Dealernews - October 2009 - (Page 20) According to Damron, J.C. Whitney filed for bankruptcy and stung him for a substantial amount of money. Kawasaki dragged its feet on paying its bills. Damron laid off everybody and closed down. He had a ton of leftover products. “What I did is I called the magazines and said, ‘Here’s the deal: I’m going to start a mailorder company. I have no money. If you’ll take an ad, as soon as I sell something I will pay my bill.’” Cycle Guide took him up on the offer. “That’s when Chaparral was born,” Damron says, “out of sheer desperation, to put beans on the table. I was starting a family. My first daughter was born at the time.” Damron built the business and opened two small retail locations. “We thought this may be the way to go,” he says, “but it turned out that it really wasn’t because we couldn’t offer enough product in a small store to do the whole thing justice. And since then, my philosophy has been ‘If you got it, put it out there and sell it.’” He used 35,000 sq. ft. of his previous manufacturing space to open a shopper’s wonderland. He didn’t have much money for lighting, so he slanted the factory’s fluorescent bulbs back and forth in 45degree angles to add some style. The look became a sort of trademark, so despite a designer’s pleading, he’s never changed it. Once the store outgrew this space, Damron moved into today’s building on the other side of the freeway. He began with 60,000 sq. ft. and eventually added another 90K, all walk-in retail space. These numbers include a 35K sq. ft. tire center displaying 5,000 tires. Not included are stock rooms, office space, a separate 20K sq. ft. service department behind the store, and (in the city block directly behind the store) a 100K sq. ft. assembly building and a 60K sq. ft. mailorder warehouse with a conveyor system. When needed, employees tote parts from the warehouse to the retail store using Kawasaki Mules. Damron began selling online in the mid’90s. He also entered the vehicle market. At the time, he says, local dealers were focused on booming PWC sales because their stores weren’t big enough to show all powersports units well. “I was watching the motorcycle business erode in my own backyard,” he says. “Nobody was paying attention, so for my own selfpreservation I decided to attempt to buy up the dealerships.” He bought the local Big Four dealer that also had Sea-Doo. He then added KTM and Polaris. Business was going so well that the store began sponsoring a Supercross team. Jeremy McGrath took home the championships in ’98, ’99 and 2000. Chapar- DEALERNEWS OCTOBER 2009 DEALERNEWS.COM http://www.DEALERNEWS.COM Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dealernews - October 2009 Dealernews - October 2009 Table of Contents From the Editors InBox Speed Read Joe Delmont Cover Story State-by-Statement ATV/Dirt-by-State DJB Composite Index Special Report: Distributor Update U.S. Go-Kart Market in Serious Decline Dave Koshollek Fuel For Thought - Dave Koshollek Todd Shafer Marketing Update Merchandising Update New Products New Products: Off-Road Advertiser Index/Customer Service Mike Vaughan Dealernews - October 2009 Dealernews - October 2009 - Dealernews - October 2009 (Page Cover1) Dealernews - October 2009 - Dealernews - October 2009 (Page Cover2) Dealernews - October 2009 - Dealernews - October 2009 (Page 1) Dealernews - October 2009 - Table of Contents (Page 2) Dealernews - October 2009 - Table of Contents (Page 3) Dealernews - October 2009 - Table of Contents (Page 4) Dealernews - October 2009 - Table of Contents (Page 5) Dealernews - October 2009 - From the Editors (Page 6) Dealernews - October 2009 - From the Editors (Page 7) Dealernews - October 2009 - InBox (Page 8) Dealernews - October 2009 - InBox (Page 9) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 10) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 11) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 12) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 13) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 14) Dealernews - October 2009 - Speed Read (Page 15) Dealernews - October 2009 - Joe Delmont (Page 16) Dealernews - October 2009 - Joe Delmont (Page 17) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 18) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 19) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 20) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 21) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 22) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 23) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 24) Dealernews - October 2009 - Cover Story (Page 25) Dealernews - October 2009 - State-by-Statement (Page 26) Dealernews - October 2009 - State-by-Statement (Page 27) Dealernews - October 2009 - ATV/Dirt-by-State (Page 28) Dealernews - October 2009 - ATV/Dirt-by-State (Page 29) Dealernews - October 2009 - DJB Composite Index (Page 30) Dealernews - October 2009 - DJB Composite Index (Page 31) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 32) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 33) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 34) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 35) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 36) Dealernews - October 2009 - Special Report: Distributor Update (Page 37) Dealernews - October 2009 - U.S. Go-Kart Market in Serious Decline (Page 38) Dealernews - October 2009 - U.S. Go-Kart Market in Serious Decline (Page 39) Dealernews - October 2009 - Fuel For Thought - Dave Koshollek (Page 40) Dealernews - October 2009 - Fuel For Thought - Dave Koshollek (Page 41) Dealernews - October 2009 - Todd Shafer (Page 42) Dealernews - October 2009 - Todd Shafer (Page 43) Dealernews - October 2009 - Marketing Update (Page 44) Dealernews - October 2009 - Marketing Update (Page 45) Dealernews - October 2009 - Merchandising Update (Page 46) Dealernews - October 2009 - Merchandising Update (Page 47) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48A) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48B) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48C) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48D) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48E) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48F) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48G) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48H) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48I) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 48J) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 49) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 50) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 51) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 52) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 53) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 54) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 55) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 56) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 57) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 58) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 59) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 60) Dealernews - October 2009 - New Products: Off-Road (Page 61) Dealernews - October 2009 - Advertiser Index/Customer Service (Page 62) Dealernews - October 2009 - Advertiser Index/Customer Service (Page 63) Dealernews - October 2009 - 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