MONROE - On Dec. 30, Swiss Valley Harley-Davidson in Monroe closed its doors.
The business, located on 129 W. 6th St., was a member of the Boardtracker Harley-Davidson division in Janesville.
"It was not an easy decision (to shut down the Monroe branch)," said Wally Clock, the new Boardtracker general manager. "It came to the simple fact that we could not sustain a location of that size based on the volume we had for it."
Clock said past information revealed the Monroe location "was never able to sustain itself" and that Harley-Davidson as a corporation must approve the closing of all stores.
A recorded greeting from the Swiss Valley location said the decision was made with "heavy hearts" and re-routed service to Boardtracker.
Boardtracker acquired the location in May 2015, changing the name from Cutter Harley-Davidson to Swiss Valley.
Many motorcycles are still being stored at the Monroe location, Clock said, and Boardtracker is working on moving inventory both in the store and in storage to Janesville, though there are many options for its customers to handle their products.
"We've tried to reach out to our customers. We're moving product every day from Monroe to Janesville, and we will retain the building until spring. We're offering people to come to the store and get their bikes, or the bikes can go to Janesville, or if they want, we can deliver them. A lot of our customers live two hours away from Janesville," Clock said. "We just want to give our customers the best service and the best experience they can get from this."
Madison, Rockford and Dubuque also have Harley-Davidson locations in the area.
Some, but not all, of the Monroe employees were moved to the Janesville location, which has expanded its normal operating hours since the transition started.
The business, located on 129 W. 6th St., was a member of the Boardtracker Harley-Davidson division in Janesville.
"It was not an easy decision (to shut down the Monroe branch)," said Wally Clock, the new Boardtracker general manager. "It came to the simple fact that we could not sustain a location of that size based on the volume we had for it."
Clock said past information revealed the Monroe location "was never able to sustain itself" and that Harley-Davidson as a corporation must approve the closing of all stores.
A recorded greeting from the Swiss Valley location said the decision was made with "heavy hearts" and re-routed service to Boardtracker.
Boardtracker acquired the location in May 2015, changing the name from Cutter Harley-Davidson to Swiss Valley.
Many motorcycles are still being stored at the Monroe location, Clock said, and Boardtracker is working on moving inventory both in the store and in storage to Janesville, though there are many options for its customers to handle their products.
"We've tried to reach out to our customers. We're moving product every day from Monroe to Janesville, and we will retain the building until spring. We're offering people to come to the store and get their bikes, or the bikes can go to Janesville, or if they want, we can deliver them. A lot of our customers live two hours away from Janesville," Clock said. "We just want to give our customers the best service and the best experience they can get from this."
Madison, Rockford and Dubuque also have Harley-Davidson locations in the area.
Some, but not all, of the Monroe employees were moved to the Janesville location, which has expanded its normal operating hours since the transition started.