-time Internet person but we are not getting the results we have been hoping for, though we continue to support it financially and philosophically. Of course, it’s difficult to quantify how many visits and sales are positively influenced by the Net. Parts: Do you use it primarily as a direct sales tool (online orders) or as an indirect sales tool to push people to the showroom? Veglia: Both are our intension, but in our particular market area, there are some specific players that are selling bikes below their costs to try and gain market share. That strategy doesn’t help anyone so we continue to stress the importance of providing superior customer service to keep the customers coming in and coming back. Parts: Why do employees like working at Del Amo? Veglia: We like to think that we provide a healthy work environment. Our Rule #5 says it best: “We always try to have fun.” It’s also very important that we allow our employees to excel at what they do and, if they can show us value, we are not afraid to pay them. This attitude has helped produce some outstanding employees. It’s our experience that when they feel recognized, they give us back 10 times more than they have given on previous jobs. I believe this is the same reason why KTM has been having such tremendous growth in the last five years: Their company employees love what they do. More than 60% of their employees ride and more than 32% compete! Six of us at the shop ride and race. Our parts and service managers ride and race. Eighty percent of our employees ride and virtually all share a passion for what we do. Compare that to most industries and you’ll realize how fortunate we are!
Parts: What is the dealership’s reputation for service? Veglia: Service can be a very delicate department. Our old store had an admittedly bad service record but today we have a state-of-the-art facility with 12 lifts, 2 PDI bays and a highly trained and motivated staff. We recently ran a survey, and received a 90% positive CSI rating for our overall service experience. Parts: How much of a new customer draw is “selection” from having so many franchises? Veglia: Carrying 10 brands is not easy, but I think that the way the market is moving toward superstores, with “one-stop shopping” where you can find it all, we are pleased to be ahead of several stores that have fewer brands. We have Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM, Ducati, Sea-Doo watercraft, Montessa trials bikes, Bombardier ATVs, Rhino RTVs (Rough Terrain Vehicles) and Dazon off-road four-wheelers, which provides a serious selection for virtually any rider. Parts: Are you considering adding more franchises or are you more interested in building with brands you already have? Veglia: We would like to have Honda and we are working on it. With the rest we are always building the existing brands, and this shows, because now the brands are coming to us, asking to help and support us on what we have done, and where we are trying to go. Parts: Why has supermoto got you so excited? Veglia: Supermoto brings to America the possibility to show: 1. Something new; 2. Events that can be organized in city streets or a parking lot; 3. It combines three unique disciplines, not just one—road race, motocross and flat track. If you look at the ratings for this years X-Games, the most watched event was Supermoto; 4. From the beginning the sport has been supported by the biggest names, which is very important for gaining mass appeal; and 5. Factories like KTM are already making Supermoto production models. Parts: What do you see as the retail potential for Supermoto? Veglia: I am completely sure that Supermoto it is the next big thing. For us this is very good because of the relatively large amount of money necessary for accessories for the units as well as protective clothing. It is especially exciting when you consider that most modern dirt bikes can be easily transformed into Supermoto bikes, especially in the sportsman classes that only allow tire changes on the stock wheels. This creates a low barrier to entry to help encourage new riders to try it out. Once they get hooked, a good percentage of them will want a dedicated Supermoto bike in addition to their dirt bikes. That means more new unit sales as well as high accessory and gear sales.
Parts: How has the staff taken to Supermoto? Veglia: Seven of our
guys own at least one Supermoto bike. We have a program where if
you meet your goals and show up to work on time and don’t miss a day, you get to ride with us on Sunday on our parking
lot course. They are also very happy with the results from our racing
effort. This helps in two ways: They can really learn how to ride, and
it keeps them from getting tickets on the streets by trying to be racers.
Of course, I also practice what I preach and my hard work paid off by
winning the 2003 STTARS SuperTT 250cc expert class. The staff also gets
a kick out of seeing the “old man” win races. Veglia: I think very few of the metric motorcycle stores understand how to merchandize properly. If you go to Europe they are more aggressive and much more creative, not unlike the Harley- Davison dealers here. Presentation plays a very important role in the final purchasing decision. I’m not saying we’ve got merchandising totally down, but we are progressively working toward that goal. It is always a challenge at a powersports dealership, but we work hard to keep the showroom floor looking good at all times. When you sell lots of bikes in a day, the next day can sometimes look like a tornado blew through there. Parts: What is the primary mission for Del Amo in the next five to 10 years? Veglia: It all comes down to creating a loyal customer base. We need to continually develop the store to where customers really enjoy coming, because of the overall product selection, and because they are professionally treated. That is the best recipe for developing a strong loyalty to us. This can be only achieved if every one of the employees understands the overall mission and daily tasks up front, and is willing to live by it. We conduct two to three educational meetings a week with different departments, so we can catch up and keep up with the industry’s best practices. Parts: Anything else we should know about Del Amo, or yourself, for our readers? Veglia: Yes.
That we are always looking for good people that want to join us and
want to contribute to obtain our goals.
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Amo Motorsports in Redondo Beach, California, is a truly unique dealership
with its seemingly paradoxical qualities: With 10 new vehicle franchises
in a 30,000-square-foot facility, Del Amo provides a superstore selection
yet manages to provide old-school “mom and pop” customer
service. The dealership is heavily involved in racing, yet manages
to stay open seven days a week. And, while Del Amo is always working
to improve its traditional profit centers like sales and service, it
continues to innovate specialty businesses like leasing, rentals, storage,
detailing and riding classes. Del Amo Motorsports even became the first
major Southern California shop to embrace Supermoto competition with
seven riders/employees currently racing, yet this racing division is
treated like a business and expected to net a profit. 
