Certainly not the best announcement to start the year with, US-based Polaris Industries has announced that it will be officially pulling the plug of its 'Victory Motorcycles' brand with immediate effect. The announcement does come as a shocker to what was perceived as a niche brand for the manufacturer. That said, Polaris has confirmed that its decision does not affect the company's other brands including the popular 'Indian Motorcycles'.
In a statement issued by Polaris, the company said that it will assist dealers globally in liquidating the existing inventories and will continue to supply parts for a period of 10 years. The company will also provide service and warranty coverage to existing owners over that period.
The Victory brand was founded 18 years ago and has been the fourth largest name in North America. However, the company's global sales haven't crossed the 10,000 sales mark, which has made it financially unviable to continue with the same. While the Victory brand wasn't exactly in the doldrums with respect to sales, the fact that brand lacked an established market share failed to make it profitable.
Speaking on the decision to end the Victory's reign, Polaris Industries Chairman and CEO, Scott Wine said, "This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, my team and the Polaris Board of Directors. Over the past 18 years, we have invested not only resources, but our hearts and souls, into forging the Victory Motorcycles brand, and we are exceptionally proud of what our team has accomplished."
The Victory Brand Was Founded 18 Years Ago
Over the past two decades, the Victory brand churned out nearly 60 models and has been honoured with 25 awards. Speaking further on the demise of Victory, Wine added, "The experience, knowledge, infrastructure and capability we've built in those 18 years gave us the confidence to acquire and develop the Indian Motorcycle brand, so I would like to express my gratitude to everyone associated with Victory Motorcycles and celebrate your many contributions."
The demise of Victory Motorcycles also comes on the heels of Indian's success. There was a huge amount of overlap between the Victory and Indian brands, both being cruisers, and the latter clearly offered better heritage value in addition to just capable products, despite being buried for decades.
With Victory taking its final bow, it now means that a lot of the brand's resources, technology as well as research and development will be moved to the other brands within Polaris Industries. This is certain to benefit Indian Motorcycles as well as the newer Slingshot brand, which have been better performers for the company.
Then, there is the Brammo brand that was bought by Victory Motorcycles in 2015. The EV motorcycle has been actively participating in the Isle of Man TT, and will continue to remain a part of the Polaris group. Its technologies though are likely to find applications in other business areas as Polaris deems fit.
Speaking on the future of Polaris products, Wine said, "Our focus is on profitable growth, and in an environment of finite resources, this move allows us to optimize and align our resources behind both our premium, high performing Indian Motorcycle brand and our innovative Slingshot brand, enhancing our focus on accelerating the success of those brands. Ultimately this decision will propel the industry-leading product innovation that is core to our strategy while fostering long-term growth and increased shareholder value."
