It seems like there's never a quiet week for the UK independent outdoor power equipment dealer sector (for which, there should be a snappier name!).
After the announcement a few weeks ago, it was on Monday that STIHL products went live through Screwfix's website, app and outlets nationwide. I've had dealers contact me this week with comments over what they have seen - and I'm aware there has been discussion amongst dealer groups over what products are available through the chain.
It's clearly an evolving situation and one whose impact on our readers - if any - will presumably take time to become apparent. It's a situation that we here at the journal dedicated to the dealer network, will continue to monitor. And please, if you have any further opinions or thoughts - on any story that we publish - always feel free to leave a comment under a piece on this Weekly Update or drop me a line.
And by the way, your delayed copy of the latest mag should be with you any day now! Again, apologies for its lateness this time.
Like I was saying, there's no standing still for the industry, with changes for established companies and new ventures cropping up offering further choice for dealers.
We feature a story today concerning a new brand entering the UK market, who are attempting to target dealer interest. Engineering Eden are now offering the Fiat Professional range of garden machinery to the sector - meaning there's now even more choice of suppliers for dealers to consider stocking in their showrooms.
It's something that has often been said regarding the position that independents find themselves in - they can sell, what they want to sell. A dealer has the ability to assess all brands on their merits and make a decision whether they are suitable for their business and, crucially, for their customers.
How many?
This freedom of choice does of course lead on to that perennial discussion of what is the optimum number of franchises to stock in-store?
There can be two schools of thought on this. One says a dealership should concentrate on just a small number of brands, two or three maybe, keeping the focus tight. Whereas another says that options should be spread, offering customers multiple different marques across the showroom.
Pros and cons can argued for both camps. If just a limited number of brands are stocked it could be said in favour that dealers can build strong relationships with their supplier; they can benefit from simplified inventory management; their highly specialised product knowledge could be further enhanced: and they retain customers loyal to those brands.
On the potential downside with fewer brands held, dealers are of course limiting customer choice which could affect market perception and as we've seen in recent years, there's the real risk of empty shelves when there's over dependence on a particular supplier, if supply chains are disrupted.
Equally, positives can be made for holding multiple brands including most obviously increasing customer choice and reducing that risk of placing all eggs in one supplier basket if something goes wrong. Other pros could include differentiating yourself from local competitors and increasing marketing options to various customer groups.
Thinking about negatives if many brands were stocked and we're looking at a potentially confused and confusing showroom, with inventory management increasingly complex. Staff of course, require training across a broader spectrum of machinery; a weaker relationship with the supplier could be on the cards if the brand only plays a small part of the dealership's offering; and marketing the dealership would require a more nuanced strategy and potentially more resources.
So there's certainly plenty for a dealer to consider when choosing how many brands to display within their showrooms. Everyone reading this today will know what works for their own unique circumstances and long-term business goals - and we'd like to hear about that in a short survey we're running today please.
We'd like to know how many franchises you're currently running with, and of particular interest, it would be great if you could take a few moments to explain what circumstances prompt you to either drop a held franchise or take up a new one?
As ever, the survey is anonymous and we'll publish the results and a selection of your comments in the upcoming issue of Service Dealer magazine. Thanks in advance for your help.
TAKE THE SURVEY
