14 O U T D O O R P O W E R E Q U I P M E N T www.outdoorpower equipment.com
FEATURE STORY
O
utdoor Power Equipment (OPE) magazine recently
surveyed dealers on their expectations and results for
the first half of 2014, as well as their outlooks for the
second half of the year. Specifically, we asked them the
following questions:
1. Heading into 2014, what were your expectations for your
dealership this year?
2. How has your dealership fared in meeting those expectations
in the first half of 2014?
3. Based on your dealership's first-half performance, what
second-half adjustments do you plan to make?
4. What is your second-half outlook for 2014?
OPE received the following responses June 5-12, 2014:
1. Expectations at the beginning of every new year are generally
optimistic. In spite of the unusually cold winter, 2014 was no
exception.
2. The winter weather did not break until very late this year,
reducing our prime selling season for mowers down to just a
few weeks. The weather also delayed other outside activities, like
farming and construction, further depressing the market. In spite of
disappointing mower sales, our other product lines have sold well,
making this about an average year, so far.
3. We are going to pursue mower sales aggressively and hope that
we continue to have rain throughout the summer. Our goal is to
reduce our mower inventory to acceptable levels before the end of
summer, while building inventories in other areas in anticipation of
the fall and winter season.
4. I am optimistic about the second half of the year. Mowers seem
to be the only product line that is not producing at their normal level,
and after June 1, mowers contribute little to our bottom line anyway.
— Roger Zerkle, owner
Zerkle Diversified Enterprises, LLC
Flat Rock, Ill.
I am going to say my dealership's situation is different from
most OPE dealers. Located within a 7-mile circle of my store, I have
2 Lowes, 3 Home Depots, 3 Walmarts, 2 Sears stores and a Tractor
OPE DEalEr MiD-yEar
PrOgrEss rEPOrt
I expected to have a great year, and boy, was I right.
It has been hard for us to catch up in both sales and
service. As far as the rest of the year goes, I don't
see any end in sight.
— Matthew Borden, vice president, Ed & Matt Equipment
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above
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Violka08
