Sad news in Canada.....

There are some very sad things going on in the motorcycle industry here in Canada, and it looks like the motorcycle industry here is going to go through much of what our brothers and sisters south of the border are going through - a slow down.

Companies like Honda are going to the big box style of sales where you can buy a boat, generator and car from the same guy that sells you a bike - closing out all kinds of small dealerships. Here in the North you can't even demo a bike unless the dealership has a bike for that purpose. You have to make an appointment and go to Edmonton to test ride a Honda now.
Why? Economics they say.

The other sad thing is the number of bankruptcies and close outs -and the strong Canadian dollar is a huge contributing factor. Many businesses bought product when the dollar was not so strong and are still sitting on that product. Why? Because bargain minded Canadians are going south to shop be it in their cars or through the net. So, the American economy will benefit from our strong dollar and Canadian businesses will suffer for it.

Everyone wants to save money and who can blame them, yet at the same time it is causing a back lash, Canadian businesses are starting to close their doors. I know it's affected the paper in a very negative way as more and more businesses tighten their belts - their advertising budgets for little publications like the Busted Knuckle are the first thing they trim.

Why? Because the advertisers doesn't feel that they get that much out of the money they spend with us. They don't think you guys actually read this thing so....they cut their ads.

For me, it's a double edged sword - the bankruptcies have meant that businesses who owed me money are now not paying me for what they received and we have lost 10 advertisers already.

All I can hope is that I have the ability to weather the storm, many it seems have not been able to.

We need your help. Tell the businesses you see in the paper that you do read it.
If you don't, the paper may end up being another casualty.

Stay safe out there.....
BD Betty