Partial salvation for Peter Stevens M/C

In the wake of May’s announcement that Peter Stevens Motorcycles had gone into administration, it’s been revealed that the motorcycling retailer will survive – in part – under two new owners. The majority of stores will continue trading after being purchased by Joe Rascal Group and Motorcycle Holdings, but five dealerships have closed.

Of the fallen empire’s retail outlets, Joe Rascal Group has acquired the Harley Heaven stores in Ringwood, Dandenong and the Melbourne CBD, as well as Peter Stevens Ducati in South Melbourne. Seven stores were acquired by Motorcycle Holdings, including the Peter Stevens dealerships in Dandenong and Adelaide, Harley Heaven in Sydney (Tempe), Penrith, Adelaide and Perth, plus Savage Motorcycles in Perth.

The remaining Peter Stevens Motorcycles outlets - in Ringwood, Geelong and Blacktown – plus Harley Heaven Blacktown, failed to attract buyers, so have closed. Melbourne City Triumph, which had shut its doors prior to the administration, also failed to find a buyer.

This means that, of the 400 staff that had been employed across the Peter Stevens Motorcycles retail network, around 250 will retain their jobs.

How the new owners will reshape their acquisitions is yet to be revealed, but Joe Rascal Group, which is led by James Tonna and Barry Fitzpatrick, has indicated the existing branding is unlikely to change.

Motorcycle Holdings has stated their new dealerships will continue to operate under the existing Peter Stevens and Harley Heaven names, despite the majority of their existing retail network operating as TeamMoto.

“This is a transformative moment for our business,” said Motorcycle Holdings CEO, Matthew Weisner. “It allows us to enter the key markets of Perth and Adelaide in which we currently do not operate, protect the integrity of the brands and avoid the disruption that would result from a disorderly liquidation of inventory into the market.

“The transaction provides an exceptional combination of scale, profitability and strategic positioning, which allows us to accelerate growth, grow our retail digital presence, consolidate market leadership and ensure long term value creation.
“We look forward to welcoming over 200 Peter Stevens and Harley Heaven group staff into [our] existing team.”

While the buyout by Joe Rascal Group and Motorcycle Holdings is mostly a win, staff at Peter Stevens Motorcycles in Geelong and new motorcycle buyers in Victoria’s second-biggest city are the big losers. The closure of Peter Stevens Geelong means that Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki, plus KTM, Triumph, Can-Am, Zero and Sea-Doo brands, can no longer be purchased locally. The likes of Harley-Davidson, Indian, CFMoto, Royal Enfield and some other volume brands were not part of Peter Stevens in Geelong, so their availability won’t be affected.