In 1947 a young man had a vision of opening a John Deere Dealership in the town of Watkins, MN. His name was Mike Mies and that Dealership was built with a goal of always treating the customer with respect and honesty. With hard work and devotion, Mies Implement, became a reality.
In 1955 Ford Automotive was added to the Dealership and Mike's two sons, Tony and Vernon Mies, joined the business. Tony focused on John Deere while Vernon focused on Ford Automotive.
It was in 1965 when they added a Minnesota based snowmobile company called Polaris® to the dealership and it was managed along with John Deere by Tony Mies. It added a recreation side to the business that would continue to grow throughout the years.
In 1978, brothers Tony and Vernon Mies split the business with Vernon building a Ford Dealership in Watkins and Tony remaining at the original location selling John Deere and Polaris®. He changed the name to Mies Equipment.
In 1981 Tony built a brand new dealership on Highway 55 in Watkins, where the location remains today.
In 1987 Tony's son Steve Mies joined the business and in 1992 Tony's son Jeff Mies joined the business as well.
In 1993 Tony, Steve and Jeff realized they needed more room and a pre-owned machine showroom was constructed along with doubling the size of the small engine service area.
In 1997 Tony and his wife, Alvina Mies, retired after an incredible 40 years of successful business.
The third generation "Era" had begun with Jeff and Steve Mies taking the helm and in 1998 an expansion of 5,000 square feet was added onto the showroom. This doubled the size of the display area along with adding a storage area. Victory Motorcycles® were added at this time.
The year was 2004 when Jeff and Steve made the decision to build a masterpiece that was not only a powersports showroom, but it was also a destination point. Taking a page from the beautiful Northwoods of Minnesota. There's a waterfall, pond and river that draw you in to come take a look. All of the salesman's offices are done in a log cabin theme. It's not uncommon to see people snapping photos throughout the showroom! Machines interact with the scenery making it that much more of a "cool" factor. The huge sales floor comfortably houses the Victory Motorcycles® in their own area, John Deere Lawn & Garden in it's own area and ATVs, Side x Sides, Snowmobiles easy to look at in their own area. Mies Outland holds the distinction of being the first Dealer to be inducted into the Polaris® Hall of Fame. The name of the dealership changed to Mies Outland.
In 2011 another expansion took place that saw the two service departments added onto and another showroom built to house off season inventory and some used equipment. There's nothing like looking at a used snowmobile in January inside a heated showroom rather than being outside freezing!
In 2013 Mies Outland was chosen to be an Indian Motorcycle® Dealer and another showroom is being added on. The apparel section has been increased as well.
After many years of success, Steve and Jeff Mies decided it was time to expand their business. In 2016 they acquired Bristow’s Kawasaki in St. Cloud MN to make a second Mies Outland location. Right on Hwy 10 this dealership sold Polaris and Yamaha Watercraft.
Big changes came to Mies Outland in 2019. The Watkins location went away from John Deere and became a Toro Dealer. They also welcomed a whole new line of powersports by becoming a BRP Dealer as well. A new addition was made to the showroom to display Sea-Doo, Can-Am and Ski-Doo. Mies Outland was selected as the 2019 St. Cloud Area Chamber’s Business Central Mark of Excellence Family-Owned Business of the year.
In 2019 Mies Outland also acquired Outland Wraps formally Rehab Wraps. You can make any used or new machine look the way you want it to. Rehab Wraps creates custom designed wraps for almost any machine.
The success of being a BRP dealership was so welcomed by our customers, that in 2020 the St. Cloud location also became a BRP dealer for Sea-Doo, Can-Am and Ski-Doo.
Coming in 2021 both Watkins and St. Cloud will be welcoming a new line of Sea-Doo Manitou Pontoons.
We've enjoyed serving you over the last 76 years and we look forward to serving you for many more.
