There's been a lot of ink spilled on the sale and subsequent acquisition of Indian Motorcycle last month. The brand, resurrected by Polaris, is one of the most iconic American brands around, having begun operations over 100 years ago. But it's a brand that's suffered a lot of turmoil throughout its history, and I'm not sure if that's quite over with its new private equity owners, Carolwood Capital.
Before I get into why I think we're in for a rocky few years, I want to start with the fact that there's been no substantive change from the brand as of yet. Indian's new owners are still working on just divesting it from Polaris and its interconnected tendrils, all of which is understandable. Why start changing things when you're still trying to figure out what goes where, who does what, and splitting up a business that has a bunch of synergies?
But, recently, Carolwood Capital's Spencer Towill, who led the acquisition of Indian Motorcycle from Polaris, went on Bloomberg and offered some thoughts on the brand's future. And while most of his thoughts are vague to the point where nothing substantive is said, one details offered up about those future plans is an increased emphasis on merch, i.e., your t-shirts, your branded gear, etc.
