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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/74170
amount of employees we have and are better off by doing it. Things have picked up to where they belong and we are very busy, but it will be hard to catch up to where we expected to be. I think the rest of the year will remain good and steady. — Matthew Borden, vice president Ed & Matt Equipment Greenville, R.I. W 2012? 1. What were your expectations for your dealership heading into After a stronger-than-average finish to 2011 and strong early sales in 2012, I was optimistic that 2012 would continue the slow, but upward trend. 2. How has your dealership fared in meeting those expectations in the first half of 2012? By April, our sales had flattened. And now, we are in drought conditions and mower sales have dried up along with the grass. Fortunately, we are diversified and have a few sectors that are doing OK, which are helping to offset the lack of traditional seasonal sales. In spite of the bright spots, we are well behind where we expected to be. 3. What are your expectations for your dealership in the second half of 2012? Obviously, the lack of rain has hurt our mower sales, so, if we could get a change in the weather pattern, there might be some hope for an uptick in sales in that sector, but it is getting too late in the season to hope for much. Even before things turned dry, sales had started to go flat. I think the reasons for the poor retail environment are complex and not likely to change. I am not optimistic about the second half of 2012. — Roger Zerkle, owner Zerkle Diversified Enterprises, LLC Flat Rock, Ill. Things have picked up to where they belong and we are very busy, but it will be hard to catch up to where we expected to be. I think the rest of the year will remain good and steady. 1. What were your expectations for your dealership heading into 2012? The expectations for our dealerships was higher than it has ever been! We took on a new line of equipment (Mahindra) and expected huge increases in our sales volume. 2. How has your dealership fared in meeting those expectations in the first half of 2012? I think like in all markets around Ohio, we suffered "less than usual" Landscape Contractor business this spring. The largest variable contributing to that was the winter that preceded it and NO SNOW! In a typical year, Cincinnati can expect around 30-40 "snow events," which require salt and/or plow service. The winter of 2011-2012 only provided about three opportunities to put down salt, and even those events weren't very good, most of the time only applying salt once. The landscapers that depended on winter income to purchase new equipment in the spring, went in to the spring with their pockets empty. Our Mahindra business is off some, but overall (aside from Landscape Contractor OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JULY 2012 11 e expected to stay busy on the road, in the shop, and have strong parts sales going into spring. What happened was just the opposite. We had no snow in a year where our customers needed that snow money. Our shop and store were very slow until the middle of May, which is six weeks later than normal. We made a reduction in the