Letter from the President

“Selling Fun” for 40 Years is a great legacy; serving the fun loving people who have supported our dealership for the past 40 Years, an even greater legacy.  The motorcycle and powersports products are the 'catalyst' for our business, and also the catalyst for friendship, sport, excitement and adventure of our industry.

For those of you that are new to Calgary or to those of you who are familiar with “Blackfoot” we offer you an overview of the history of our dealership.
 
Blackfoot Motorcycle Ltd. was founded in 1970 by Bruce Cameron, opening it's doors for business the same year Japanese motorcycles began their world wide boom in popularity and engineering dominance representing the Honda brand.

The company spent the first 29 years of business operating out the original location on the northwest corner of Blackfoot Trail and 42 Avenue S.E. The store quickly became a familiar Calgary landmark frequented by motorcycle enthusiasts from near and afar growing from 8000 square feet to 12,000 square feet and was then Calgary's largest motorcycle store in both size and sales.

In 1978, Blackfoot signed an agreement with Kawasaki Canada and thus became the first multiline motorcycle dealership in Calgary selling over 1500 motorcycles per year growing Blackfoot’s reputation

In 1983, Bruce Cameron passed away and the Cameron family continued to operate the business until 1986 when Douglas MacRae became a partner. From 1986 to 1990, the dealership continued to grow entering into new agreements with Suzuki, BMW, SeaDoo, and Polaris.  




In 1990 the Cameron family retired from the business and a new partnership was formed with Jason Mitchell, and Patrick Chambers. This was also the same year that Blackfoot Motorcycle Ltd changed its name to 'Blackfoot Motosports', and expanded the second time to 15,000 square feet. 

From 1991 to 1997, the dealership flourished under the guidance of the new partnership and a much larger location to house the company's operations was needed. In the fall of 1997, the 4 acre parcel of land that is home to our existing 60,000 square foot dealership was purchased. The design and construction of the new building commenced immediately with the 'Grand Opening' taking place in April of 1998.

In 1998 Triumph and Yamaha were added to our family of product lines creating Canada's most innovative Motosports Dealership representing 10 manufacturers under one roof. 

In the year 2000, with racing heritage in the blood of Blackfoot, a new company; Blackfoot Racing Inc. was established which would change the landscape of motosports racing in Canada. 2009 marked the 10th Anniversary of this company and was celebrated with the winning of its 14th Canadian National Motocross title in as many years and narrowly missing the #1 Superbike plate in Canadian Road Racing. Operating on both sides of the border, Blackfoot Racing is recognized by its piers and competition as a title contending team offering a professional marketing presentation.

In 2007, Blackfoot Direct Inc. an Internet based commerce retail accessory company was established with the addition of new partners from within our dealership. The primary goal of this company is to offer clear out, discounted, exclusive and championship race winning parts and accessories to the rest of Canada.

In 2008 Blackfoot Motosports welcomed a long-term employee Pat Archer to the partnership to assist with the overall management of the main company.

Also in 2008, the Euro lines of Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa and Piaggio were added to the quality product lines of the company. This lead to a major renovation when the second floor was established as the Euro area. BMW and Triumph showrooms were designed and built to offer our Euro customers a convenient and exclusive shopping atmosphere.

Throughout the years, we constantly review our business relationships with our suppliers – to offer you, our customers and friends the best motosport products with sales, service and integrity. We are pleased to say that we have streamlined our selection of suppliers to offer the finest in quality products, best selection and competitive prices in the market today.

In addition to numerous industry awards too numerous to mention, Blackfoot has also been recognized by Calgary's Business Community receiving the Small Business of the Year Award in 1998, the Authur Andersen Top 100 Award in both 1999 and 2000, the Pinnacle Award in 2001, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2004, and recently being honoured with the Leaders of Tomorrow Award in 2008.

When looking back over the past 40 Years, one can only be thankful to the overall community and city in which we live and do business in. It has been a remarkable ride so far and one can only imagine what the next 40 Years of business will have to offer. I leave all of you who have supported us in any way, shape or form with this heartfelt 'THANK YOU' and look forward to our next meeting and motosports experience.

Cheers,

Douglas MacRae
President
Blackfoot Group of Companies