In December , Empire Powersports created a lot of excitement for kids in its community . The Grinch traveled all the way from Whoville to Phoenix , New York , to “ rob ” the dealership . Luckily , children of the community built a wall to keep him from entering the front doors . After a change of heart , the Grinch stuck around for photos and joined everyone in celebrating the holiday season .

Empire Powersports often hosts exciting community events , and the next one on its calendar is its Spring Open House . “ Last year , I did an Easter egg hunt that was limited to 75 or 100 kids a day . We had a huge turnout ,” says Doug Clarke , general manager of the dealership . The dealership hosted two Easter egg hunts , and each included one ATV key hidden in an egg . The key finders walked away with a new youth ATV .

“ We ’ re a solid 10 minutes to the closest highway . We ’ re definitely in a country setting , so we try to do our best to let people know where we are , who we are and what we do ,” Clarke says .

He and the team of 15 at Empire Powersports prioritize customer satisfaction . “‘ No ,’ is the worst thing that we can say here . We figure out a way to say ‘ yes .’ We expedite ‘ yes ’ at every corner , and we make people feel welcome ,” Clarke explains .

Clarke has been in the industry for 12 years . “ I was previously a professional touring musician . I jumped right out of that off a tour bus and into my first dealership . I jokingly say this is my retirement gig even though it ’ s not ,” he laughs . “ I knew I loved powersports . It was always a goal to have a garage full and a barn full and we ’ ve always been in to it with family and friends . It was a natural fit .”

Clarke gained five years of sales experience at a dealership before joining Freedom Cycles . After becoming the general manager , dealer group Motorcycles of Manchester ( MOMS ) acquired the business . The group then acquired Empire Powersports , and Clarke joined that team as general manager in December 2023 .

WORD OF MOUTH , SPONSORSHIPS , BURNOUT

Clarke explains that the dealership is highly promoted by word of mouth because the Empire team is determined to help customers , even if that means sending them elsewhere . “ Word of mouth in the local area is definitely strong ,” he says . “ That ’ s what I ’ m trying to build on – the things I can ’ t pay for . Other stores have a larger budget than me for marketing

for sure , but it ’ s about that ground floor stuff that I think that ’ s garnering a lot of attention and making places like the radio station help us out without making us pay the big ticket like other places .”

Clarke consistently updates a local radio station about the dealership ’ s events . “ I have iHeart Radio , which has a couple affiliated local and national stations , that we advertise on ,” he says . “ But local 93Q , which is the most listened to morning show in central New York , is amazing . I let them know what we ’ re doing , and they put a spot out for us . [ They are ] real genuine people .”

And what goes around , comes around . The dealership sponsors four racetracks in its area : Fulton Speedway , Brewerton Speedway , Oswego Speedway and the Syracuse Mets . Two side-by-sides and one ATV are donated to the racetracks annually . In return , they include the dealership ’ s employees in “ Employee Night .” “ We get VIP treatment ,” Clarke says . “ It makes it great for everybody to get together and do that during the year .”

At Fulton and Brewerton speedways , the

The dealership was once heavily driven by snowmobile sales , and today it carries a variety of powersports products to sustain the business every season .

dealership drives a side-by-side on the infield and launches t-shirts to the crowd . “ I drive around in the pace car and we stand in the middle of the field while the race is going on – it ’ s nuts ,” Clarke adds .

These activities also help prevent employee burnout . “ It mixes it up . We have a lot of fun ,” he says . “ I understand what this industry can do – the monotony if you ’ re doing the same thing every day , as with anything .”

Clarke also keeps things exciting with demo units . Throughout the year , he coordinates groups of employees to take out Sea-Doos , Ski-Doos and ATVs . “[ Employees ] have to love what they do ,” he says . “ Here , it ’ s important that we love it , and we don ’ t get burnt out , and we don ’ t just look at the stuff but use it .”

WITHIN THE DEALERSHIP The parts , service and office managers are made up of women leaders at Empire Powersports . “ That is unheard of in powersports ,” Clarke says . “ Both my parts manager and service manager have been here over 10 years . They ’ re staples in the business .” Customers ask to work specifically with these managers often . Clarke explains that female employees express their dedication to and investment in customers and their units . “ In this industry , things are not cheap ,” he says . “ Whether it ’ s your parts or your machine or your service .” He highlights the importance of explaining the value of those investments with customers .

Women within the dealership also inspire new female riders . “ We love the opportunity to sell to women , get more women in the sport , to accommodate and have gear here that they can try on ,” Clarke says , emphasizing that all customers are treated the same . “ We ’ re the number one Sea-Doo dealer in the region . We get a ton of ladies involved in that ,” he continues . “ They love it .”

OEM SUPPORT AND LOW SNOW While inventory levels remain uncomfortably high for many dealers , Clarke says OEMs have communicated their awareness and intent to

Doug Clarke ( left ) and the Empire

Powersports management team hold awards at the dealerships Chili Cookoff . Photos courtesy of Empire Powersports

aid the issue . “ They ’ re still a little behind in a drastic move or a very clear-cut move to help the dealers with the flooring ,” he adds .

He says that while manufacturers are offering more rebates and finance incentives , a more extreme action may be necessary to right size inventory . “ Everyone is sitting on similar inventory and they ’ re at a similar state of aging ,” Clarke says .

The snowmobile segment has been particularly impacted due to uncooperative weather . “ The snow will be around for a couple of weeks and then it will be gone . That ’ s not the story we ’ re trying to tell over here , but reality is what it is . It ’ s tough to get somebody to take a gamble after a lack of snow for three years and having to travel . Backyard snow is our best friend .”

Empire Powersports was once driven heavily by snowmobile sales . Clarke says that dealerships must transition to other products that can sustain the business year-round . And when the snow does begin to fall , “ It ’ s tough to prepare for that as a dealer ,” he says . “ You want to have everything ready so when the light switch flips on and all of a sudden we get slammed , that we have everything .”

Despite these challenges , Clarke is optimistic . “ Our goal is customer retention and growth and getting people to understand that we ’ re beyond the election ,” he says . “ As life gets more affordable again , hopefully we can start having more fun . The lack of purchases [ last year ] were dominated by people unsure if the year would play out the way they needed it to financially .”

Clarke adds , “ We ’ re a fun group ! My counter staff is always encouraged to make people laugh . We know , and I very much profess it when we have store meetings , that people buy from who they like . If they don ’ t like you , they won ’ t buy from you . If they don ’ t like the way they ’ re treated , they don ’ t like the way they ’ re greeted , they don ’ t like the level of attention they get , unfortunately , they ’ re going to find that somewhere else … We do our best and if we can ’ t come up with a solution , we try to facilitate it or point them in the right direction .”