We are right in the midst of that busy time of conferences and dealer events.

This week it was the turn of Husqvarna to host their dealers in the top-end surroundings of St George's Park, Burton Upon Trent, the home of the England football teams. And not unlike Gareth Southgate and his agenda of changes and looking to the future with his youthful team selections, Husqvarna concentrated on preparing their dealers to embrace change and think about future trends.

Specifically the changes they were wanting the assembled dealers to give serious consideration to were robotics, digitalisation and battery machinery, which very much played dominant roles in the schedules. 

Automower working at St George's Park

Officially titled, 'Change, Challenge & Opportunity', the conference was a bit of a departure for the company after running regional events in recent years. Getting everyone together in one central location, allowed them to talk to their network as whole, and as UK md Ken Brewster put it in his opening address, give the dealers a sense of confidence that the manufacturer is planning ahead for what they perceive as the future trends.

The theme of coming change and being prepared for it was echoed by all the speakers across the two days. Nikos Varotsis, business development manager from Greece, said for example, that there was undoubtedly disruption ahead and therefore everyone would need to adapt - but this should not be feared. Managing continual disruption is a skill the best companies achieve, he said. As well embracing the developing concepts like digital solutions, robotics and alternative power sources, Nikos did say that moving forward, those elements which could not be digitised, such as face-to-face customer service, would also become increasingly valuable. He talked about how close cooperation between manufacturer and dealer would mean that everyone would be better prepared to meet these changes.

Some time was spent discussing marketing and what the company intends to do to raise its profile to drive more traffic towards its dealers - with consideration given to both domestic and professional customers. Distinct campaigns are planned for the forthcoming year, designed to appeal to the differing customer sectors, but Linda Neal, marketing director for Northern Europe, also asked dealers to look at what they are doing to market themselves to their communities. "A word of caution," she said, "think about where your customers are hanging out." She suggested that it's not going to be the local paper that they will be reading any more, but rather it's their phones where their attention will be focused.

In-store techniques were also considered, with the emphasis on delivering "ultimate customer experiences" in order to foster loyal and returning customers. The manufacturer told their dealers they could help with this, with what they referred to as Shop 2.0. They talked of new P.O.S, new digital solutions for stores including interactive screens allowing customers to find out some information for themselves, as well as in-store demonstration solutions for battery products.

Dealers could interact with the breakout stations at St George's Park

Delegates also heard from a professional customer who had enjoyed success with the robotic Automowers in a commercial setting. Andrew Turvey of Hatfield House spoke of how well the the machines had performed at the property - so much so that he said he was now done with stripes!

Also there to inspire the dealers to consider the benefits of getting fully on board with robotics was Tony Brady of Liffey Distribution, Husqvarna representatives for the Republic Of Ireland. In an entertaining and energetic address, he spoke of how dealers in the Republic, following the crash of 2008, had seen a complete reversal of fortunes by fully embracing the selling of the robot mowers. He said, "We know what's going to happen with these products, as we've already seen it in Europe." A passionate speaker, Tony said that multiple Irish dealers had told him they've never made as much money as through the selling of the autonomous machines.

Day 1 rounded out with a motivational speech from blind adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber, whose inspirational story of not allowing his blindness to prevent him from achieving his dreams was fascinating to hear.

During a gala dinner that evening, Husqvarna took a moment to award some of their dealers in attendance. Firstly recognition of longevity trophies were given to two dealers who had reached around the 100 year mark and three in the 150 years and beyond category. Honours were given to:

• Robson & Cowan - 97 years
• Carters Of Swanwick - 98 years 

&

• George Carr - 161 years
• G&J Peck - 173 years
• J Gliddon & Sons - 186 years

Some high performing dealers were also awarded. These were:

Automower Dealer of the Year:

Winner: Ron Smith & Co

Honourable mentions: Ayre Mowers; Forth Grass Machinery; Chelford Farm Supplies

Battery Dealer of the Year

Winner: FR Jones & Sons

Honourable mentions: Lister Wilder; Radmore & Tucker; MacGregor Forest & Ground Care

A slight diversion began day 2, with Ken Brewster apologising to dealers for letting them down this year. "Our customer service has not been what we want, or what you expect," said Ken, "and for that I sincerely apologise". He explained how supply and service standards had slipped following warehouse moves in Sweden and the UK, combined with personnel issues, which had then snowballed. Ken outlined the changes they are now making in order to get back on track, hoping that the dealers would understand why and how things happened as they did, and the steps which are underway to resolve things.

Ken Brewster

Getting back on message, Eric Stegemyr, Husqvarna's head of North Europe, gave a talk once again embracing the theme of getting on board with change. He spoke of how the company will continue to look for smarter products and solutions for their customers - citing the recent investment in Yeti as an indication of where they were heading. He also stressed the importance of dealers staying in touch with their customers 24/7.

Andrew Lees

A series of new product introductions by product managers Andrew Lees and Jonathan Snowball followed. Details were given on new Automower developments for 2020, forthcoming battery products, rider innovations and petrol hand held machinery. That final product category stood out somewhat from the majority of the talk across the two days as being one of the few times that more traditional machinery was discussed. Ken Brewster did emphasise though, that however much the conference had heard a lot about robots and battery, the company is still very much in the petrol game.

"There is still a lot of petrol product to sell," said Ken.

Dealers will have left St Geroge's Park this week with a clear sense of what Husqvarna's intentions are for the coming years. The message was loud and clear, change is coming and whilst challenging in some respects, it should be viewed as an opportunity to embrace.