Good or bad for the ATV aftermarket industry?

[Rich250RRacer]

I received something interesting in the mail yesterday. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Summit Racing. For those who aren't, they are probably the country's largest retailer of high performance auto parts. They started with drag and street racing and quickly expanded into other areas of the market, such as wheels, truck parts, stereos, and the compact car craze. I live only an hour or so from their main store in Akron, Oh and have watched the smaller, privately owned performance shops in my area slowly fade away, unable to compete with Summit. Kind of like the Wal-mart of the auto parts industry. I have to admit I have shopped there, the prices are great. Well, I got the new Summit catalog yesterday, and right on the cover the big news was the addition of ATV and dirt bike parts. FMF, Big Gun, Pro-Taper were among some of the brands that they are now carrying, and I'm sure once they get a little more established we'll see alot more of the brands we're familiar with. Before everyone jumps on the Summit bandwagon (or any other big retailer), please remember the little guys at your local shop who have taken care of you for years. These are the guys who know you by name. They care about your needs and help out whenever they can. It may cost a little more, but remember, they have to eat too!

[Moto92]

I say any competition that can lower prices for industry is a good thing. Taking $20 worth of steel and selling it as an $800 set of
a-ams is a little too much

Originally posted by fearthisracer
I say any competition that can lower prices for industry is a good thing. Taking $20 worth of steel and selling it as an $800 set of
a-ams is a little too much i agree..maybe this is what the sport needs to drop everyone prices and let the sport boom?

[Mxjunkie]

If summit gets into it you can almost bet Jegs will follow. It happened when Jegs sold Jr dragsters, summit picked up on it :p

[praetorian]

I dont know about where you live, but the shops that take care of us here are few and far between.

We just go to whomever is the cheapest. :ermm:

[wilkin250r]

I don't see it happening.

First of all, the world of performance ATV parts is much deeper than pipes, handlebars, and sprockets. A place like Summit is going to carry "accessories". Their inventory will consist of things like bumpers, nerfs, and grips, possibly tires. These are things the average person can already find much cheaper than their local shop, and it hasn't put the shops out of business yet.

Second, beyond just parts, the average 16yr old kid doesn't have the ability to tear down his own engine, bore out the cylinder or replace the sleeve, lap the valves, and other necessary tasks. The lifeblood of performance shops is NOT bumpers and tires, I doubt Summit racing will have a significant impact.