Guys, I have no issue with the quality of Huskies saws, none what-so ever. They are every bit as good as any Stihl, some models prolly are better, depending on the model it could be vice versa with Stihl.
I admire Spike for sticking up for his company. It would be tough for me to do when they give W-M and Lowes and Depot buying terms like 2%net60 which equates into 260 days dating at the cost they borrow money. I bet the dealers would like to have those terms.
Also when a customer brings a so called "defective unit" in, it is no questions ask, give a refund. The way WM operates is they just deduct the return from the Husky's next check. I bet the dealers wish they didn't have to call for approval's, just deduct it from their next check.
I bet the dealers wish they received literally hundreds of thousands in promotional/ad allowances.
I bet the dealers wish they could buy at the same cost that the box store buys from.
I worked the last five years for Winchester, they attribute the demise of the brand to lowering quality to meet K-Marts needs in the 60's and early 70's even licensing their name to them, K-Mart produced cheap import items with what was a premium name, people lost confidence in the name. The only viable part of that company left is the ammunition division, everything else is licensed out today.
We all need them to be successful, my critisism isn't aimed at there product. Competition between them and Stihl drives the product innovation that benefits all of us. Husky wouldn't make as good as product without Stihl and the same the other way around.
I'm just saying their focus is off, take care of the guys like Spike, for every saw a box store sells he loses a sale. Keep the name off the product like the cheaper rebadged poulans, keep the product worthy of the premium name it has always been.
Troll, you may have dealers with only the latest product, the local dealer, has the 372xp, 372xt, 570 and 576, 365 all sitting on the shelf, they are not like Spike, they have a 19 or 20 year old that barely can tell you which end of a saw cuts. He couldn't guide a customer to which one best suites him if he had too. He doesn't even run saws. Less than 20' away he has the full Stihl line, it's clean, he only has the 441 and 460 in that class of saw.
I keep trying to buy a 372xp there, but they won't come off the 829.97 msrp, they still think they are available. lol
One of the dealer's that pm'd me stated it is getting tough to make any margin on saws, because of internet distro, big box, tractor supply, due to guys go on line and find dirt cheap pricing, where someone is violating the map pricing, almost to the point where it is hardly worth carrying saws, all that it keeping the doors open is parts and service. Another pm's saying they are both a Stihl and Husky dealer and the last couple of years it's about a 10:1 ratio in sales, stihl to husky, some of this may be regional preference, or the dealer pushing stihl because of higher margins.
Bottom line don't have the Husquvarna name on a sign above a 79.99 push lawn mower at Wal-Mart, like last year, I haven't looked this year. There is too much brand equity in the name to put it on **** products like that.
See, now this is the quality of your usual posts. Looks like we have an interesting discussion here. I'm as militant as anyone, but people just have to get past the automatic reaction when the term "box store" enters the discussion.
The Husky full line catelog has more than 200 SKU's in it. Lowes, TSC and such carry maybe 10 or less models in their stores. Nearly all of them are entry level price point models; many of which I don't carry myself. The degree to which the box stores affect me in that regard is very limited. The degree to which individual dealers choose to interact with the box stores and box store customers is a matter of personal choice combined with local market realities. I don't want to, and I don't need to, so I'm able to maitain my distance from that mess. I don't do warranty work on box store products of any brand. My business is geared towards the pro and serious user with Exmark, Husky and Red Max leading the way. I don't need to compete with the box stores, and they
can't compete with me.
One important lesson I learned a while back is this: A guy buying a saw or mower at the box store is going to do that regardless of what brands that store carries. That's where he shops, he saw chainsaws in there last week when he was buying paint, decides to buy one and that's where he goes back to get it. It could be a Husky from Lowes, and Echo from Depot, or whatever brand is on the shelf. THAT"S the dynamic that dealers are competing with. It doesn't realy matter if Lowes has the same or different brand as me. If they didn't have Husky, they'd still be selling some other brand saws to people who never heard of my store.
It's too bad that box stores only get 60 day terms, because Husky gives me 360 day terms. I get a volume discount on every order and a growth rebate at the end of the year. Free freight on 10 handheld units and 6 wheeled goods. (Any combo of mowers and tractors.) Free freight on parts and accessory orders of $100 or more. They do not charge me one cent for all of their internet and national print and TV ad programs. Best program in the industry right now. (Stihl dealers can feel free to comment here on how well Stihl is treating them in these areas.)
Drawing analogies to illustrate or re-enforce a particular point can be misleading, so I'll address a few.
Winchester's demise began in 1964 when they changed their manufacturing process and they were never able to stop their downhill slide. I'm surprised that more gun guys haven't jumped on that point yet.
Homelite/McCulloch destroyed themselves not so much because they entered the box stores, as because they abandoned the rest of the business.
Another change in the OPE business must be understood, yet many people fail to notice it. All companies, including Stihl, now make entry level products in most categories. A while back, the business model was that the name brand companies made and sold the good stuff through dealers, while the mass retailers mostly sold private label brands that they had built for them. The only private label brand still going strong is of course Craftsman. Today's mass retailers want branded, not private label products.
So, Husky in the box stores is not very unique in today's world, and simply being there does not mean the beginning of the end for any company. Is John Deere going to be out of business in 10 years just because they are selling cheap tractors in Lowes? Hardly.
However I do feel that all of these companies are diluting their brand strength/image by selling price point products. And it matters not whether they are sold in a mass retailer or a dealer. Anyone buying those lowest priced products could have the classic, "they aren't what they used to be" reaction.
Glad we're still friends!
).
