I never liked Barrett after they took over and thought that they were in it solely for the money. I am very sorry to hear how you got screwed Scott. I have always thought of you as the kind of Dealer that I would like to have and wish you the best.
At the time it was OK. Anything was better than dealing with Mark Brady at HNA. I will survive. This wont put me out of business or anything but it might be bolongna sandwiches for a couple of years.
Good luck Scott. It is always sad to learn that small and very devoted dealers like you (and JP) are hit hard. I am puzzled: How can a distributor owe money to a dealer? I thought that dealers were buying the bikes at a discount. Sorry, I obviously don't understand the business model here and I'm curious.
The Dist owes all the dealers money for a few reasons. 1. Warranty claims. 2. Retail rebates. This is where my problems lie. I worked my azz off and sold 29 bikes in Dec and they all had rebates on them ranging from $700-$1600. 29 x $1200 adds up pretty quick....
Crap. That sucks, Scott. I hope that, since it was a factory rebate, HNA will make it up to you. Although since you call it a 'retail rebate,' perhaps it's a different thing? Also, was it Barrett as a whole that filed, or just part of it that was responsible for distributing Husky? There doesn't seem to be any news about them on the web. *edit* Nevermind. Just found it. I was looking with google news, but just a regular google search brought up the filing.
It appears from looking thru the filing that they hadn't paid anyone of their major creditors for a while; Royal Bank, GE finance, and their Landlord. If they get that far into default with that many folks, I'd be suspicious of where the cash was going. I'm assuming you're filing a legal claim? I know I would be in this case. It may be worthwhile seeing if you can file it against their personal assets and or slide in to the front of the line using some creative/clever legal interpretation. Depending how the rebate/warranty agreements are structured, you may even be able to make GE finance (or?) pay you what's owed & they'll have to recoup from the breakup. Also look at suing the directors of BMG(they should have insurance in place). They obviously knew about the shaky condition of BMG for a while. This has always been one of my bugaboos with the bankruptcy process- especially when employees are owed money for severance etc., & smaller mom & pop creditors. The big guys such as the banks are first in line at the trough(behind the lawyers- they'll get paid first), & the little guys are usually last & are lucky to get a few crumbs, yet it affects them financially the most(by far). The Royal is owed a bit over $1 million, which isn't even a rounding error on their 2011 net income after taxes of $4.8 billion & they'll probably recoup 80-90% at worst. If they recoup zero, they won't miss it, although the lending manager may not get a bonus or a reduced bonus that year. Big deal. For a small shop, the loss can mean their entire profit for the year, or worse. One guy I know almost lost his business when one of his clients went bankrupt. When an employee doesn't get severance or their last paycheck in a bankruptcy, it means they may literally go hungry and lose their house. Our legal priorities are out of whack IMO.
Good! Not good for Scotty and the dealers and creditors, but I'm pleased to hear BMG is done for. Wondering what BMW will do to alleviate the problem. Offer up the Husky rights to someone who can actually run such an operation or just in-house it under the BMW umbrella. Guess we'll see.
Just reading this now, BMG going tits up is a good thing to hear for us Canadian Husky owners in my mind as all you have to do is look at how much better KTM Canada is doing since they parted ways with BMG back in 03.
Wow Scotty...I would hope that BMW steps up to the plate on those rebates. Solid legal case if you were to go that route.
Has Husqvarna NA figured out its distribution channels yet? They are looking for someone to execute the business: http://www.workopolis.com/EN/job/13671322
Damn shame I don't much business experience. I could have been a dealer Garden variety Husky still at the top rung of the product line.
