Here we are again - Lockdown 2: The Return Home. The sequel that no one wanted to see, but was unfortunately inevitable after the success of the first one!

I realise for readers in other parts of the UK you have your own systems, but for those of us in England we're back to determining which retailers are essential and non-essential according to government guidelines once again.

As before, dealers in our sector are able to remain open as they can define themselves as one of the categories of retailers on the government's exempt from closure list. Typically this will either be as a hardware store or as a supplier of agricultural goods.

BAGMA have confirmed that this is the advice they are giving to dealers. The Association are telling the network they can stay open and trading as long as they have the required covid-safe measures in place - measures we have all become oh-so familiar with over these past months. 

I am also aware that some dealers are choosing to close off their showrooms to the public entirely, and just allow click and collect or delivery of purchased goods, or safe drop-off / collection for machines requiring service. As before, our sector is in a fairly privileged position in that, to a limited degree, an individual dealer can decide what best suits their own business.

As it has been all year, a visit to BAGMA's Coronavirus Hub section of their website, is always of benefit. There they regularly update their latest advice for dealers, dependent on what the most up-to-date decrees from government are.

One area which has changed again this past week is of course, that of the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme - or furlough. When Boris nearly delayed the start of Strictly Come Dancing last Saturday evening, this was one of the key pieces of information given - the extension to the furlough scheme for the month of November. This was followed yesterday by Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that he is now extending the furlough scheme until the end of March. A move which is simultaneously reassuring and ominous! 

As I remember discussing earlier in the year, furlough should be taken with no shame by those who require its help. As should any other assistance, such as any local authority grants or loans that may be available. If the tools are there and are needed - use them. Again updated advice on financial matters can be found on BAGMA's site or on the official government websites.

Dealer churn

Life and business must carry on though and we can see from the stories we are carrying in today's Weekly Update that for our sector developments continue apace, with further examples of the dealer churn.

You can read about GreenMech losing a couple of dealers in the south of England which has resulted in GA Groundscare rationalising and concentrating solely on a single brand here.

And then there is the major news of the deal made between Chandlers (Farm Equipment) and Lister Wilder over the handling of the Agco and Kubota franchises. With branches changing hands and others to be the home of joint co-habitation for a while, the move was described by Service Dealer founder Chris Biddle as a "complicated jigsaw puzzle or tractor chess" on his most recent Inside AgriTurf podcast.

Reading the statements that have been issued by Chandlers and Lister Wilder, plus listening to Kubota's David Hart speak to Chris, its good to hear that this move is described as mutually beneficial to each dealership - and indeed that the move was instigated by the dealers themselves. 

It is of course, more evidence of the trend for full-line dealerships - which is an idea that Service Dealer's agricultural machinery editor, Martin Rickatson, has been talking about for a while now.

The choice to represent just a single franchise would of course, not be one to suit all dealers. Some clearly pride themselves on offering their customers a wide selection of brands. There is though, a school of thought that dedication to one manufacturer's product, especially if that producer makes machines that run the gamut of equipment, can be a prudent move.

It's obvious that some of the larger manufacturers certainly feel it is right for their dealers - and crucially, beneficial for their own companies.

Just following some of the dealer developments we've reported in Service Dealer this year, a pattern has emerged of dealerships opting to concentrate on a single colour of machine - and watch this space, because it's a trend which is likely to continue.

One hopes that when we do see more changes along these lines, it's because individual dealerships have made the decision that exclusivity happens to be best for their business - not because of any pressure from outside sources.