What started as an after school job for Bruce Davidson, grew into a business based around a personal passion for motorcycles. 

Behind the Brand showcases our innovators, entrepreneurs, small and large business owners, managers, leaders. 

It’s like a backstage pass into the real person behind the success. What makes them tick, what makes them successful. A peek at some of Central Otago’s smartest and most interesting people.

Learn their secrets, get hot tips from those with experience, and discover why you should support their venture.

The man behind Davidson Honda in Alexandra, Bruce Davidson, says he’s worked in the motorcycle trade since the mid ‘70s – and he’s never done anything different. It all started with an after school job.

“My after school job was in a motorcycle shop in Gore; then I took the opportunity of an apprenticeship and eventually ended up running the workshop down there.”

Bruce says then, when a friend and his son were killed, he stepped in to help.

“He and his son were killed in a car accident, they were good friends of ours.

“So the week after he died, I shifted to Balclutha and took over the running of his business, the Honda dealership there, to help out his wife. That really threw me in the deep end.”

After three years in Balclutha, Bruce decided it was time to start his own business.

“I bought this business in 1989.”

Bruce says back then, the Alexandra Honda dealership was a one-man operation. He took over and grew the business, now employing twelve staff.

“The whole thing, absolutely everything in the business is based around service.

“When I say service, obviously it includes service in the broader sense, but also in spanner tightening. Really knowing what you’re doing mechanically, and just being able to look after gear.”

Bruce says operating in a predominantly rural area, he was working with ‘salt of the earth’ people. So, you do what you say and make it work for them.

And although the dynamics have changed in the last ten years, with a wider mix of people coming into the area, service remains the key.

“Always go the extra mile no matter who your customer is, that’s what it boils down to.”

Bruce says he is lucky - his staff feel the same about customer service.

“There’s a lot of young people who want to work in the motorcycle game, and it’s a good field to be in.

“That’s how I started – I was passionate about bikes.

“When you’ve got people who are there because they want to be there, they love what they’re doing and it’s not just a job, that passion spills over into going the extra mile for customers.”

Bruce says he did a lot of competitive riding and riding for enjoyment over the years, mostly off-road. And his staff ride bikes.

“So we have great service in a practical sense on the bikes, great service in terms of first-hand knowledge and great communication with people.

“For example, Glen Clark has been part of the team for over 20 years.

“From a community perspective, it gives our customers some familiarity, they know the person they’re dealing with, it’s the same person they’ve dealt with before and got to know.”

Bruce says contrary to what you might think, their customers are not only in the Central Otago region.

“People from all over New Zealand come through Alexandra; they come in and talk, and we keep up the communication, we follow up.

“We give them good information, useful information to help them make decisions, and that’s what they come back for, why they choose to buy from us.

“Yes, going online is good because it opens up your shop front to the whole country, but more than anything, we find a lot of bike enthusiasts will travel to get what they want – so we make sure we’re there for whoever comes in.”

Glen Clark has worked with Bruce for over 20 years.

The other reason people buy, Bruce says, is down to having a good range of bikes and gear on display. 

“My philosophy is, if you haven’t got it, you can’t sell it.

“It’s a business risk having good stock levels, but you’ve got to commit and more often than not we’ve sold something because we’ve got it.

“People just rock in and say how cool the shop is – the shop, the bikes, the gear, are a real magnet.

“They don’t have to go to the city to see a big selection.

“We’ve turned it on its head – now they come to us because we’ve got a bigger selection than they can see in the city.”

Word of mouth is very important – so Bruce says they give people the time, give them good information, continue to keep them in the loop, and they come back no matter where they’re from.

Covid created an initial blip on the radar for the business, like everyone, but they have been able to continue trading well.

Bruce explains that motorbikes are farming tools and that is a big part of their business. But the recreational motorbike market has also held strong through Covid.

“We did a lot of business in both markets anyway, and both have continued to flow through.

“In essence, we’re lucky we’re not tourism-driven.

“The reason I came to Central in the first place is because I love it; I chose to purchase the business here in Alexandra.

“There’s a great positive vibe here, and the economy here has diversified for the better.

“Farming and agriculture are a very up and down game, so it’s good not to be reliant on just that sector as a business and as a community.

“It means you’re not just having to ride those peaks and troughs with the farmers. When one customer sector is down, another is up.

“You can’t cater for everyone and everything, but if you provide the best service and commit to have the stock, they’ll come to you and buy.”

Bruce says his biggest challenge is that as owner, he can never walk away from the business.

“If you want to do a good job, you can never walk away from it.

“That’s okay when it’s all going good, but there’s plenty of times you wake up in the night with your head spinning with business.

“Having the right people is vital for me in the business. A lot of our staff have been with us long term, and we always commit to training apprentices.

“We’re a team, everyone mucks in; I treat everyone as one of the boys and they treat me the same.

“Being a boss means you get your hands dirty when it’s needed, just like everyone else does.”

Images supplied