In the Service Dealer newsletter, we often try and bring you the more off-beat stories that touch our industry.

Drunken lawnmower drivers, rude crop-circle messages, whacky inventions, dogs trained to drive a tractor, you know the sort of thing.

This week, we feature a story about car hire giant, SIXT offering a CLAAS tractor in its fleet. At first glance, it’s a stunt. Some off-the-wall marketing.

But hang on. Couldn’t there be a rather more serious message here?

If the pundits are to be believed, we are moving from an ownership society to a renting society. Even recent data indicates that more is being spent on ‘experiences’ (holidays, theatre, days-out etc) than on buying stuff.

There are many factors driving this. Fast moving technology, lack of available space to store items, high cost, depreciation etc. And I’m not necessarily talking about housing, more day-to-day usage of products.

A number of peer-to-peer car-sharing apps have been recently introduced, such as Hiyacar, Drivy and Turo, where owners with under-utilised cars can rent them out to other drivers with similar limited transport requirements. The success obviously depends on having a fool-proof app, sophisticated technology and the necessary insurance cover in place. But it looks like a trend that could take off, in one variation or another.

So, might that kind of service be applicable to homeowners with under-used garden machinery? Even to farmers to take the current machinery sharing arrangements to a new technology-driven level?

Nor could it stop at machinery.

Might dealers running around the country in vans offer to take other items for local businesses (not presumably other dealers!)

Dealers might even have spare workshop space, or even create one with a range of specialist tools, for outsiders to use on a daily, weekly basis?

Yeah, yeah, I can hear you say. We’re in the business of selling and service. What about insurance, what about this or that?

All I’m saying is that, just as the High Street it is changing – so retailers in every sector are having to reassess the way they do business. You can bet that the Canadian guy who has just bought a number of HMV shops wont run them as they were run ten, twenty years ago.

We will not see a revolution in retailing  - that already happened with the advent of on-line. But we will need to see the acknowledgment by retailers that mind-sets and requirements are changing within the buying public.  That will mean a willingness to adopt, adapt, try new ideas – and never have a closed mind.

The success of Uber and AirBnB has set the scene. Other sectors are bound to follow.  In fact I’ve already coined an appropriate name for a mower sharing app, Air'Cut.

Royalties in a brown paper envelope please!

Quick final note, you 'have to be in it, to win it' (where it = business).  Midnight tonight is the deadline to register for inclusion in the unique Garden Trader website.  Most dealers have already renewed, but those few who haven't responded will be removed from the site. Details in this newsletter

The reason my mug-shot is here today is that Steve has been touring Scotland this week, picking up trophies for his curling skills (interviews only through his agent!).