 |
An Interview with Colin Shattuck of Genuine Scooters Company
|
|
|
Top level
Scooter Related News
|
Brian Ducharme of nh-scooters.com interviews Colin Shattuck about the new "Stella" scooter from Genuine Scooters Company.
|
Colin Shattuck is the National Sales Manager of Genuine Scooters Company and was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to grant us this interview:
Brian: Hello Colin, what got you involved in scooters?
Colin: I went to work in the motorcycle business during high school, about the same time I fell in love with scooters. After working in several dealerships over the period from 1990 to 1998 I finally decided to open Sportique Scooters to serve scooter clientele.
Brian: Who came up with the idea to create the Stella?
Colin: My boss and good friend, Phil Mccaleb of Scooterworks USA. He had wanted to be involved with importing and distributing scooters for years. After a failed attempt to become the big USA guy for an Italian scooter company he forged a relationship with the people who manufacture the Stella.
Brian: What were the greatest challenges that you faced in the development of the Stella?
Colin: Probably getting the Indian manufacturer to understand that we wanted it shiny and sparkly. They see scooters as very utilitarian things. Phil spent months in India overseeing the final details.
Brian: Is it true that Genuine was able to get the 150cc 2-stroke engine to pass emissions?
Colin: You bet it is! That is the most exciting aspect of what we are doing. It was supposed to be impossible! The Stella is very clean burning, though, and after all of the requisite testing was done, she came out smelling like a rose!
Brian: So will this scooter be highway legal?
Colin: Yes. It qualifies for freeway use. This is no moped class scooter. It is the same scooter Italians have used to peruse the hills of Tuscany for decades.
Brian: I realize that the Longshoremen’s strike has created some set backs. How far away is the release of the Stella?
Colin: You are putting me on the spot here. We really hoped to have the first “on time” new model release in the history of scootering but – oh well – it didn’t happen that way. All good things are worth waiting for, though. Look for Stella to arrive in dealerships by the end of February, just in time for Spring.
Brian: Is the suggested retail price still set at $2,699?
Colin: Yes. We struggled to set the price this low but we want Stella to be an accessible product.
Brian: How where you able to keep the price so low and still provide a high-quality scooter?
Colin: It helps that labor costs in Asia are quite a bit lower than they are in Europe. It also helps that we set Genuine Scooter Company up to be “no frills”. We even rubber stamp our envelopes. My boss has a saying: “Anybody can spend money, we are here to make it”. I think the coolest thing is that, even though Stella is priced quite low, dealers will still make a good profit – they deserve that.
Brian: When will we be able to see more pictures? The website says more pictures coming soon.
Colin: We just had a photo shoot done in Chicago by a brilliant guy named Paul Elledge. He used a novice model who was “street cast” as Stella and took photos in a really authentic old Italian repair garage. The results were awesome and we are really looking forward to hearing people’s reactions. Look for some samples in the next Scoot! Quarterly. As far as web updates are concerned, we are slow and we know it. Remember when I mentioned that we were “no frills”? That includes an in house designer who is also kept very busy doing other things. Web updates will be forthcoming, however.
Brian: I am really excited about this scooter and think that sales are going to do very well. What are your projected sales? (How many units)
Colin: Naturally, I have some pretty pie in the sky notions. The scooter is awesome – I cannot imagine why everybody wouldn’t buy one. To answer your question, though, I would say that we would be happy if our dealers retailed 2,000 Stellas this year. We would be really happy with 3,000. That basically means that we would like to see Stella sell about as well as the excellent Malaguti Yesterday 50.
Brian: What are the plans for the future? Other models?
Colin: A smallframe would be nice, although I am not saying that is in the works. We would also like to offer an automatic or two. For now we are focusing on Stella. We feel that it is the most important product to come along in quite awhile in the scooter sector. Offering only one model is actually a selling point as far as we are concerned. I think too many scooter importers offer too many models. The result is models that cannibalize each other, poor parts availability and confusion in the marketplace; not to mention all the extra costs associated with getting each model approved for sale in the USA. Genuine Scooters – One Model. One Purpose.
Brian: How many dealers have been approved so far and when and where can I buy one?
Colin: Right now dealers are being approved rather rapidly and more applications are sent every day. Response is excellent. The dealers we have announced are, Scooterworks, Sportique, Garners, Scooters Centrale, Pride Of Cleveland, Scooterville and Columbia Scooters. Other familiar scooter shops are very close, as are several larger motorcycle dealerships. Unfortunately, we will not be able to find a qualifying scooter only dealer in every area. There still just are not enough of them.
Brian: Thanks for taking the time to talk to nh-scooters.com.
Colin: You are super-welcome. Thanks for asking me to!
|
|
|
Comment List
| Topic: |
Author: |
Time: |
|
|
Harry Myhre
|
03.30.2003 01:07
|
|
I think Colin is right. They're smart sticking with just one model. This way they can put all their effort into making that one model "right". Only problem is, it's not available in California.
Too bad the state of california can't make one exception!
|
|
|
