Arctic Cat layoffs etc.

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lolrecsales

Member
elf said:
Every powersports manufacturer is struggling right now and letting people go. I listen in to the Polaris earnings call and they've reduced salaried headcount by 5%, along with hourly reductions. BRP is selling off Sea Doo. Huge incentives to buy 1-2 yr old models, reduced 2025 build schedule to limit dealer inventories and help them sell thru. Its a tough time to be either a manufacturer, dealer, or even investor in those companies right now. PII stock at $65/share when last year at one point it was $130. We need 3-4 years of good snow and lower interest rates to start driving demand again. Or maybe another pandemic, that worked last time:)
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The Marine offering by BRP does not include Sea-Doo...........fyi
 
E

elf

Well-known member
lolrecsales said:
The Marine offering by BRP does not include Sea-Doo...........fyi
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My bad, I saw that and wondered why they'd sell Sea Doo as it seems like a market leader.

The marine business is another crazy overpriced business. Prices for new boats, pontoons, etc... are nuts. $200K for a ski/wake boat, $100+ for a pontoon. I saw a Bennington pontoon advertised on Marketplace for $279K.
 
pclark

pclark

Well-known member
garageguy said:
Most people just can't justify spending money on big ticket recreational items. Boats ext. The Bidenomics is really hurting most people with this rampant inflation. More layoffs are coming, the problem can no longer be downplayed as transient. It's here and it's done lots of damage to people's discretionary spending.
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Spot on, I do see prices on used sleds coming down, used boats are still high, real estate is insane. People just trying to live, keeping their older toys unless unaffected.
 
H

Hoosier

Well-known member
I think everyone is missing the shut down doesn't affect the sled production but the dirt side. I'm definitely not defending textron's product on the dirt side - they have fallen behind. They got out every sled they planned to make this year. And if they didn't go crazy with production it was a good idea. It's going to hard to sell with all the doos and poos sitting in crates.

I for one hope Argo ends up buying cat. Many of those who have innovated at cat in recent years are now there. Textron is just another big corp.

This comment isn't related to this thread - this "best economy ever" hasn't been all that good for the bottom 80% of the country. That's eventually going in impact toy buying.
 
K

katden4

Active member
Many Cat employees also went to CF Moto. Cat dirt division has been stagnant for all the years Textron has owned them. It's too bad, they use to build good off road machines, but now they are way behind. Argo would be a great match for them.
 
mezz

mezz

Well-known member
Textron fell in the dirt side in 2018. They did make a good product in their side by sides, then, discontinued mfg them due to cost issue. Now, you can't get any parts for many side by sides rendering them useless. I had a 2017 Bad Bad Boy Stampede with all the goodies you could put on it & now you literally can't get anything for it parts wise, same with many of the AC sxs models.
Arctic Cat has always been in my blood from sleds to side by sides. I have now turned to Kawasaki for a new side by side. I'm done with Textron. I believe that the AC snow division is strong & continually improving & will continue to be a viable product. I believe they have some of the best R&D in the business. Unfortunately, Textron's failures have led to the layoffs in order for them to keep the lights on. Piss poor management caused this, a different parent company is in order.
 
K

katden4

Active member
Their R&D was so strong because of all the support they had in racing. It was awesome before Textron came in. Now most of the riders have gone to another brand. Even family's that had decades of history racing Cat, now have switched to another brand. I don't blame them, Textrons way of gutting a company is a tough pill to swallow. I have been on Cat from the late 70s, and ready to move on with dirt products with no hard feelings. I still will support snow products unless they get really out of line.
 
O

old abe

Well-known member
mezz said:
Textron fell in the dirt side in 2018. They did make a good product in their side by sides, then, discontinued mfg them due to cost issue. Now, you can't get any parts for many side by sides rendering them useless. I had a 2017 Bad Bad Boy Stampede with all the goodies you could put on it & now you literally can't get anything for it parts wise, same with many of the AC sxs models.
Arctic Cat has always been in my blood from sleds to side by sides. I have now turned to Kawasaki for a new side by side. I'm done with Textron. I believe that the AC snow division is strong & continually improving & will continue to be a viable product. I believe they have some of the best R&D in the business. Unfortunately, Textron's failures have led to the layoffs in order for them to keep the lights on. Piss poor management caused this, a different parent company is in order.
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Yup, right you seem to be spot on right with that mezz! I can still vividly remember the Damage, and the Almost Ending of Polaris by Textron's greed, and ignorance, 50 plus years back.!
 
O

old abe

Well-known member
indy_500 said:
Agree with all, except the pandemic is partially to blame for the situation the industry is currently in (not just bad snow years). Governmental decisions surrounding the pandemic caused the massive inflation, which means everyone has less spending money for toys. The pandemic also boosted sales for a few years from stimulus money, or from people wanting to get outside therefore buying recreational vehicles. Now those first time buyers already sold off or aren’t coming back to the dealers to buy another unit.

Manufacturers overspent for a few years when times were good, dealerships adjusted the way they operate and spend their money as well when things were booming, and now it’s all crashed in their face hard with no warning.

As for Cat, the bulletin they posted is very vague and open ended. There is no hard restart date promised for production. They “expect” to resume, which doesn’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.
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Yep, right you are on the pandemic related costs, and increases. And like it or not, the many tariffs were the largest issue, problem for all manufacturing, production industries to navigate through in this country. No way around that being absolute fact. New whatever it be, and repair parts hit us hard in the back pocket. thus the used also skyrocketed. Some at 60, 70% plus price increases.
 
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euphoric1

Well-known member
I feel for these dealers, and not just Arctic Cat ones, likely time to move or buy, floor plan interest and or paid inventory that isn't going anywhere can be very detrimental or destroy a dealership.
 
goofy600

goofy600

Well-known member
Biggest thing with dealers is how deep there pockets are, Nielson has enough that yes it is not good but isn’t going the break them. Smaller dealers yes will be very tough on them. Talked with dealer yesterday asked about the oxygen helmet what he has for stock and his comment “I have everything that I ordered from last year”.
 
E

euphoric1

Well-known member
hybrid said:
Deals are only going to get better
even if its a great winter
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I agree and will be equally as hard on the dealers, margins aren't always as great as people think or assume they are. Then you think about the dealer that may be sitting with a lot of inventory, whether it be machines, clothing or accessories, and the "better mousetrap" comes out, something all new, something better, a major improvement over the year prior. All of a sudden that makes your inventory obsolete, then what? Deals are great but detrimental to the selling dealer, its very unfortunate and a lose..lose situation for the dealers, manufacturers and distributors alike and as stated will take more that one good winter to right the ship.
 
goofy600

goofy600

Well-known member
At another dealer yesterday, probably has close to 100 sleds sitting in crates and mostly 24 models, didn’t even ask any prices, because I really don’t want to know.
 
pclark

pclark

Well-known member
I just need a battery for my Ski doo 900, will look online but probably it local in Minocqua.
 
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