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Red Crawford
10/25/2019 11:56am
10/25/2019 11:56am
Edited Date/Time
10/29/2019 6:39am
Am I hearing correctly that the new Husky Team trailer cost $2,000,000.00? I am pretty stunned by that figure, but Kawi has a similar unit as of last year. Is this the new "bar" for signing top-tier riders? That is to say, do these teams market their McMansionTrailers to rider's agents? And, do sponsors consider this type of financial overhang as a positive ("hey, this is a kick ass trailer--as CEO of the primary sponsor my crew will love hanging here") or negative ("wow, you can tell these guys are riding in style on OPM....other people's money, like OUR'S. RUN!!")?
And, with J-Bone revealing that JGR is down-sizing from running two semi's around North America to running a single unit due to a lack of funding, I am left to question which way the sport is heading. Would a non-factory team find box-vans (or showhaulers) to be more favorable, vis-a-vis, expenses and allocation of sponsorship dollars?
Did AutoTrader or Weinerschnitzel really benefit from running a couple of billboards around the country, or would Fun-Mover's accomplish the same thing at a favorable p&l hit? Remember, this thread is more directed at "what is the most efficient use of sponsorship dollars?"....not a question of the bad-assery of luxo team trailers.
Reed did TeamTwoTwo on the large. When he ran the privateer Husky, he ran it out of a borrowed ShowHauler (a big ass FunMover for clarity). He even said then that he was not going in the hole to run a semi around the country.
I mean, I completely understand human nature. For sure, who gives up flying the corporate G5 when the clients are footing the bill and the kitty gets refreshed annually? But, should we get upset when the well runs dry and doors close?
And, with J-Bone revealing that JGR is down-sizing from running two semi's around North America to running a single unit due to a lack of funding, I am left to question which way the sport is heading. Would a non-factory team find box-vans (or showhaulers) to be more favorable, vis-a-vis, expenses and allocation of sponsorship dollars?
Did AutoTrader or Weinerschnitzel really benefit from running a couple of billboards around the country, or would Fun-Mover's accomplish the same thing at a favorable p&l hit? Remember, this thread is more directed at "what is the most efficient use of sponsorship dollars?"....not a question of the bad-assery of luxo team trailers.
Reed did TeamTwoTwo on the large. When he ran the privateer Husky, he ran it out of a borrowed ShowHauler (a big ass FunMover for clarity). He even said then that he was not going in the hole to run a semi around the country.
I mean, I completely understand human nature. For sure, who gives up flying the corporate G5 when the clients are footing the bill and the kitty gets refreshed annually? But, should we get upset when the well runs dry and doors close?
The Shop
The fact they both use a tractor trailer to accomplish the goal is where the similarities end.
Plus like you said, a factory team needs to look professional. Looking professional will draw more sponsors and more money to the team.
In retrospect, maybe not a good idea for Coy to change to Suzuki from Yamaha? Everybody in this sport knows that Suzuki management is fickle, and R&D investment is terrible.
*Facts*
If I was willing and able to blow $2MM, it'd be a toy hauler and a solid B level rider as a start up
I would finance it over a 15 year loan. Spend $15,000 per month, that is $200,000 per year.
So now you're only budgeting $200k per year for truck/trailer, which is a drop in the budget on the total budget you have to work with. Use the rig for 5 years(cost $1m). Sell it for $1-1.5mill, pay off the remain debt, buy another and do it again.
That's all easier said than done, but just showing an example of how 2million is a crazy number but not when you use it the right way.
The team spent every single dime every year they had the sponsor, for 4+ years. When the sponsor suddenly went away, the team immediately folded because they didn't have time to find a new sponsor.
They didn't save one penny for a 'rainy day fund' (even though they had a massive budget, more than they ever had had). They didn't plan for the future, at all.
Teams are like people. If given X amount of money, they are going to spend X + $10 more, then wonder what happened.
I also remember when they first started to show up at the nationals. They would roll in after dark and ever one was like wow.
Pit Row
Serious question---not being a troll.
I have owned and sold several businesses and the whole semi-truck presence in mx has always intrigued me, vis-a-vis value vs. bling.
Perhaps I am jealous, but I've tried like hell to justify a Prevost in several of my ventures and simply could not convince any CFO to let me do it. 😄
Not your tow truck, but in this case hauling bikes tools parts etc.
When has 99% of people ever seen a factory rig going down the road for any sport? Never.
Me, less than 5 times. Lucas, Bud Light, Toyo tires,
Mickey Thompson, and a Ferrari Challenge team.
Only because I was with them.
For the factory, they probably don't care.
For the sub sponsors, they would get 3 times the exposure with 3 smaller rigs.
No one has convinced me yet that wrapped semi's are the better financial decision over wrapped funmovers. Sure, it has become the norm----but we also used to allow smoking in restaurants and 2 martini lunches which was cool for smokers and drunks! We had to dial those fockers back a bit, and MX sponsors may have to do the same with teams. 😄
With that rotator you make way more than I do on one job, so the cost is justified.
SX/MX is far smaller than most think. Because you think it's awesome (nothing wrong with that), you tend to think everyone thinks it's awesome. You're in a minority, not a majority. As awesome as it is, whatever you think new mx bike sales are, is likely wrong.
It's less, far less
Who buys new bikes every year anymore?? No one. We now race a bike for a few years, modifying to keep up, rather than buying new, crushing OEM sales
Sponsorship is tough
There is limited "billboard space" on each bike, making TV visual space minimal. Gear is covered typically with everyone but the outside sponsor. If you notice, everyone in auto racing refers to their vehicle as the "XXXYZ Ford/Chevy super dart" while in SX/MX they're referred to as only one of the big 5, only
It's not as rich an environment as people think
Post a reply to: Would You Spend $2-Million of Sponsorship Dough on a Trailer?