Fischer's Harley-Davidson stores prepare for new growth

Scott Fischer said he has always been a "motorcycle guy." He raced bikes competitively in Columbus, Ohio as a teenager, on long "Enduro" cross-country courses. He worked at a motorcycle dealership, sweeping the floors, assisting mechanics and eventually managing the store until he was 25 years old.

Scott Fisher at his Harley-Davidson/Buell shop on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. It all led to an opportunity in Fort Myers.

In 1988, Fischer bought a Harley-Davidson/ Kawasaki dealership on Fowler Street and nine years later opened another dealership in Naples. Now he has eight motorcycle stores in four states - unified under the name Motor Sports Solutions - and is preparing for the next phase of growth.

"My career changed in January of this year when I recruited an operations officer," Fischer said. "I pulled myself out of the day-today operations. I'm really focused on the big picture - where our company's going to go. My desire is to have a company that is not only considered great in motorsports but great in the retail business. To be great in the retail business is a major achievement. I want customers and employees to be wowed like they'd be at a Ritz-Carlton or a Saks Fifth Avenue."

To that end, he's developing something like a Harley-Davidson mall or theme park, at his Fort Myers Harley-Davidson/Buell store on Colonial Boulevard. He's owned it since 2000 and recently bought all the surrounding property in that parking lot. It will add 40,000 square feet, a Kawasaki store, and a "lifestyle center" that includes entertainment and food.

"You know how they have 'Bike Night' downtown?" Fischer asked. "Well, we want to bring much more of that element to our facilities. We're developing a facility and property that will cater to that type of environment."

The improvements are scheduled to be complete by early 2009, but only represent a small portion of Motor Sports growth. Besides two dealerships in Fort Myers, one in Cape Coral and Naples, Fischer's busiest store, he said, is in Albuquerque, N.M. There are locations in South Carolina and Alabama as well. And three years ago, Fischer - or at least a part of his business - returned home when he had the opportunity to repurchase Classic Cycles, the dealership he'd worked at as a youth. It's now called Motorsports of Columbus.

"When we looked at Alabama, when we looked at New Mexico, when we looked at South Carolina, they were all deals that came to us," Fischer said. "We look at those opportunities and say 'Is there an upside that will fit into our organization and is it the right marketplace?'

"Columbus, Ohio is a unique situation."

Opening a store there is an exception for Fischer, because Northern winters are something he'd prefer to do without, and because more warm days per year equals better sales.

"To go back to where my roots were and have a store there is appealing to me," he said. "But it has created some challenges. It clearly requires a different focus because it is a very seasonal business there."

That's part of the reason why he took the opportunity to move to Fort Myers years ago. But at the time, Fischer wasn't so sure getting into the Harley-Davidson business would work out.

"In the mid '80s, Harley didn't have a great reputation, although Harley had been a great company for many years," he said. "But what you and I and most people know really began in the mid 1980s. So when I came to work here, I was very concerned about the Harley product. When I was a Honda dealer, I wouldn't take Harley on trade.

But within 30 days, I was fully engaged. (Harley) was gonna be by far the greatest brand I'd ever had."

Although sales have recently lagged with the economic downturn, Fischer is planning for the long term, and expanding the company in other ways, like on the Internet. He plans to use it for more sales and employee training.

Another initiative is "branding" the company. Now, his eight locations all have different names and are not yet known simply as one brand: Motor Sport Solutions.

"Our sales are down in our company overall, but our systems and procedures we've been able to strengthen and tighten," he said. "Business has been very, very good for many years because Harley has been so strong. So we're competing with great success."

Meanwhile, Fischer doesn't race bikes anymore, but does occasionally take road trips. To quench his sporting thirst, he is often trading the hard road for the high sea, and traveling with his wife and daughter on their yacht whenever they get the chance.

Fischer said, "We spend most of our time cruising the Bahamas."