Sports
Snowfall helps snowmobile dealers
Tyler Ohmann
03/19/2013
With more than 60 inches of snow falling in Bottineau and at Lake Metigoshe so far this winter, it has been a pretty successful season for one of Bottineau County’s biggest economic drivers—snowmobiling.
However, a slow start to the snowfall stalled sales to begin the year.
“Our biggest selling season is from Thanksgiving until around Jan. 15,” said David Vad, owner of Johnson Sports Center Inc. of Bottineau. “And the snow came late this year, so we kind of missed out on that, so we had a lot of snowmobiles left over.”
However, after the flakes began to fly in January business picked up.
“The used stuff sold good after the first of the year, because we were starting to get snow, so that made a difference,” Vad said. “The snow lately has kept us busy in the shop with parts and labor, and accessories have done well because of the snow.”
“So, it’s really been a pretty decent winter,” Vad added.
Down Highway 5 local Yahama dealer Terry Moe has seen plenty of success this winter.
“This year we held back a little bit, because there was no snow last year,” Moe said. “But when that snow hit, look out, and from that point until today we’ve been picking up sleds from dealers from the south, and we keep selling them and selling them.”
Moe even had to purchase used ‘08 to ‘10 used snowmobiles, which he said also went quickly.
“Most of those went in two to three days,” Moe said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like that.”
Moe also mentioned that their shop has also seen a strong uptick in business this season.
Vad said that the trails from in the Bottineau, Lake Metigoshe and into Rolette County are a big part of why the snowmobile industry is a major player.
“The biggest thing for us in this industry is that snow during the second week of deer season, so we can get that trail open by Christmas time,” Vad said. “That’s when people get excited to do stuff, and the snowmobile industry has declined in the past five years, due to mother nature, it is an expensive sport, which cuts a lot of the middle class people out and our communities are getting older.”
“Our Fridays and Saturdays have all been good since Christmas time basically because of the trail,” Vad continued. “When that trail gets opened up, the hotels get busy, the bars get busy, the food places get busy, the gas stations sell more gas, because we’re still a destination point.”
Moe said that this year’s weather means a lot for next season as well.
“The weather, it’s even huge in the presale for next year,” Moe said. “I don’t think we would have sold as much if the weather hadn’t been sustained, because it is in their head.”
“This winter has just went beyond,” Moe continued. “It’s been a hard one to beat.”
In fact, Moe believes this is one of the most successful years he has had in his 30 years of business.
“We’ve been doing this since 1983, and back in the day we’ve had some good years, I’m not saying that,” Moe said. “But this year is going to go on top of the heap.”
Vad said that the snowmobile industry has a large effect on the economy of many different businesses in the community and that last year’s lack of snow hit hard.
“As far as the economics of the snowmobile stuff it’s huge for our small community, because it takes up that slow period in the winter time for the motels and restaurants,” Vad said. “Last year was a big loss, and not just for me, I know Sher at the cafe up there was cutting the girls’ hours. You do what you can to get by for the winter and hope for a better winter the next year.”
“And overall it has been a pretty good winter,” Vad added.
Another factor for success for Moe is what he can do beyond snowmobiles.
“When people come up here to ride, they typically already have their own machine,” Moe said. “But they stop in anyway to get the odd thing or stop to visit, and by that happening we sell side-by-sides and fourwheelers to guys that would have never came here looking for them.”
“But they were up here because of the snow, so you see what kind of snowball effect that has,” Moe continued. “So when you take snow, everybody thinks that only effects this snowmobiles, but it’s way beyond that.”
Another thing Moe is excited about is that Yamaha and Arctic Cat has merged. Next year the two companies will combine their technologies to create a light-weight and powerful snowmobile according to Moe. He believes that is what will contribute to next season’s success.
For now though, both Vad and Moe continue to watch the snow fall (we received 10 inches from Friday through yesterday) and watch business continue to roll in until the snow quits falling.