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SYM Responds to the Lance Fiddle Clone



June 16th, 2009 - Late yesterday, Jonathon Arm, CEO for Carter Brothers (the USA's importer of SYM products) issued the following statement in regards to Lance Scooter's Vienna, a clone of the SYM's own Fiddle.

June 15, 2009
Dear SYM Dealers:

Carter/SYM USA, along with SYM Corporate Headquarters in Taiwan, would like to make you aware of a very serious situation that has recently come to our attention.

Lance Powersports, Inc. of Ontario, California, has been advertising and marketing a scooter by the name of the Vienna 50/125 which they claim to be manufactured by SYM's China subsidiary.

The truth is Lance Powersports tried to obtain this product illegally through a China trading company; SYM Taiwan management had no knowledge of this transaction or intent to allow Lance to import this model into the U.S. market. It is in fact a triangle trade through a trading company for product originally intended for Mexico. Note: The Vienna 50/125 will not be sold through Lance Powersports into the U.S. market period; SYM Taiwan Headquarters has not authorized Lance to do so.

Lance Powersports has gone as far as downloading Carter and SYM generated images and verbiage used on the SYM-USA website for promotional purposes. Unfortunately this incident may have been just a way for Lance to promote their own brand and agenda by trying to sabotage the SYM dealer network as well as capitalize on all of our marketing efforts and, of course, the success of the SYM brand and products in the U.S. Chinese distributors never cease to amaze us with the schemes they come up with to make a quick dollar!

Carter and SYM together have invested millions of dollars in promoting and establishing a viable SYM Dealer Network in the U.S. We have always promoted SYM as a great Taiwanese Brand and Company that conducts business with honesty and integrity. SYM has always been well known for producing the highest quality scooters in the world which exceed the quality, style and performance of equivalent Japanese and Italian scooters in many cases, and offer value to SYM Dealers and Riders alike!

Carter/SYM USA, as well as SYM Taiwan, pledge our continued support in making your exclusive SYM dealership a successful and profitable business venture and we will certainly continue to do our part to make sure your investment in SYM is secure.
Sincerely,
Jonathan C. Arn
CEO
Carter Brothers Mfg. Co., Inc.
SYM USA
1871 US Highway 231
Brundidge, AL 36010



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Comments  

 
0 #17 mark 2009-08-18 01:05 What a shame…I would have liked to see Lance import their "Vienna"… marketed at a realistic price and would of have stocked enough parts for Lance and Sym owners alike.. Quote
 
 
0 #16 Eric Almendral 2009-08-17 18:46 Scooterchick: If you'll read back and other reports on this story, this wasn't a case of Lance copying a SYM design, producing its own version, and importing it into the US. Lance was actually trying to buy scoots manufactured at a factory for SYM then bring them in and sell them for less. At least what Lance told several SYM and other dealers they were doing. Lance didn't actually own or have possession of the scooters despite advertising them on their site until SYM USA sent a cease & desist. There's some suspicion that it was all some sort of weird fake out by Lance that backfired. (Was it sleazy move A or sleazy move B? Who knows?)

The Symba's a clone, but it's also a clone of a model that hasn't been sold in the US for many years. Much like many of the companies which have made Vespa PX and other clones (LML, PGO, Bajaj, etc.), SYM formerly built scooters under contract for Honda. So though a clone, it's not some cheap-as-possible knock off. Quote
 
 
0 #15 Scooterchick 2009-08-17 14:58 How come nobody complained when SYM ripped off the Cub? (Symba) Quote
 
 
0 #14 Administrator 2009-06-23 11:37 FYI, Joe Pennington, Fred Hampton, Former Dealer #8 all have the same IP address so there may or may not be some bias to their respective responses since different names were used for all the posts Quote
 
 
0 #13 Eric Almendral 2009-06-23 07:53 Quoting Alabama Lance Dealer:
If you don't think Lance is at least twice the quality and service then do your homework. Ask both Sym and Lance to give you total sales unit #'s and parts instock % for any given month. You will see Lance is on top of their game and that is why they are outperforming Sym/Carter.

Sales figures in no way equate quality of product. Lance is selling quite well right now, but the economy is down and many first time buyers looking for scooters are looking in lower price ranges than those who bought last year. Many of those who were in the market last year bought somewhat more expensive (than Lance), higher-priced scoots.

Regardless of the product comparison, this was a sleazy chump move by Lance. As a customer, I'd be hesitant to put my faith in a company guilty of such unethical—and possibly illegal—shenani gans. Quote
 
 
0 #12 Eric Almendral 2009-06-23 07:48 If anyone goes under,it'll be the SYM distributor, Carter Bros. The distribution for SYM USA would likely go to another company, though there may be an interruption in supply. This could be good for SYM—the company could benefit from better representation and management in the USA. Parts supply would have to be a priority for the new distributor.

On the other hand, who else is out there to take Carter Bros. place and do they know anything about scooters? I'm not sure we need more powersports companies looking to cash in on a trend rather than invest in a sustainable, long-term strategy. There are enough of those out there trying to peddle scooters as is. Quote
 
 
-1 #11 Alabama Lance Dealer 2009-06-23 07:38 Have sold SYM products at former job and I must admit that Lance is much, much better product. Quality, parts availability and communication at least twice as good as Sym USA. Lance just got caught trying to cheapen up an already cheap/overpriced product it appears.

If you don't think Lance is at least twice the quality and service then do your homework. Ask both Sym and Lance to give you total sales unit #'s and parts instock % for any given month. You will see Lance is on top of their game and that is why they are outperforming Sym/Carter.

Quoting Eric Almendral:


In the end, this just comes out looking bad for Lance. While I once thought they were among the better of the Chinese import & rebadge companies (in terms of scooter quality), this move places them at the top of the worst (in terms of business practices) in my book.
 Quote
 
 
-1 #10 Lance Dealer CA 2009-06-23 07:31 Must be true that Sym US is going under. Several Sym dealers here have called me seeking contact information for Lance and Tank distributors. All have said Sym US is gone they say.

Glad I didn't fall for the smooth pitch from Syms sales rep. Quote
 
 
0 #9 Mississippi Dealer 2009-06-20 03:32 Sounds very likely as Carter / Sym never has parts. Parts should be where they make good money. But, if they don't have then that does explain their money troubles.

Usually takes minimum 6 weeks(average) to get warranty parts. They are always out of stock OR do not have. They have had a bad habit of selling units before having any support parts or manuals for long time now.

Hopefully SYM will distribute direct in USA soon. Quote
 
 
-3 #8 Former Dealer 2009-06-18 05:38 I have heard same news from Carter for years… they send out letters to dealers similar from time to time and 9 times out of 10 it is crap. I would be hard pressed to believe anything coming out of Carter Bros. or SYM USA I am afraid.

Also, I have heard for months they are broke and going out of business. Entire industry talks about it daily it appears. Quote
 

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