Representatives from STIHL and VIKING Approved Dealerships attended the very first VIKING Experience Roadshow in Lingfield Park, Surrey, last month; along with rugby heroes Martin Johnson and Matt Poole.


Martin Johnson

The one day conference, hosted by VIKING aimed to give dealers an overview of the Austrian brand and new products for 2016.

Guests heard from inspirational rugby legends: former England Captain and Leicester Tigers player, Martin Johnson and former Leicester Tigers player, Matt Poole.

Martin said there are synergies between rugby and owning a specialist garden machinery business. He said, "Like anything in life, you need to break down your journey before panicking about the end result. When the media used to ask us if we were going to win a tournament or not - it was always a difficult question because winning was never the focus."


Dealers check out the iMow

The VIKING Experience Roadshow included an overview of the VIKING brand through the years by International Sales Manager for VIKING Austria, Alexandre Gueguen, insights into the marketing landscape from STIHL Head of Marketing, Simon Hewitt, an overview of dealer development opportunities from Chris Slinger, STIHL's Dealer Development Manager and a snapshot of VIKING sales from STIHL Regional Development Manager, Wayne Stone.

Dealers were introduced to new VIKING product for 2016, including the new VIKNG 4 Series iMow robotic mowers and the VIKING MA 339 C cordless mower. They had the opportunity to get hands-on with the products and also enjoyed some fun virtual horse racing at the Lingfield Park racecourse.