From the press archives...Ecosse founder Don Atchison discusses Matt Chambers and Confederate motorcycles.

The Denver Business Journal - April 14, 2000
by Rebecca Landwehr
Business Journal Staff Reporter

The test drive at Iconoclast comes with a warning: So far, everyone who has taken a motorcycle out for a spin has taken one home.

But the store's owners, Donald and Wendy Atchison, are on a test drive of their own. In January, the couple opened Iconoclast as a prototype for a different kind of motorcycle shop.

Exclusive retailers of Confederate motorcycles, Iconoclast endeavors a gallery atmosphere for the motorcycle aficionado. The store sells unique bikes alongside art, furniture and high quality accessories that suit the Confederate rider's tastes and lifestyle.

"It's a high-quality, stylish bike and those are the same qualities we searched for with our accessories," said Wendy Atchison. "The furniture, watches or artwork are all pretty industrial in design but also obscure."

One foot in the door and it's clear that Iconoclast is a different breed of motorcycle shop. The store, located in Larimer Square, has a modern, industrial feel, which spotlights the unique bike design of Confederate motorcycles.

And, so far, the concept is working: Iconoclast is way ahead of its sales projections, and the team is ready to take their concept on the road. The Atchison's aimed to sell a bike a month for the first year.

In three months, they've already sold 10.

Plans call for another six locations to open within the next two to three years, and the Atchison's already are scouting locations in Phoenix and Texas.

"This isn't the way motorcycles have typically been sold in America" said Don Atchison, himself a former motorcycle racer.

And the Confederate bike is not a typical motorcycle.

"The store really feels different than your run-of-the mill motorcycle shop," said Paul Barrow, project director at the Metro Denver Automobile Dealers Association. "But it makes sense because the product -- the bike -- is like a work of art. We're talking about the Ferrari of motorcycles."

Don Pfeffer said for him it was love at first sight.

"I've had 40 or 50 bikes in my life -- and my Confederate is by far my favorite one," said Pfeffer, president of Account Recovery Corp., a Boulder-based company that handles managed-care audits.

Pfeffer agrees that Iconcolast concept is unique to the Denver market.

"I saw these types of stores in Munich and Barcelona," he said. "And I always thought it was great to have a cool motorcycle shop downtown. Don and Wendy have a great concept."

From the start, the Atchison's knew they needed downtown, boutique locations for their retail concept.

"A lot of bike shops are like warehouses," said Wendy Atchison. "They are located on the edge of town and you don't just drop in. They are destinations."

With Confederate bikes priced in the mid-$20,000 range, Iconoclast's clientele is primarily an upper-income male, who works downtown and can browse throughout the shop on his lunch hour or after 5.

"Our customers have no problem riding this bike with a suit on," said Don Atchison.

In fact, the company's founder was a corporate transaction attorney who wanted a high-performance, American-made motorcycle. Based in Abita, La., Confederate Motorcycles Inc. has given Iconoclast permission to be an exclusive retailer.

For Confederate, the reasoning was simple.

"I'm not particularly interested in retail," said Mat Chambers, Confederate's founder, chairman and CEO. "I want to immerse our corporation in the design and manufacturing aspects of the motorcycles and I want someone equally committed to retail to take care of the stores."

Motorcycle retailers traditionally have stocked a variety of brands and sales people offered a little knowledge about a lot of bikes. By stocking only Confederate bikes, Chambers said, Iconoclast is helping strengthen his brand.

And it's an affinity for the Confederate brand, first and foremost, that drove the Atchisons to start their business. Former Harley-Davidson riders, the couple was looking for higher performance motorcycles that were American made.

And when it comes to the leather accessories, they wanted style without the trademark Harley fringe. Their store sells Vanson leatherwear and can measure clients for custom leather outfits.

"There's nothing like these bikes," said Don Atchison. "All it takes is a ride, for some people all it takes is turning the key."

Either Don or Wendy are always at the Larimer Sq-uare store. The couple used credit cards and a second mortgage to finance their shop. Wendy helps handle the household finances with her day job as a marketing executive at Match Logic. Confederate's Chambers believes that much of the store's success can be attributed to the personal involvement of this couple.

"Wendy and Don are just so cool," said Chambers. "They have the perfect personalities for this kind of store -- it works because of them."

Of course, when it comes to expanding the Iconoclast concept the challenge for the Atchison's will bringing their personal attention to stores outside the region.

"Don is a huge part of the store," said Wendy Atchison. "He knows everything about the bikes and it'll be hard to replicate that. But we'll be very involved with all of our stores."

As the Atchisons prepare to open in potential markets including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin and San Francisco, several Denver customers already have expressed investor interest. It's a long way from a year ago when the couple weren't sure how their concept would fly.

"We figured we'd buy stuff we like," said Don, who has been married to Wendy for 10 years. "So if the business didn't work out, at least we could furnish our house with some really cool stuff."