Well, I had a good time! And I'm told the Sunday weather was the best of the show.
Scott: Your right that we didn't get that much time to visit. (maybe we'll get more at the Exmark school?) I would have liked to talk with Cale from Edge and Engine a bit more too, but I spent too much time talking with Jim from AP. Problem is we spent more time talking about ex-girlfriends than saws.
I had a few other booths that I had to spend some time in, but the good news is that you didn't have any time to spare because the Dolmar booth was as busier than ever, which was nice to see. You and Steve and the AP guys did a great job. If Dolmar had more dealers like you guys, and the 30 years you've put behind it, they would certainly have a more significant market share. The product is there, but in truth, the product has always been there. Are the 5100 and 7900 good enough to capture market share? It would seem so, but so was the 120si. And I would say that in the 120's day, the market was a little more open opportunity wise than it is today.
If you count the Poulans and Jonsereds, Husky and Stihl have about 93% of the saw market today. That leaves 7% for Dolmar, Solo, Efco, and the various Japanese brands. There's more than 7 brands fighting over that last 7%. We always perceive Husky and Stihl to be fighting each other, and today that is essentially the case, but the reality is that they have captured their large market share over the last 15 to 20 years not so much at each others expense, but at the expense of all the other brands who are just trying to stay in the game. Heck, it would be fair, (and realistic), to say that my beloved Jonny's have been cannibalized by Husky and eaten by Stihl at the same time. They have been reduced to little brother status in the Husky family. The 49SP, 621, and 70E were a long time ago.
So, now I have defend that little red saw that I brought up to you guys. I told Steve that with no time on it, and especially with the cat, there was no way it would hang with the 5100, which is why I tossed an extra muffler in the box. (The 346's have all been coming through with non-cat mufflers because Husky has lots of strato engine saws to give them the necessary credits. Hopefully Jonsered will get some of these new models before the first manned mission to Mars) It is the opinion of several respected members here, Troll, Thall, and others, that it's pretty much a coin toss between the 5100 and the 2153/346NE, which is the opinion that I hold as well. I think the 5100 does gain an edge in bigger wood, but the others are lighter and handle better.
I like both manufacturers, so I don't have any turf to defend, but if one great saw does happen to beat another great saw in a timed cut, nobodys world should come crashing down on them. I try to stay out of the brand wars because A, it's pointless, B, it's always the same guys beating the same drums, and C, the arguments made are meaningless as most of the drum beaters are incapable of conceding that the other guy actually owns a decent saw.
It would be more interesting to do some "family feud" comparisons. 2153 vs 2051 vs 49SP. 5100 vs 115si. ( The 115 probably wouldn't win, but I still like it better than the 5100)
But, the show was fun, and I left the grounds with neither sunburn, nor muddy boots. I did learn some stuff, and see a few things.
The Stihl/John Deere thing is going to fester a while, and all are not happy in Stihl camp. They are looking to add a LOT of Deere dealers, which includes the Deere/Lesco stores. (But it's not a "box" store!) Did'nt really check out their product, but they were doing a booming business with calenders.
Got to see the new 576XP, which was kept under wraps from the public. (there was only one there) It was the standard version, not the auto-tune. (yeah, there's two versions) The maybe next month line that we have been hearing since May was repeated again. It's really a marketing deal, as there is a debate about whether to do both the standard as well as the auto-tune model, or just the auto-tune, which means that we will be hearing "maybe next month" til Christmas.
Time stands still in the Jonsered booth, as there are no new models yet, and no talk about what might be coming. But the longer they keep the 2165 and 2171 the better.
The Poulan Pro booth...............hasn't been there since 1995, but I still wish I grabbed a couple of those big Partner and Pioneer based saws that they were dumping.
Solo was right next to the Dolmar booth. They run OK, but the dealer price of the 681 is the retail price of the 7900, so where do they think they are going with that plan?
That's about it for tonight. Hope to see some of you guys at out GTG in October.
