Plenty has been written and said already on the subject, but the drought conditions that everyone has experienced this summer have clearly had a significant impact across the country.
Yes, we’ve had pockets of rain this week, and hopefully there’s more to come. But the damage is done. Everywhere you look, the grass is scorched, yellow, straw-like and, in many places the ground itself is rock hard.
Laurence Gale, editor of our sister title TurfPro, has written on the subject from the perspective of professional end users, which you can read on our newly redesigned website (and do subscribe to TurfPro for free if you’d like to be kept up to date on the commercial sector each and every Monday.) But Loz’s piece got me thinking about the other side of the equation: how have our dealer readers been affected?
My guess is that the more traditional, out-and-out garden machinery businesses have faced some serious challenges.
I was speaking to our great friend and founder of Service Dealer, Chris Biddle, the other day and he was telling me what it was like being a dealer during the long, hot summer of 1976. His recollection was that basically no one came into the showroom for three months!
Hopefully it hasn’t been quite that extreme this summer. But has business been noticeably quieter? Is it as simple an equation for your customers that if the grass isn’t growing, they don’t need the machinery to cut it? And if that is indeed the case, have you had to pivot into other areas to keep things moving?
We know that for some of our valued dealer readers, professional turfcare equipment has been something of a saving grace in recent years. But as Laurence has pointed out in TurfPro, with that sector suffering from the drought conditions too, has even that market been keeping away from dealerships?
Then there’s our agricultural machinery dealer readers and the construction and plant hire sectors. How have those markets fared through what is being described as the hottest summer ever? Have they provided some much-needed resilience, or have they faced their own challenges?
All of which inevitably leads me to then ask, what happens next?
Obviously, we’ve had hot and dry seasons before. But if this really does equate to one of the most extreme summers we’ve experienced, does that also mean it has been one of the most difficult trading seasons ever for some dealers? As the rain comes back and the grass eventually grows again, do you anticipate it taking longer than normal for customers to return?
Perhaps you are already finding proactive ways to gee up your local market again? Are you putting on promotions, contacting customers directly, changing your product mix or looking at completely different revenue streams?
And what about the upcoming national shows? With APF, GroundsFest and SALTEX all on the horizon, could these events provide a useful opportunity to get customers thinking again, offer some inspiration and introduce them to new ideas and technologies?
There’s plenty to consider, but, most importantly, it would be fantastic to hear from you.
How has the drought affected your business? Has it been a major problem, a minor inconvenience, or even an opportunity?
Leave your comments below or drop me a line and let me know what you’re seeing on the ground. It would be fascinating to gain a picture of how the dealer network has coped with what has been an extraordinary summer.
