JE’s Honda Motorcycles in Hickory, N.C., will close in mid-December after 14 years.
“It’s the economy,” owner Johnny Ellis told the Hickory Record. “It’s the logical thing for me to do at this point.”
Ellis says he did $4.5 million in sales during his best years, 2005 and 2006. Now, sales are about one-third of that and Ellis says he’ll retire.
“I decided last week to close,” Ellis said. “A motorcycle is a luxury, not a have-to-have item. Most people don’t have discretionary money to spend right now.”
“I’m down to three full-time employees and one part-time,” he says, from a high of 13 full-timers. He hasn’t set the precise date for closing.
“We’ll try to maintain service and regular hours until we close,” Ellis said. “I’ve had a lot of loyal customers over the years, and the service is why I haven’t set a specific date for closing.”
Posted by Holly Wagner
