About Headingley Sport Shop

2019 was our 50th year in business!

Welcome to Headingley Sport Shop! We have been serving the powersports enthusiast from Thunder Bay to Regina and Emerson to Nunavut since 1969 and have many people to thank for getting us to where we are today. These people include suppliers, staff, and of course valued clients like you. We must mention also the dedication of our business founder John Killbery. John made no compromises when it came to customer satisfaction and we strive to continue that philosophy every day. Whether you are new to motorsports or steeped in history like us, it is our hope that our passion for serving you shines through when you visit our store.

Vision Statement:

To be the preferred and most trusted Powersports business in Manitoba.

Mission Statement:

To grow our business by providing quality products and services, and by building positive, lasting relationships with our customers.

Values:

• Passionate about creating the ultimate shopping experience for our clients.
• Sincere, positive, and supportive in all aspects of business relationships.
• Focused on attention to detail, organizational excellence, and consistent processes.
• Consistent in providing ongoing training to improve employee skills and customer satisfaction.
• Responsible corporate citizens and neighbors.

Accomplishments:

Headingley Sport Shop was the First Canadian Dealership inducted into the Polaris® Hall of Fame (Aug. 4, 2004). This award is given to individuals and business partners who have played significant roles in the founding and growth of Polaris® Industries. The induction of Headingley Sport Shop took place as part of the Polaris® 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. "These are the people and partners who helped launch Polaris® and who are responsible for its growth over the years", said Polaris® President and CEO Tom Tiller. "They're a big part of why we are here to celebrate 50 great years of Polaris®." Headingley Sport Shop is proud to have been the first Canadian dealer to receive this recognition.

Headingley Sport Shop is also a proud Kawasaki 5 Star dealer and celebrated 30 years with Kawasaki in 2012. The dealership has won many awards through Kawasaki including two top Canadian dealership trips. One to Japan in 2004 to tour the Kawasaki factory and be totally immersed in the Japanese culture and in 2009 on an African big game safari just outside of Kenya where the top dealers across Canada met to see nature in its wildest setting.

Our History:

In 1969 when John and Gail signed up to become a Polaris® dealer, Headingley Sport Shop opened for business in a small building in Headingley on the north side of Portage Avenue. Their favorite winter past time soon became Charleswood, St James, and Headingley favorite past time, as snowmobiles soon became the norm to see scooting up and down the river and around the community. In 1982 they became a Kawasaki dealer and diversified their product offerings for the summer months.

As busy as John was, he always was willing to help someone out with some mechanical advice or to just take a look to see what the problem was. He labored late into the evening making sure that every job got done to his high standards. Gail helped out at the Parts counter and soon business was plentiful enough to hire a full-time mechanic to work during the day.

In 1971, the business moved from the small building on Portage Avenue to a two-bay garage at 166 Bridge Road. A couple of years later a cinder block building with red and blue painted chevrons was erected on the same site. The mid-1980s was a challenging time for the snowmobile industry as snow conditions were poor for 4 or 5 years in a row. Many manufacturers and dealerships went into receivership. Only a few survived and Headingley Sport Shop was one of those few. With more employees and paperwork starting to pile up, John asked his two eldest daughters, Jill and Jody, to help out. Both girls had young families at home, so the first few years they worked part-time. They filled the need in both sales and accounting and gradually took on all the daily decisions, allowing John to stay focused on his true passion, the service department. In 1988, the business expanded again and the cinder block building became double the size and entirely clad with metal siding.

Over the next 14 years, Jill and Jody grew the business from 4 employees to 20 and continued to maintain their fathers' high standards of work and business ethics. Both have been active members in the Headingley Chamber of Commerce, as well as regularly volunteering their time to industry boards in an effort to improve the industry as a whole. You could say that their passion to take something good and make it better, was in their DNA.

In 2002, Jill and Jody purchased the family business from John and Gail. Four years later the girls bought 8 acres of land on Portage Avenue. They designed, and built, an award-winning 16,000 sq foot retail and service facility, dedicated to their Powersports business.

In 2013, Headingley Sport Shop started another new beginning, as the 3rd generation of the family (Mitchell, Dusty, and Mindy) became shareholders in the business. The business saw more change in 2014 when the Indian Motorcycle® line was added. In 2015, a 10,000 square foot addition was built onto the building to house the new line of motorcycles. Jill and Jody have slowly stepped back from the business over the years and in March of 2018, after many years of dedication, entered into a new phase of life - retirement.

January of 2019, Headingley Sport Shop celebrated 50 Years of Business. 2019 also marked the addition of the Triumph line.