Dealer Local Deere Dealership Sold

lacamo · Apr 8, 2020

I've been a loyal customer of a local JD dealership for almost 20 years and, over that time, have purchased everything from tractors to haying equipment to mowers and brush cutters, along with grain and other livestock products. They are a family owned business and their sales and service staff have been excellent. Now I've come to learn that some billionaire has bought them out along with practically all the other JD dealerships in New England and upstate New York. Nobody has revealed exactly who this is -- it's been said he's a Silicon Valley billionaire, but who knows? I had planned to purchase some new equipment this season, but now am reluctant since it no longer is a local family business and I'm not sure how I'll be treated since the new owner(s) don't know me from Adam. Any clues as to who is scooping up these dealerships? If so, does anyone have experience with them as a customer?

RickB · Apr 8, 2020

United Ag and Turf. Owned by Fernandez Holdings. They bought 24 dealership locations in the Northeast and have about an equal number in the South.

United Ag & Turf | John Deere - 29 locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas

Portfolio — FH

TractorGuy · Apr 8, 2020

It's happening all over. I worked for the local family owned Deere dealer here back around 95. They had two or three dealerships in the tri state area. They changed the name from the family name to Green South then it changed to Ag Pro. The story I heard when it changed to Green South was that Deere no longer wanted family names on dealerships. I figure that story was a cover for new ownership but that's just a guess on my part. The Ag Pro conglomerate has 90 dealerships in 8 states.

With all that said the guy that was service manager back in the 90s is still there and is now the general manager. Most conglomerates will try to keep things as they are if they are profitable. The last thing they want to do is lose the locals that have kept the business they bought going for years.

RickB · Apr 8, 2020

Actually the Northeast is the last bastion of dealer consolidations. I read a bit ago that one outfit owns every Deere forestry dealership in Canada. I didn’t care enough to verify the story, but it is certainly possible.

finn1 · Apr 8, 2020

Not much different than what happened to the auto industry. The manufacturers don’t really want to deal with the mom and pop dealerships anymore. They are too expensive to support. Larger, better financed dealerships are better equipped to handle sales and service training, modern computer systems, and financing.

I worked for a major ag equipment manufacturer (not Green) back in the last century, and there was a big push even back then to modernize and streamline the distribution and service network.

Remember going to a rural dealership in Minnesota to put new prototype pistons and liners in a customer’s 60 hp utility tractor. The service department still had dirt floors. The goal even then was to have large dealerships with multiple sales outlets.

The mom and pop days are long gone. Remember, we’re dealing with companies with billions of dollars in sales here.

finn1 · Apr 8, 2020

Reflecting on it for a while, one other reason corporate wanted fewer dealerships, but with multiple outlets was price protection. Corporate needs dealers with strong balance sheets to survive business downtowns and nice facilities to attract customers. Having multiple dealerships in a given market region promotes cutthroat pricing competition within your own dealer organization. Short term, that’s good for the customer, on face value. Long term, nobody makes money.

Friends and business associates at Ford put it this way many years ago: corporate world rather have a few good strong dealers fighting the competition than many marginal dealers undercutting each other.

Diggin It · Apr 8, 2020

This is at least part of the reason I chose the brand I did. Still a locally owned, family dealership.

ruffdog · Apr 8, 2020

Fernandez Holdings.....they say the deere dealer is "locally owned" but is really owned by unnamed people in a investment firm. Yeah...ok.

fitter1 · Apr 8, 2020

I was in there about 6 weeks ago looking for a good used 3pt snowblower and had to grab a few things. Same people. When did this happen? Budget lumber and now Blackmount?