We lead with another story of a dealer acquisition today. You may have already read that Sharmans have agreed in principal to the purchase of Louth Tractors.

This follows on from last week's most read story on our Weekly Update which saw the news of Russels buying RES.

And if you go back a few weeks further you might remember that RW Crawford announced they were taking over Agwood Ltd. A short while before that we were reporting on C&O Tractors taking over the site and Massey Ferguson trading area from MST.

All of these takeovers and buyouts have come in just the first few months of this year. Feel free to scroll through the archived news section on our website and you'll find plenty more examples along these lines taking place over the past couple of years.

It's clearly a dominant, continuing trend and one that shows little sign of abating. A question that it prompts of course, asks if smaller, independent dealers should be concerned about the practice?

A change in the network

As mentioned briefly last week, it's something that our recent discussion with a panel of representatives of manufacturers and suppliers touched upon. And whilst respecting their anonymity, when they were speaking frankly they told us they saw the move to the U.S model of fewer, larger dealer groups as an inevitability.

One posed the question will single-depot dealers, who just do consumer and don't sell larger machinery, are they going to disappear? Will those businesses naturally migrate to online-only sales, will they sell out to a bigger group, or unfortunately will they simply go out of business?

One of our panelists talked of some research they had undertaken themselves, that had apparently led them to discover that since 2018 forty-five dealerships that they knew of, no longer existed. Either they didn’t have a succession plan and had closed their doors permanently or they were merged into another, larger company. 

They felt this was only going to continue, where dealers of the future are going to be bigger, stronger and more corporately branded. Consequently they believed, the network will include fewer smaller, less branded, single depot companies. Those they felt, will be disappearing. 

We heard that moves such as this reflect the nature of major manufacturers' ambitions. A figure was mooted of just how low a number of dealers that John Deere for example, allegedly desire to have representing them for the whole of the UK. Whether this was entirely accurate, I'm not sure. But what is clear, is that there's certainly fewer individual dealers representing that brand than there used to be!

Mergers are a continuing trend we were told. Similar to our news pages, these suppliers are receiving notification of dealership takeovers almost every single month now. They are looking at perhaps between ten and twelve a year.

We heard that there is some resistance. The network is seeing dealerships pick up new brands and new territories. But if those dealers who have perhaps lost a major franchise and have now acquired a less well-known range, if they don’t then receive a reliable supply of quality goods, they won’t be in the game for the long-term either.

It was said that whilst this rationalisation of dealerships was mostly being seen in the agricultural machinery sector, there are groundcare companies being absorbed into these mergers as well. Companies that are traditionally ag, often now have a groundcare division too because they see a profitability in that. There’s a definite appetite for these big groups to have that whole offering – maybe even including construction.

What our panel did seem to agree on, was that single-depot, non-franchised dealers are at risk moving forward – from their point of view, that was definite.

In the most brutal assessment we heard, the opinion was voiced that if they personally were a small garden machinery dealer, they would definitely be looking for either something unique that keeps them alive – or to be doing something different!

Your thoughts?

But what do you, our dealer readers think about this trend? Do you feel your offering is unique enough to maintain your independence or are you planning on making changes to ensure this? Equally, is selling to a larger dealer group not something you would be adverse to anyway?

It is clearly a lot to think about, with some major decisions to be made for businesses around the country I'm sure.

To hopefully offer some assistance, at the Service Dealer Conference this November our expert speakers, in combination with the smaller seminar sessions, will be considering ideas as to how dealerships might sustain and evolve themselves for this uncertain future. Also discussions will be held around the whole issue of succession for the dealership too.

But what are your thoughts regarding the ongoing rationalisation of the independent dealer network? Please let us know in the comments below.

The arrival of Star EV, a global electric utility vehicles manufacturer, in the UK has achieved nationwide dealer coverage in its first year.

Reesink e-Vehicles, the UK distributor for the brand, has confirmed there are eight dealers stocking the vehicles alongside the company’s branches, meaning a total of 12 outlets are stockists in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Dave French, sales manager for Reesink e-Vehicles, said, “The response to the Star EV brand and the range of electric transport options it brings to the UK has surpassed expectation. We knew it would prove popular, as electric vehicles are a hot topic, but people have responded particularly favourably to Reesink e-vehicles, and Star EV as a brand. 

“Like us, dealers have recognised the market for all-electric products is buoyant, as is the range of customers they appeal to. In a year we’ve seen customers from golf clubs, sports stadiums, holiday/caravan parks, private schools and estates all invest in Star EV, appreciative of the good mileage per charge, on-board charging and extensive warranty they bring.”

The dealers offering Star EV are:

• John Osman Groundcare (North Wales)
• Devon Garden Machinery (South West England)
• Cheshire Turf Machinery (North West England)
• Laird Grass Machinery (Northern Ireland)
• Terry Harrison Machinery (South Wales)
• Lloyd Ltd (North England and South Scotland)
• Russells (North/East Midlands England)
• AJ Mowers (West England).

Alongside the above dealers are Reesink Scotland, Reesink Burwell (East Anglia and Midlands), Reesink Sheffield Park (South East) and Reesink South West and Midlands.

TAP, the publishers of Service Dealer, have announced they are now a climate positive business.

Owner Duncan Murray-Clark said, "As part of our ongoing approach to better our environmental credentials and working practices, we have been working with Earthly to audit our environmental impact over the last year.

"We have been able to offset our impact by supporting projects in Keo Sima, Mai Ndombe and Maroallika Madagascar, supplying natural assets. We will be tracking this progress over time and we’ll report back."

Duncan continued, "We would like to thank TAP staff who have taken the time to make this happen through Earthly, demonstrating our commitment to reducing our environmental impact."

FarmDroid, which is imported and distributed in the UK by Opico, has been awarded a Silver Award for Innovation by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) in their 2022 Technical Innovation Awards.

James Woolway, managing director of Opico, said, “We are thrilled that FarmDroid has been recognised by RHASS and has been awarded such a prestigious award. FarmDroid has come up with a unique solution that is suited to large and small-scale farming systems.

"While it’s early days for Opico, we’re coming to the UK market with a product that is tried and tested as there are over 200 machines already in use around Europe. The timing couldn’t be better with rising energy costs, labour issues and environmental factors at the forefront of UK farmers’ minds and FarmDroid ticks so many boxes in all these respects.

"Opico has the distribution network, parts and technical teams to support FarmDroid throughout the UK and this award endorses the ground breaking product we have committed to.”

AGCO have been announced as another sponsor of this year's Service Dealer Conference & Awards.

Taking place on Thursday 24th November 2022 once again at the Double Tree by Hilton Oxford Belfry Hotel, Thame, Oxfordshire, the theme for this year's event is Sustaining Dealerships.

AGCO have been confirmed as a Gold Sponsor of the event.

A spokesperson for AGCO said, “This event is a unique opportunity to network and provides valued support and much needed information to the dealer network, covering topics which are current to our industry; from employment, recruitment right through to profitability which all leads to long term sustainability!

"This coupled with the awards ceremony is the perfect backdrop for recognition for our dealer network in UK & Eire who strive to fully satisfy the needs of the industry and customer base, and as AGCO, this very much supports our ethos throughout our aftersales business."

Additional details regarding the Service Dealer Conference & Awards, including further sponsors and a full speaker line-up, will be announced soon.

Toro UK Limited has been announced as a sponsor of this year's Service Dealer Conference & Awards.

Taking place on Thursday 24th November 2022 once again at the Double Tree by Hilton Oxford Belfry Hotel, Thame, Oxfordshire, the theme for this year's event is Sustaining Dealerships.

The company has been confirmed as a Gold Sponsor of the event.

Craig Hoare, sales and marketing manager at Toro U.K Limited said, “We are delighted to again commit to the Service Dealer Awards in 2022. Service Dealer has always been at the heart of the industry and the essential link between manufacturer and dealer.  

"Our dealer network is at the core of our success and I see no better opportunity than the Service Dealer Awards to come together to celebrate the hard work, commitment and achievements of those dealers.”

Additional details regarding the Service Dealer Conference & Awards, including further sponsors and a full speaker line-up, will be announced soon.

The Equip Exposition trade show that takes place in Louisville, Kentucky from October 18th-21st, has announced that this year they are expanding their education opportunities for dealers.

Sara Hey

They will be offering two programmes, with a series of sessions aimed at dealership managers and another series aimed at workshop technicians. 

The dealership manager sessions will include training courses run by Bob Clements International, with Bob Clements himself and Sara Hey - who readers will know from her regular column in Service Dealer magazine - leading the schedule. They will be offering advice to help dealers grow their businesses, including tips on unconventional hiring strategies, a peek at what the dealership of the future will be like, and how to price service jobs.

Also in the dealer management side of the education offering, U.S industry magazine Power Equipment Trade will be running panel discussions on how to take your business to the next level.

Meanwhile on the dealer technician side of the programme interactive, hands-on training courses will be provided in collaboration with the Equipment and Engine Training Counsel, designed to prepare technicians for the next generation of equipment servicing and repair.

You can find out more about all the sessions on offer by viewing the full dealer education schedule.

Kubota have announced they intend to build a new plant to manufacture implements to install on tractors, to "address the rapidly increasing demand in North America."

The new facility will be located in Hall County, Georgia, U.S.A and is due to be operational by August 2024. It's total floor space will be approximately 60,200m2 and will require an investment of 18.0 billion yen (around £107m).

In an official statement Kubota Corporation said, "The demand for tractors is rapidly increasing in North America, driven by factors that include a more rapid suburban migration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also heightening the demand for implements. Even though KIE currently does manufacture implements, the demand in North America is exceeding its production capabilities. Anticipating this demand will remain stable in the future, KIE will build a new plant.

"The new and existing plants will respond to the tremendous North American demand by increasing the annual implement production capacity from 100,000 units to 210,000 units."

SAGE 2022 takes place on 6-7 July at The Three Counties Showground in Malvern.

Organisers say that visitors have the opportunity to register for free training courses delivered by Sampson Training and hear from the experts as they discuss hot topics for the season and the future.

Sustainability will be a key theme at the event, with the first ever Sustainability Solutions for Grounds Specialists Summit being hosted in partnership with Bio-Circle. SAGE has also been named the home event for GRASS (Ground care Resources and Sustainability Solutions), which is a newly launched forum for ground care specialists who are passionate about driving a more sustainable future for the industry.

The line up of events for the two days is as follows:

Wednesday 6th July

9.30-10.00: Open Session with Sampson Training director Martin Sampson, Lantra trainer and assessor along with his colleague Geraint Jenkins, (Lantra trainer and assessor).

10.30-11.00: Appropriate selection of training courses for your team

11.15-11.45: Adam Sedgewick presents, “Gathering data, for better turfgrass decisions”.

12.00-12.45: Calibration of a Handheld Applicator (Knapsack) and Boom sprayer

Scheduled Demos: 13.00 – 14.15

TRIMAX, TH WHITE, REDEXIM, KERSTEN UK, TORO UK, CUB CADET & more

14.30-15.45: SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR GROUNDS SPECIALISTS SUMMIT in partnership with Bio-Circle. Join the experts as they discuss how to implement sustainability across the industry and wider sphere. 

16.00-18.00: Networking event in partnership with sponsors Fleet Line Markers, bar and live music

Thursday 7th July

Scheduled Demos: 9.30-11.00

TRIMAX, TH WHITE, REDEXIM, KERSTEN UK, TORO UK, CUB CADET & more

11.15 -11.40: Maintaining your marking equipment: Led by sponsors Fleet Line Markers Ltd

12.00-13.00: Sustainability Summit Open Workshop in partnership with Bio-Circle, come and meet the experts and discuss how to better your practices.

Scheduled Demos: 14.00 -16.00

TRIMAX, TH WHITE, REDEXIM, KERSTEN UK, TORO UK & more

To register visit www.sportsandgrounds.events

The Turfgrass Growers Association's Turfgrass Summer Show returns on Thursday 28th July, with Turffit hosting in Kinross, Scotland.  

Organisers have announced that the event will showcase the host's fine turfgrass where machinery, seed and crop protection companies will be showcased, promoting their latest technologies.

To compliment this year’s event, there is also a multitude of activities including some Scottish Highland games - including tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, Glengoyne Malt Challenge (haggis throwing) and Scottish piping. In addition to these traditional Scottish activities, there's also Clay Shooting, football darts or archery with guidance from an experienced instructor. There will also be a falconry experience.

The TGA have also revealed announce that in partnership with Trimax they will be hosting a celebratory meal to close the 2022 show at the Cannonball Restaurant, Edinburgh.

With the largest capacity in the range, the Cobra CHIP700L is a 7hp towable Wood Chipper. It is small and compact but still more than powerful enough, being equipped with a 212cc 7hp Loncin engine to easily chip branches up to 100mm / 4" in diameter. 

The unique hinged design of the chute allows easy access to the twin reversible blades for maintenance, while the slender design, large wheels and well-balanced construction allows the chipper to be manoeuvred easily and can be towed from one area to another via a lawn tractor.

Chipping using one of the wood chippers in the Cobra range is a great way to deal with waste branches as the resulting chips can be used decoratively around the garden, or as an environmentally friendly mulch. Placing a layer of mulch on top of soil and around plants, shrubs and trees provides a host of benefits for your garden. 

The Cobra Wood Chipper range also includes the popular CHIP650L and the CHIP650LE (Electric Start Model). Both models are powered by a powerful Loncin 6.5hp engine and will chip branches up to 80mm / 3” in diameter.

All models come complete with a 2-year domestic warranty.

For more information on Cobra visit: www.cobragarden.co.uk 

or to become a Cobra dealer, please contact Andy Marvin on: 07771 581 296 or call our sales team: 0115 986 6646 today.

Our 2020 Summer research showed that on average, each Garden Trader dealer will be sent 114 new customers (or people with a buying intention walking through your door) per year.  This works out at 83p for each new customer. A subscription rate designed to be all inclusive delivering unrivalled online results.  

This site was purpose-built just for skilled servicing ground care dealers by the team that bring you Service Dealer Magazine. It is easy and quick to register and costs just £96 + VAT per year for a full listing.  As this dealer site is designed to promote the UK dealer network, all revenues in 2022 will continue to be reinvested into promoting the site online and so supporting the dealer network.

Join the country’s only independent specialist website, created by the team that bring you Service Dealer. Join our subscribed Garden Trader dealers now by clicking on “Register Dealership” and let's fight back against the zero value retailers.

Map of dealerships registered with Garden Trader

FIND OUT MORE