Syl Marleau has been around the Canadian motorcycle industry for a number of years. After surviving the tough economic times of the early 1990s at Yamaha Motor Canada, Syl moved on to Motovan Corp. where he stayed for a number of years. As the type of person who loves a new challenge, Syl recently helped found a new company called Motonation Canada that distributes trusted products like Sidi Boots and AGV Sports. Currently, Syl lives in Keswick, Ontario with his wife Shawna and together they hope to grow Motonation Canada to new heights in 2014 and beyond. We caught up with Syl as he, like all of us, was sitting around waiting for spring to show up.
MXP: Hey Syl, thank you for taking our call. How are things going today?
SM: Things are good Chris, just waiting on the snow to melt. It’s been a tough winter for everyone in these parts. It started in early November and never stopped. Hopefully this milder weather is here to stay so we can get out riding. I think we’re going to end up skipping spring and going right into summer. If that happens it’s good for me and good for business.
Where do you call home?
We live up in Keswick, Ontario. We like it up here, it’s quiet and peaceful and great for riding when the weather co-operates of course. I have an office in my home and then there are two warehouses, one in Alberta and a smaller one here in Keswick.
Like most of us in this industry you must love riding motorcycles. How long have you been riding?
Yes, I do love riding, it’s been a huge part of my life for many years. I actually began riding back was I was sixteen; back then it was an easy way to get around. My pride and joy for a long time was a Yamaha but now I have two BMWs that I love. Actually my wife recently started riding also so now she doesn’t have to ride on the back of my bike. As soon as the weather is good enough we’ll be hitting the road.
Have you ever ridden motocross?
No, I haven’t actually. I’ve always stuck to the road and for the last couple of years I’ve been doing those GS Challenges and I really love them.
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t the GS Challenges some of the fastest growing motorcycle tours?
For sure. People are really enjoying them and that’s why it’s getting so popular. You’d be surprised how many riders want to spend money on them. To go to Africa and ride for ten days costs around $5,000. That’s not cheap but it is well worth it because they’re a lot of fun.
Tell us a little bit about Motonation Canada. What are your main products?
Well, we have Sidi Boots, which as you know are awesome boots. They’re one of the best on the market, hand crafted, great quality leather and first rate engineering behind them. I’ve never met a rider who didn’t love putting on a pair of Sid Boots. We also have AGV Sports, Forcefield Body Armour, and Zemar Helmets. Those are our A lines and they all cater to the ever growing adventure world as well as all disciplines of riding.
When Syl isn’t at work running Motonation Canada, he can be found out on the trails doing what he loves.
Is Motonation a dealer-only company or can a consumer buy products direct from you?
We’re an aftermarket company that is trying to cater to the dealers. When we get requests for, say, a pair of Sidi Boots, we try and send everyone to out vauled Canadian dealers. We are Canadian and we love dealing with Canadians; that is what we’re all about. With us, the USA is the USA and Canada is Canada. Right now that philosophy is working out very well.
It sounds like Motonation Canada is rolling along very well. You obviously have a lot of experience in this industry. When and how did it all start for you?
I started working for Yamaha Motor Canada back in 1991. I worked there for twelve years until I got recruited by Motovan. I then went to Motovan and I was there until 2008, first as a sales rep and then I helped out with building a structure between their National and Regional Managers. From there, Klim came along and asked me to help build their brand in Eastern Canada. Four years ago no one had even heard of Klim, but now, thanks to my wife and I, everyone knows the brand. In a short time we were able to take sales from $200,000 to just under $5,000,000, so we’re very proud of that.
Wow! Those are pretty big numbers. Was that all of Canada or just in the east?
Actually that is just for the east. For all of Canada we were around the $10,000,000 mark in sales. I think a lot of people don’t realize the amount of product moved and the amount of penetration we had in the marketplace.
So from Klim you moved on and started Motonation Canada. With the great products that you have now, where do you see it going in the next few years?
I think very shortly Sidi Boots will be the top selling boot in Canada. Before there were a lot of customers who wanted them but couldn’t get them. Now that they have access to these boots, people are going to finally get what they want. Sidi has a pair of high quality boots for every rider out there, whether they ride off-road or street. Since our coming-out party in February, the response we’ve had from media, riders and everyone in the industry has been overwhelming. So far things are going great.
You’ve been in this industry for a very long time and you’ve seen it from many different angles. What keeps you rolling along?
I think to work in this industry and be successful at it, you have to have passion. We have passion for riding and that passion extends to the products we sell. My biggest pleasure is seeing the smiles on the faces of our customers. That’s how I felt back in 1991 and through the years it hasn’t changed.
Well Syl, we couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for doing this and good luck with everything in 2014. We’ll have to try and get you out on a dirt bike soon.
Yes, I’d like that. We just need some snow to melt. Thanks again for calling.