Pandora’s European motorsport, accelerated over several months of record sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, plans to move from Chattanooga to East Ridge with tax relief.
Pandora’s, which sells motorcycles from brands such as BMW, Ducati and Triumph, is recently located on Highway 58 near Highway 153 and is preparing to move to a larger area on 5337 Ringgold Road.
Stephen Larson, dealer sales manager, said plans should be at the new facility until June.
“We have to do the whole editing,” he said. We have elaborate plans. “
Larson said the new one will be 7,000 square feet larger than the existing facility where it has been operating since about 2014.
The dealership, acquired a few years ago through mountain view auto group in Chattanooga, border region retail development district, a state tax incentive on sales that has helped East Ridge grow in recent years.
The incentive allows the city to recover the expansion in the collection of sales taxes in the domain and then reinvest the budget in the repayment of investments in the region.
Pandora’s European motorsport opened in Chattanooga in 2009 as Ducati’s exclusive distributor. Later, BMW added and Triumph motorcycles boarded in 2012. In 2017, Pandora partnered with Husqvarna Motorcycles, a Swedish logo known for a diverse motocross diversity. enduro motorcycles and stick insect. In 2019, he bought KTM and Beta motorcycles.
East Ridge city manager Chris Dorsey said Pandora would spend about $3. 4 million on the project and said that with that figure, East Ridge officials Pandora will recover 60% of that cash until 2042.
“It was a huge blow to East Ridge,” he said of the Border District. “We also hope to continue this trend. “
Dorsey said East Ridge City Council will offer Pandora’s tax relief this fall.
Pandora’s will move to a Ringgold Road junction from south Honda Powersports, which is building a $10 million facility and is also moving from Chattanooga.
Larson said no, the purpose was to get closer to Southern Honda Powersports.
“It’s that way,” he says.
East Ridge will bring replacement in the city and the border district is contributing to it, Larson said.
“This is a desirable position to move,” he said.
Larson said Pandora had benefited from the so-called quarantine fatigue that many others experienced during the year as a result of the pandemic.
“Business has gone very well, ” he said. We set several record months. Not the sales, but the total concession. “
Larson said other people were “going crazy” at home, yet many bought pandora to “do anything that satisfies me and that’s a social estre. “
Even the 2020 presidential election didn’t ruin the sales career, Larson said.
“Usually an election spoils things,” he said. The elections did not spoil it this year. “
Sales of Pandora’s Ducati motorcycles so far in 2020 have been made through the dealership, Larson said.
“Most of them went well,” he said, there was scarcity due to a previous closure in the year due to coronavirus.
The Motorcycle Industry Council reported last month that sales of new models increased in the third quarter. From the beginning of the year, sales of new motorcycles and scooters through September increased to 10. 2% compared to the same time last year, the organization of the industry reported. .
Chattanooga businessman Tim Kelly, owner of Southern Honda Powersports, said in June that he was moving forward with his plan to space out the franchise.
Kelly, who also runs for mayor of Chattanooga, said the new location on Ringgold Road, not far from Interstate 75, will make it less difficult for consumers to enter the existing Workman Road site.
Kelly also talked about the Border District incentive as one of the main reasons he built the new facility.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress. com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.