Piper Aircraft is exiting its short-lived foray into the light sport aircraft (LSA) market with the termination of its business relationship with Czech Republic-based Czech Sport Aircraft. The company had announced plans in January 2010 to enhance and market Czech Sport Aircraft’s LSA as the PiperSport, but Piper today cited “differences in business philosophies” in its decision to end the partnership.
“After a year working with Czech Sport Aircraft, Piper determined that it is in our company’s best long-term interests to discontinue the business relationship which distributed a light-sport aircraft manufactured by the Czech company and distributed under Piper’s brand by a separate distributor network,” Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger says. “Clearly, the company has a different business perspective and approach to the market than Czech Sport Aircraft,” he added.
Piper had established a new company, PiperSport Distribution, to provide a stand-alone distributor network to market the Czech-built aircraft. But Piper says that, “as the company built that distributor network, it became clear that Piper’s core strengths and that of Czech Sport Aircraft were mismatched.”
Sales of the aircraft had trickled in for the PiperSport, and Piper had deposits for less than two dozen in the subsequent months after unveiling the aircraft. But Piper spokewoman stresses that the company had basically met its initial sales goals with 72-73 sold in all, and that the decision stemmed more from the differences in business perspectives.
Piper also has dedicated a substantial part of its energies to development of the new Piper single-jet Altaire.
Berger stresses that Piper has “great expectations” for the LSA market, and that the market should continue to support the Czech Sport aircraft. “We certainly understand the implications of this development in the light-sport aircraft segment and do not take this action carelessly,” he says.
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