Kubota forcing dealers out?

[radios1]

Haven’t read a real official Kubota stance on this thread yet. I live in a very rural area. The dealer I work with has full line Kubota and New Holland. They have opted not to handle parts of the Kubota line where there is a clear conflict with New Holland products for which they have built up a following. I’m talking about things like balers. They are selective in which of the many Land Pride and Great Plains products by Kubota they sell. They seem to be able to coexist. In the larger city 50 miles away (larger to us that is) there is a Kubota dealer that is strictly CUT or smaller. Nothing in the ag lineup. We have the same thing in JD dealers. I need to drive 100 miles to our nearest JD ag dealer but much closer I have JD small equipment dealers who can sell nothing larger than a CUT. They also service the big box stores controlling everything John Deere for sale at Lowe’s and Home Depot.

The Kubota ag dealer (Combined with New Holland like Messicks) sees the small product getting them through times like these where prices for beef and dairy are so low - this is a beef and dairy area.

John Deere dealers were getting to be so cutthroat that none could survive. To make the sale they were selling at a loss and trying to make it up in volume plus the rare customers who didn’t negotiate as hard. Transaction prices were down with quantity sales up. Dealers bankrupt leaving customers stranded. So they took the step of forcing sell outs to force dealers into being profitable.

you really think $6 a pound for beef is low?. I sure don't!!..

 

[widefat]

I visited a Mahindra dealer a few years ago when shopping for a tractor. In chatting with someone intimately knowledgeable about the dealership, they mentioned how they had 'blocked' a power equipment dealer about an hour away from being allowed to become a Mahindra dealer for two reasons - the market could not handle two Mahindra dealers an hour apart, and the wanna be dealer was not a real 'tractor' store.
I dont know about the market saturation, but the gent was imo spot on about the wanna be not being a true tractor dealer. Now, the wanna be is an LS tractor dealer. Salt on the wound?


PS- The Mahindra dealer I mentioned is a good shop. Wise move on Mahindra regionals part.

 

[EddieWalker]

Kind of off topic, but maybe relevant. I was at a sporting good store one time looking at some snow ski boots and a guy walked up to the salesperson and asked him what the best brand was? He replied with a brand that I don't remember anymore, and the person asking told him that he was a Sales Rep for the brand and for recommending their brand, he gave the guy $100 cash. This all happened out in the open, in the middle of the store, just a few feet away from me.

I have no idea if any other company, brand or stores do this. But I kind of guess that they do.

 

[Ford850]

Kind of off topic, but maybe relevant. I was at a sporting good store one time looking at some snow ski boots and a guy walked up to the salesperson and asked him what the best brand was? He replied with a brand that I don't remember anymore, and the person asking told him that he was a Sales Rep for the brand and for recommending their brand, he gave the guy $100 cash. This all happened out in the open, in the middle of the store, just a few feet away from me.

I have no idea if any other company, brand or stores do this. But I kind of guess that they do.

I worked at a mom and pop sporting goods store many years ago while I was in high school. Winchester ammunition had a promotion that they sent secret customers in to buy ammo, letting the seller choose the brand they would recommend. I was lucky enough to grab a box of Winchester ammo and the customer pulled out a $100 and handed it to me. They were as excited as I was, since they had been going to many stores and I was the first one they could surprise with the money.

Manufacturers do some creative things to encourage sales.

 

[radios1]

Kind of off topic, but maybe relevant. I was at a sporting good store one time looking at some snow ski boots and a guy walked up to the salesperson and asked him what the best brand was? He replied with a brand that I don't remember anymore, and the person asking told him that he was a Sales Rep for the brand and for recommending their brand, he gave the guy $100 cash. This all happened out in the open, in the middle of the store, just a few feet away from me.

I have no idea if any other company, brand or stores do this. But I kind of guess that they do.

Sears Craftsman?.

 

[Snobdds]

In any MBA school, students are taught about economies of scale and scope to drive the most profits out of a business. That theory dictates, it more cost effective for large brands to have mega dealerships where a cost per unit basis is cheaper to house and sell than at a smaller dealership. The scope part of it is having ancillary products on hand that drive traffic to bring people in that then can be up saled on large ticket items. It's a formula that works, but it destroys mom and pop business. From an ethical standpoint, I don't think it's right and I don't think it's right for large brands to dictate the terms on down the line.

 

[radios1]

In any MBA school, students are taught about economies of scale and scope to drive the most profits out of a business. That theory dictates, it more cost effective for large brands to have mega dealerships where a cost per unit basis is cheaper to house and sell than at a smaller dealership. The scope part of it is having ancillary products on hand that drive traffic to bring people in that then can be up saled on large ticket items. It's a formula that works, but it destroys mom and pop business. From an ethical standpoint, I don't think it's right and I don't think it's right for large brands to dictate the terms on down the line.

it's much cheaper to have products made in China, and other Countries that is destroying us too!!..

 

[Industrial Toys]

And then when the economy turns, these mega dealerships have mega mortgages, mega taxes, mega utilities and mega payroles to meet that they suddenly can't. A little. paid for, mom and pop dealership, can cut back employee hours and turn the lights down to weather the storm.

 

[Scook222]

you really think $6 a pound for beef is low?. I sure don't!!..

. It might be $6 a pound in store but with corn prices being cheap, even though there is hay shortages and flooding in areas, beef and dairy cattle growers still aren’t making much, if any with live cattle prices. Maybe the slaughter house and feedlots are, but not the growers. Last ones we sold brought marker and had good calves, but still barely turned a profit, if any.

 

[crazyal]

One of the larger Kubota dealerships bought out a couple of the others in about a 60 mile radius. They closed one that was smaller while just changing the name of the other. Have no clue if Kubota had any hand in it or if it was just at the dealership level.