Press Release –
Polaris announces that effective March 1, 2006 KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG has become Polaris’ exclusive distributor in Germany for Polaris All Terrain Vehicles, Quadricycles, Snowmobiles and Polaris RANGER™ vehicles.
“KTM has established a dedicated sales force to manage the Polaris brand and product sales. KTM will leverage our back office operations in Germany to increase sales, build the Polaris brand, and increase dealer service and satisfaction while minimizing distribution costs. We are excited to get this project started” said Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM’s Vice President of Marketing & Sales.
“Polaris is excited to leverage KTM’s strong presence and understanding of the German Powersports market to further develop the Polaris brand and sales in Germany” said Mark Blackwell, Polaris Vice President Victory Motorcycles and International Operations. “Polaris dealers in Germany will sign a separate Polaris dealer contract with KTM and be managed by a separate sales force dedicated to the Polaris product line. While there will be some common KTM and Polaris dealers in Germany going forward, market conditions in specific areas and individual dealer capabilities required for the KTM and Polaris product lines will dictate how many common dealers there will ultimately be.”
In July 2005, Polaris and KTM announced a strategic partnership with the goal of strengthening the competitive position of both companies and providing tangible benefits to customers, dealers, suppliers and shareholders. KTM’s distribution of Polaris products in Germany supports this goal.
It is not expected that KTM will become the distributor of Polaris products in any other European market in the near future. According to Mark Blackwell, “We want to focus our joint cooperative distribution effort on this key market to ensure success and demonstrate the compatibility of our product lines, brand positioning and dealer networks.”
