Polaris Drops Victory Motorcycle Brand, Sticks With Indian

The Motley Fool reports that Polaris, the motorcycle company known best for its off-road bikes and other vehicles, didn’t seem to be going through any difficulties. After all, its motorcycle division was doing well, being considered one of the company’s key source of supplemental growth. Nevertheless, the firm is now announcing that “Victory Motorcycle” will no longer be “a thing.”

The brand operations are winding down, allowing Polaris to focus on working on items designed for the power sports industry. But at what a cost?

While the company seems to be suffering through this process, fans of the re-branded Indian Motorcycle brand who fell in love with the Victory will no longer have a home with Polaris.

“This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, my team, and the Polaris Board of Directors,” said Polaris CEO Scott Wine. Adding that over the last 18 years, “[Polaris and their team] have invested not only resources, but our hearts and souls, into forging the Victory Motorcycles brand, and we are exceptionally proud of what our team has accomplished.”

Urging everyone involved in the Victory motorcycle brand to celebrate their many accomplishments through the years, Wine also added that he’s grateful. But despite the great work the group has done, the Victory brand wasn’t gaining traction.

In Polaris’ most recent quarter, the publication explains, both the Indian and the Victory motorcycle brands sold well, with a low-teens percentage growth. A great showing when compared to the mid-single-digit percentage decline in growth the rest of the motorcycle industry suffered. Nevertheless, Polaris noticed the Victory brand of motorcycles was struggling to establish its market share. Without it, the brand can’t succeed.

With the motorcycle market being so competitive, it’s difficult to see how a brand struggling to establish itself would be able to make a dent.

While the Victory brand is coming to an end, the company has assured the public that the Indian motorcycle brand is not going anywhere. Thus, Polaris will be able to dedicate time and resources to the production of the high-performance brand, adapting to the ever-changing market, and making sure they are truly good at what they have set to accomplish. By focusing on one brand, they might as well be the best at it.