Firstly today, I want to give the heads up to all our valued dealer readers that there’s still time to get involved in this year’s Dealer of the Year Awards, with nominations remaining open until the 24th October.

And, as we’ve pointed out before, don’t assume that you have to be the biggest dealership with the most branches to have a chance. The awards recognise dealers across a range of categories, and the judges are looking for inspiring stories regarding what has been happening at your business over the past 12 months. So, whether you’ve diversified, adapted to difficult trading conditions, taken on new opportunities, invested in your team or simply found innovative ways to keep moving forward, we want to hear from you.

We know from our previous winners how taking home an honour can be a real boost for a dealership and for the people who work there. And one feels this must especially be this case this year, following what has been a challenging season for many. So, if you’ve been thinking about taking part, don’t miss out. Get entering!

Also today, those lovely people at Service Dealer Towers have put together an amazing Early Bird Dealer ticket offer, discounting the prices of entry and packages to the Conference & Awards. Check out those great prices on our website today, exclusively for dealers - but be quick, the offer only lasts until next Friday, October 9th.

Robots rise (again!)

Meanwhile, as we put the finishing touches to the next edition of Service Dealer magazine, a few comments we’ve gathered for stories in the upcoming edition have got us thinking about another subject we’ve returned to repeatedly this year: robotic mower sales.

From what we’ve been told across the season, it appears that for many robots have been one of the brighter spots - and there is more evidence of this growth in the market in our lead news story today, regarding Agrovista scaling up their robotic operation. Although this particular news is slightly different as Agrovista themselves appear to moving further into selling and maintaining robotic solutions for commercial usage.

In the news the company says "By expanding our dedicated robotics team with some of the industry's most experienced specialists, we're ensuring customers receive the highest levels of support from initial demonstration through to installation and long-term aftersales care. This investment is about building the expertise and service infrastructure needed to support the continued evolution of robotics in the amenity sector."

So, is this another route-to-market development that independent dealerships need to be thinking about? Does the emergence of more suppliers and businesses offering their own sales and aftersales support represent more competition for the dealer sector? We'd be interested to hear what you make of it.

And going back to the comments we’ve gathered for stories in our new mag, we hear from industry members who suggest that some of that growth seen in robotic sales could also be coming at the expense of customer interest in other areas.

One dealer told us:

“Robot mower sales growth continues, but whereas we had a lot of new customers it is now moving across to existing traditional customers and therefore reducing those sales.”

Another dealer, talking about the impact of taking on a manufacturer’s range new to themselves, says:

“We have seen a dramatic interest since we took on the products, especially with the robots.”

And one supplier explains to us:

“The obvious cause of reduced sales of these [diesel ride-on mowers] is the unprecedented drought conditions, particularly in the southern part of the UK, but we have undoubtedly seen some sales being lost to autonomous mower systems too, as these become capable of maintaining larger areas of grass.”

There are presumably several factors at play here. The extraordinary weather has had a major impact on demand for some conventional mowing equipment, while the capabilities of autonomous machines continue to develop. But if robots are increasingly being sold to a dealer’s existing customers, rather than simply bringing completely new customers into the showroom, does that throw something more into the mix?

Is this now a factor at the forefront of dealers minds as they look towards winter stocking decisions?

If a customer who might previously have bought a conventional mower is now considering a robot, does that change the balance of products you stock in your showroom? Are you changing the brands or the ratio of robots to conventional machines you sell as a result? Or is it simply a case of the new technologies adding another profitable string to the bow?

And, importantly, do the developments at a company such as Agrovista, offering their own robotic sales, installation and aftersales support, alter the equation for independent dealers?

We’d be interested to hear how you’re approaching it all.

Let us know in the comments below, or if you’d rather stay anonymous but have something to say, please feel free to drop me a line in confidence.