MINNEAPOLIS — Last December, many snowmobile dealerships were having a hard time keeping up with demand. So far this year, it’s a much different story.
John Lauritsen shows us what a lack of snow means for snowmobile businesses across the state.
At Mies Outland in St. Cloud snowmobiles are ready to go. The problem is, there’s nowhere to ride them.
“We are still waiting for it like everybody else. Not even the snow, the ice. We need it to freeze up,” said Shaun Kral, general manager.
Mies sells major brands like Polaris and Ski-Doo. The past couple of years have seen a pandemic and snowy Decembers, which led to a major spike in sales. That’s what makes this winter so weird.
“Mother Nature just hasn’t worked like it has in the past,” said Kral.
In fact, Kral believes sales are down 30 to 40% in central Minnesota.
On Saturday, they got 3 inches of rain here in the St. Cloud area but had that been snow they figure they would have sold 40 snowmobiles or more.
But Kral said that can all change with one, good storm, and January, February and March are typically big months for snowmobiling in Minnesota.
“Last year I think there were guys that were almost tired of snowmobiling. Because they got so many miles on. Where this year, we’re still waiting for it a little bit,” said Kral.
On the flip side, technician and ATV owner Marc Welch has been able to take his side-by-side on trails, normally covered by snow.
“They are talking about opening up some more trails until the snow gets here but, hopefully we get some snow to make them happy too,” said Welch.
Kral said Central Minnesota customers who’ve bought snowmobiles are finding snow further north and even in states like the Dakotas and Michigan.
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