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Honda to sell it all under one roof

3K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  rickbb 
#1 ·
Announced in November .. Sounds very cool.
Do they have these dealerships in the US ?

Honda Canada Inc. is moving to a new generation of retail outlets that will offer all its consumer products at one location -- from lawnmowers and snow throwers to motorcycles, cars and trucks.

The new concept, called Honda Centre in Quebec and Honda Powerhouse in the rest of Canada, is already in place at one Honda dealership in each of Quebec and Ontario and there are more to come, said Jim Miller, senior vice-president of Honda Canada.

"We're putting them together to reinforce the brand," Mr. Miller said. The creation of the Honda Ridgeline sport utility truck was essentially the final piece of the puzzle because now "we've got the truck that you can put your ATVs in back of," he said.

Honda's consumer products also include water pumps, portable generators, weed trimmers and marine outboard motors.

"It's a natural evolution to bring customers the Honda products they want, closer to where they live, work and play," added Honda spokeswoman Sandy Di Felice.

Market studies are under way in Calgary and Vancouver to determine whether the new concept makes sense. Calgary is a booming market with the growth in the oil patch, and Vancouver has for years been one of the strongest markets for Asian-based auto makers.

Dealers and sales people in stores offering all the company's consumer products will be trained across the entire range.

Industry analysts said it makes sense to put all the products under one roof so that anyone buying a generator can be encouraged to look at an all-terrain vehicle or a car.

Honda has 214 car dealers in Canada and 310 motorcycle dealers.

"I think it's something that is at least worth trying out," said Tony Krajewski, a consultant in the automotive practice at Deloitte.

The idea also appeals to Joe Zanchin, who owns one Honda dealership northwest of Toronto and another one that will be officially opened in a new auto mall in Vaughan tomorrow.

"I'm confident," Mr. Zanchin said.

"I think it's the way to do it."

He is dedicating about 10 acres of the new mall to Honda. Next to his Honda car and truck dealership will go a store for the generators, motorcycles and other products.

Next to that will be a dealership offering Acuras, Honda's luxury car brand.

He figures people travelling between the Honda and Acura outlets will stop in the Honda Powerhouse to check out the other consumer products and Honda accessories.

Honda sold 155,000 cars and trucks in Canada last year, along with 21,000 motorcycles, 23,400 all-terrain vehicles, 25,000 generators, 6,000 outboard engines, 4,000 weed trimmers and 6,700 snow throwers.
 
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#5 ·
Good for brand-loyal consumers. Bad for motorcycle consumers. Honda is lagging in the whole "pulse of the people" thing. This will not help.

$.02
 
#7 ·
I hate the big box approach to shopping. This is just more of the same thing. I'm buying a pick-up.Want a Shadow to go with that? I don't think so. You get the best service at the shop where they know your name and the product. If they want to improve the brand loyalty this not the way to go. IMHO.
 
#10 ·
Graham, not sure if you were just being facetious but Honda is actually producing an airplane. http://hondajet.honda.com/

Back to the original post, I can think of numerous ways that this idea is a net negative to the consumer.
  • What salesman will bother with someone looking to buy a $3 - 4,000 mc when he can sell a $30,000 Accord or truck, let alone a lawnmower or outboard motor? Same goes for service, who'll get the priority, the $30k car owner or the $300 lawnmower owner?

    Will the car mechanics work on bikes and lawnmowers and visa-versa?

    It's an entirely different sales aproach on those smaller items than on cars and bikes. Will I have to haggle with some jerk of a salesman to buy a lawnmower? Or, do the intend to have signs on the cars that you just bring to the cashier?

    I'd suspect that as another member stated, there'll be a serious lack of ppl there that know the products. I mean if your bread and butter is motorcycles you will invest in them, same for the other products. But, if I'm running a company that makes millions off car sales and thousands off other sales I'm not real concerned with these other departments.

Only good side I can see is that the Honda MC dealers around here sure could use some competition to light a fire under their but regarding pricing and customer service.

All in all, I think it'll be just another reason to buy a different brand bike if I'm looking for a new one.
 
#11 ·
beowulf said:
Graham, not sure if you were just being facetious but Honda is actually producing an airplane. http://hondajet.honda.com/
No, I wasn't. I just left the smilie off. Here's one now.................... :lol:

Not trying to rile anyone - just my pathetic SOH, hahaha.

Collector
 
#12 ·
When I go to a motorcycle dealer I want to talk to salespeople, parts people, and mechanics that know bikes. I don't want to have to wade through the cars, truck, lawnmowers, etc. My dealer already sells some lawn equipment, generators, etc. It's a good dealer and I don't want Honda trying to push them and the local Honda car dealer.
 
#15 ·
I just saw in the paper here, that Hannum's (a local 2-location Harley dealer) is looking to open up a Yamaha franchise up the road. I've seen a few Triumph and one Kawasaki single-line dealers in my recent, local travels. The push (back) to a single-MFG dealer is interesting.
 
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