I think what perhaps truly cut through in this election campaign was one word.

Last time around, it was arguably three words - Get Brexit Done. That snappy phrase resonated with voters. It was memorable and it promised something direct that could be instantly understood by everyone.

This time the winning party condensed their memorable, understandable slogan to merely a single word. Change.

It really wouldn't surprise me if it was this concept of 'turning the page', that we heard throughout this past six weeks, that struck floating voters as being of the highest importance to them - certainly following fourteen years of the same party in power. 

So now, as we begin the term of a new government, I'm sure all will be looking to see how this change will manifest. And for us specifically, as a trade journal dedicated to the dealer network, how that change may affect our readers.

STIHL

One change that the network will have been absorbing this past week is the news that STIHL will be selling their battery tools through Screwfix.

Firstly, sincere thanks to you, our many dealer readers, who took the time to share your views on the subject with us - both via comments posted on the Weekly Update and from the private emails you sent.

Also we must thank STIHL for speaking with us last week and also again on Thursday this week. We appreciate the time taken to keep us, and as a consequence our dealer readers, informed.

Firstly, I am happy to clarify a line from my blog last week. I wrote "And not only sell, Screwfix will apparently also have their own service facility for customers to use also." The word apparently is superfluous and potentially misleading here. Screwfix definitely have their own service facility. 

They would also like me to point out that at the time of the Contra House opening, no agreement had been signed with Screwfix.

Within the comments we received from dealer readers, several questions were raised. We put these to STIHL who have kindly answered those today, here.

The manufacturer has also responded to some dealer comments that we put to them anonymously - which you will be able to read in our delayed next issue of the magazine.

Significant moment

Taking an overview of all the comments we received, what stuck with me is that STIHL as a brand is one that clearly means an awful lot to an awful lot of dealers.

I would like to pull some quotes from a couple of thoughtful, lengthy emails that two dealers took the time to send me and who wished to not have their names shared in public - which we respect and honour.

One said, "Did I see this coming? No, not from STIHL. I had expected this from some other brands who seem to have little loyalty to their dealers when it comes to routes to market but for STIHL, who spent a long time fighting against their products being available online in favour of supply by the dealer network, I’d have expected better. I can see other manufacturers following suit fairly quickly."

Another explained, "As a long standing STIHL dealer it saddens us to see the way the company has been taken down this path. . . People in dealerships have years of knowledge and experience both in selling and maintaining the range of STIHL products. Skills that we now fear will be sadly lost in this throwaway society. Definitely not valued."

They concluded by saying, "What we do, we like to think we do well. We’ve been doing it for a very long time, so we must be doing something right. However we will have to seriously think about how we take the next step."

Maybe I'm reading too much into these messages, but they do feel to me to be genuine and from the heart - and perhaps tinged with a hint of sadness.

As ever, Service Dealer's role now is to monitor the reactions of the industry to this, and indeed to all forthcoming change. 

We shall continue to offer a platform for manufacturers and suppliers to spread their news to the dealer network and, crucially, to be a space where the dealer network can digest and comment on industry developments.