market data

Whole goods prices and drought conditions are killing us .

Consumer goods in general have slowed significantly while construction related products remain in high demand .

More and more people are buying on the internet . No matter what extras we offer ! Some still will buy from a dealer but not enough to keep a large inventory , hence the big companies don ’ t want to do business with the little guy . We were once a $ 1 million a year business , but with lack of help , internet , big box stores , it ’ s going away quickly . Now we concentrate on repairs . Oh well , the company is 75 yrs . old . It ’ s time to close .

Low rainfall and higher interest rates make for a disaster . Then add the current political environment and you have what we have now , a horrible business environment .

We are way down , gross numbers , compared to last year . But we are up compared to 2020 ( pre pandemic ). We have been doing rental for 10 years and we really like that end .

Very concerned about the limiting of gas-powered equipment and a focus being put on battery-powered equipment . Not sure if dealers fit in manufacturers ’ plans moving forward .

Manufacturers are all now loaded with inventory ; the constant change of rebates and programs is a challenge to keep up with in the showroom . We are not getting consistent pricing from month to month from most suppliers . This is hard on sales guys and customers when the price is a moving target .

What Provided Growth ? We asked : What line of business provided you with the largest growth in Q2 ?

Battery-powered products was the most common answer to the “ growth ” question , though zero-turn-radius mowers also added to bottom lines , as did tractors and a variety of hand-held products . The “ No Growth ” response was a stronger-than-usual answer for this survey , with some respondents citing the drought as the cause .

Considering adding lines ? We asked : Are there specific product segments you ’ re interested in adding in 2023 ?

No , said most dealers loud and clear . More than 90 percent of those who responded to this question simply answered , “ No .” One dealer said , “ Retiring soon .” A few dealers did express interest in adding more battery-powered and electric products . Another replied , “ Looking for things not sold by big-box stores .”

This negative response is an increase from the three-quarters of the dealers who said , “ No ” in some form ( including None , Not at this time , and one NO followed by several exclamation points ) in our Q1 survey . This data mirrors what we saw in our Q4 2022 survey data . And points to inventory , among other things .

Business outlook ? We asked : Based on how you feel today and the end of Q2 , where do you expect year-end 2023 company revenues will end up compared to 2022 ?

The outlook is worsening , according to Q2 survey data . Just 29 percent of dealers responding to this survey expect business

Conditions by Department ? We ask : Please rate the following , from Very Strong to Very Weak . FYI , a low score on the chart is good here !

We ask about the state of five separate business segments , plus “ Overall Business Conditions ” and most dropped in favorability , compared to Q1 results ( see chart on top of p . 13 ). Only “ Parts & Accessory Sales ” received a higher score under the “ very strong ” rating compared to Q1 . Dealer respondents said “ Service Department ” outlook was not nearly as good as in Q1 . Used unit sales remained “ poor ” or “ very weak .”

Where 7 percent of dealers scored “ overall business conditions ” as Very Strong in Q1 , only 2 percent did so in Q2 . And while 53 percent in Q1 called this “ good ” or “ very strong ,” only 39 percent did so in Q2 .

35 %

30 %

25 %

20 %

15 %

10 %

5 %

0 %

BUSINESS OUTLOOK : AT THE END OF Q2 WHERE DO YOU EXPECT YEAR-END 2023 COMPANY REVENUES WILL END UP COMPARED TO 2022 ?

2.0 %

Up 21 % or more

5.9 %

21.6 %

29.4 %

19.6 %

13.7 %

7.8 %

14 OPE Business September 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com