Found at: http://www.nh-scooters.com/article/articleprint/69/-1/3/

Interview with the US distributor of Peugeot Scooters

Publishing date: 04.16.2003 10:22

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Darby Gippert, Director of Operations for Cycle World, the US importer of Peugeot Scooters.

Peugeot Elystar (with top)

After their first year in distribution, Cycle World has seen a great response to the Peugeot line of scooters. Darby Gippert is very excited about the scooter line and feels that the Peugeot scooter is a "step above" the rest in quality.

NHSC: What affiliation does Cycle World have with Peugeot Motorcycles?
Darby Gippert: Cycle World Inc. is the distributor for Peugeot Motorcycles

NHSC: How many dealers do you currently have? Where?
Darby Gippert: Currently we have over 130 dealers nation wide, including Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

NHSC: I understand that Peugeot won the 2002 Motorcycle Design Trophy in the “Scooter & Commuter” category for the supercharged Jetforce Scooter. How soon before it will be available to the American market? How much?
Darby Gippert: The Jetforce 50cc and 125cc will be available in the US market around July of 2003. The 125cc Compressor version will not be available until September of 2003. As for the prices the Jetforce 50cc will retail for under $3,600.00 while the 125cc will be around $4,000.00, as for the Jetforce compressor we have not received the final costs but will announce this as soon as we find out.

NHSC: Do you think that Frances position with the war and the “voluntary ban” of French products will affect the sale of Peugeot Scooters? Will this delay product launches? What about parts availability?
Darby Gippert: From the response that we have been getting on the Peugeot line even with the government unrest between the two countries we are sure there will be no noticeable affects. I think that the public understands that the conflicts between the US and the French are political, we live in a country where we fight for the right to voice our opinions and that is what the French, German and Russian people are doing. Americans aren’t turning in their Mercedes or Porches because they are made in Germany. They haven’t stopped buying Nissan and Infinity cars even though they are owned by Renault, a French company. Opinions are greatly blown out of proportion right now by the media coverage. As for product launches and parts availability we are proud to say that we have the largest on hand inventory of both product and parts. Cycle World Inc prides itself in the fastest parts turn around to the dealer. If a part is needed the dealer has it at his location within 7 days, no waiting for 3 weeks or 3 months as many dealers are accustom to for parts.

Peugeot JetForce 50 - 125 -150

NHSC: What models are currently available? What are your best sellers?
What differentiates your scooters from all the others?
Darby Gippert: Currently we offer the dealers 7 different models.
Speedfight2
Trekker
Metal-X
Vivacity
Elyseo
Looxor
Elystar
And soon the Jetforce

The best selling bike we offer right now is certainly the Speedfight2 Yellow/Silver. This bike is not only beautiful but handles like a full size motorcycle. We consider our scooters the Porsche of the scooter lines available. Quality, design, and special features make the Peugeot scooters stand far above the rest. We offer ABS, SBC, Fuel Injection, integrated boa locks and much more. Put our scooters next to any other on the market today and you will quickly see the differences.

NHSC: What are your requirements for dealers interested in carrying the Peugeot line? What about service?
Darby Gippert: Cycle World Inc. is happy to say that our requirement to become and carry our scooters is minimal. We require that you have the need facilities to show and service our product and offer each dealer a protected sales territory in which they will not have any other competitors near them. There is no required buy in amount for the dealer. We would rather them take 3 scooters, give them a try and have to reorder in a week than pressure them to take 10 or 15 scooters to become a dealer and be upset with the heavy finance burden they must undertake just to carry the product. We offer all dealers special Co-ops with advertising and merchandise to promote the product. We also offer them a full range of boutique items if they wish to carry items like that. Dealers can also offer their customers retail financing on the Peugeot scooter through Cycle World Inc. We also offer them a CD ROM, which includes all of the required workshop manuals, Parts lists, and selling techniques for their sales staff.

As for service, each dealer is supplied with a 24 hour 7 day a week phone number to call if they have any questions when it comes to parts, service or technical questions.

NHSC: What is your company history and scooter experience?
Darby Gippert: Cycle World Inc has been distributing Peugeot Scooters for almost a year now. We are new to the market in that respect but have done our research as to what the dealers are used to and what they would like to get from their distributor. We are raising the bar when it comes to scooter distributors in the US and what the dealers are going to expect from others after dealing with Cycle World Inc. As for the customer they can expect the highest quality scooter available and the best dealer/distributor support ever seen in this market.

For more information about Peugeot Scooters visit their website:
www.mypeugeotscooter.com

| Back to normal page view | Send this article to a friend |