By David MacDonald L eBlanc’s teenage dream became reality 15 years later – at least in part. “I started this business in 1999. We began as a stand-alone Yamaha deal- ership, operating in 1,600 square feet – plus a small basement. After I believe the third month, we outgrew our first home. We found another piece of property and built an 8,800 square foot multi-level location. We outgrew that in three years. We hit the road for a final time to a spacious 21,000 square feet location and I still remember how free it made us feel. When we did the move, we rode every motorcycle here and filled the showroom like we were coming home. We emptied every crate; every single motorcycle the dealer- ship owned could fit in our showroom.” Since then, Atlantic Motoplex has expanded their two acre plot to five and doubled their in-house capacity to 42,000 square feet with plans to balloon to 50,000. LeBlanc insists they will “need every square inch of the property.” LeBlanc is not a proponent of elbow room for a good reason: he has fully realized his entrepreneurial dream. Atlantic Motoplex is now one of the largest motorsports dealerships in the country. It all started with a Yamaha PW50 and a subscription to Cycle Canada. His dad bought him the bike; his mom the literature. By the time Todd LeBlanc, founder and owner of Atlantic Motoplex in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada, became captivated by the full-spread ad for Calgary-based Blackfoot Motosports in the December 1984 issue, he already had the experience that comes with “buying, fixing, and selling two or three dirt bikes,” he laughs. “I like motorcycles and motorsports, but for me the greatest exhilaration has been building up speed to grow this dealership as big as possible. Blackfoot Motosports planted the seed back in ‘84. To offer customers the best brands and services that encompass Japanese, European, and North American brands under one roof is a dream.” Now, Atlantic Motoplex offers new and preowned sales, an apparel and parts shop, which includes scale model size novelties that appeal to kids and the big kid in everyone – all available online and in brick and mortar – and a service centre that multi-manufacturer trained technicians call their home away from home. LeBlanc has come a long way.
“In our third year of business – after our second move – we were approached
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DECEMBER 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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