PHOTO COURTESY OF BUMPUS HARLEY-DAVIDSON
The Bumpus dealership in Collierville.
Bumpus Harley-Davidson, one of the largest and top-selling motorcycle dealerships in the country, has announced it will close its Collierville dealership on or before October 31. The move will consolidate all sales and service operations at the main location at 2160 Whitten Road.
Declining sales in recent years has caused the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, headquartered in Milwaukee, to re-evaluate its dealership network across the country, according to Kathy Potter, director of marketing for Bumpus. The company has streamlined its lineup of models and re-evaluated its sales and marketing efforts.
The COVID-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time for the company nationwide, which reported net income of $69.7 million for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $127.9 million for the same period in 2019. As a result, Harley-Davidson suspended production of 2020 models, including its first electric motorycle, and announced a total restructuring plan for the company and its network of dealers and distributors, called "The Rewire."
In a press release, the Bumpus family announced: “Harley-Davidson has made news over the last year or so on how they are going about meeting these new demands. The way that everyone has gone about business took a drastically different turn when the COVID-19 crisis came on the scene. Harley-Davidson went through a major shift in not only its leadership structure but its business model as well. Part of this new direction has included not only the streamlining of its product offering, but also the size of its dealer network.
“As the result of the Memphis Metro market study, we have made the difficult decision to do our part in this strategy and close our Collierville location and consolidate on or before October 31.”
Harley-Davidson, founded in Wisconsin in 1903, has maintained sales offices in Memphis since the 1930s. The Bumpus family — father Jerry, and brothers Tim and Dan, later joined by siblings Tom and Scott — opened their first dealership on Summer Avenue in the Bartlett area in 1986. Over the years, they also opened full-service locations in Jackson and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
In 2000, Bumpus unveiled an ultra-modern showroom on Whitten Road, north of I-40. The 42,000-square-foot facility introduced motorcycle enthusiasts to a new kind of dealership. In the past, Harley and other bike shops were strictly utilitarian, with several models on display, a parts counter, and a few racks of t-shirts and other accessories. At the new Bumpus dealership — a regular winner for “Best Motorcycle Dealership” in the Memphis Flyer’s “Best of Memphis” readers polls — customers stepped into a museum-like experience, dedicated to the history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Vintage bikes, posters, clothing, racing gear, and other ephemera associated with the long history of Harley-Davidson were displayed throughout the store. Dozens of new and used Harley-Davidsons and other brands, including Buell and Royal Enfield, were lined up, inside and outside, for sale. Almost half the store was devoted to what H-D called “motorclothes” — jackets, shirts, jeans, belts, gloves, boots, helmets, and even such novelties as Harley-branded soft-drink vending machines, billiard tables, children’s toys, and pet supplies. The dealership also offered daily and weekly rentals, riding lessons, and other services to introduce new riders to the world of motorcycling.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BUMPUS HARLEY-DAVIDSON
The Bumpus Harley-Davidson dealership in Collierville offered customers much more than motorcycles.
The Collierville store at 325 S. Byhalia Road, just north of I-385, opened in July 2005. The 40,000-square-foot building followed a similar architectural design as the Whitten store, but included motorcycle displays — including a mockup of an early gas station — arranged on a second level that wrapped around the perimeter of the showroom floor.
Bumpus Harley-Davidson, one of the few multi-family Harley dealerships in the country, was consistently ranked among the company’s top-25 dealers. In 2018, the Bumpus family expanded further, opening a small store in a storefront at 525 South Main, close to the Arcade. That location has been closed since March and will not reopen.
“We will always cherish our time in Collierville,” said Kathy Potter in a statement, “and we appreciate everyone that has been a part of a really good run.”
For more information about Harley-Davidson's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on the company in the U.S. and worldwide, go here.
