Bye, Bye Branson???

[coolnick73]

Branson is a small player, but they are profitable in the USA and growing. We have been a dealer for them for 14 years. It's a well built tractor and an attractive price. There have been rumors of takeovers since about 2005 or 2006, yet they continue to come out with new models and even opened a new distribution center on the west coast in the last year. That isn't the sort of thing you do if you plan to pull out of a market.

This thread has me more comfortable with Branson than before. It's nice to see that predictions of Branson's demise have been going on for awhile.

Is there the same amount of demise talk with other (what I consider 2nd tier) brands LS, TYM, Kioti, as there is Branson?

 

[k0ua]

This thread has me more comfortable with Branson than before. It's nice to see that predictions of Branson's demise have been going on for awhile.

Is there the same amount of demise talk with other (what I consider 2nd tier) brands LS, TYM, Kioti, as there is Branson?

In a word No.

 

[Pierrepont]

North of New York City, the vast majority of New York State is very rural. Like much of the USA, this is territory where Compact Tractors have become common.

With that said, I find it curious that this state has only one stocking dealer of Branson tractors. (There is a second dealer that, as I understand it, will order one out of the catalog if you want one). I assume if THIS market could support additional Branson dealers they would have been established by now.

It sounds like Branson tractors are well engineered and nicely assembled and finished, but without a solid dealer network I don't think they have a future in these parts.

 

[Texasmark]

Well I guess I have to toss my hat into this ring since I just bought another one to supplement my 8 year old.

In all the gobbledegoop in this post I read mostly facts, except the part about Kukje selling out. I know nothing about that. My only irritation with the brand is their management structure and that goes back to my initial involvement in 2007 when I bought my 6530. It seems to me that they are dealer oriented as I would imagine the name brands are. The problem with that philosophy is that the dealers that they setup aren't always
/usually, around here anyway, full service. Maybe that goes along with being small operations. One of the 3 in the immediate area is and has been in business for a long time. The dealership is located in a 'Baby Boomer" retirement, semi rural, somewhat recreational, area.

I'm not in the tractor business so I know nothing about what it takes to maintain and operate a small scale tractor sales/maintenance operation. I agree that dealers come and go. I had 2 in the general area when I bought my first one and then they disappeared and the nearest was at 50 miles but took care of business via credit card and UPS for me. Now on buying my second a couple of weeks ago, there are now 2 dealer's in the general area and more in the second range (distance) tier. Both of which I am aware, may be more, have full service facilities.

The few problems that I have had were easily completed with repair parts shipped to me in a timely manner. Even during the warranty period, I had no problems (with Branson)doing the warranty repair myself and getting in warranty parts replacement. I guess if I didn't take care of things personally it could surely be a purchasing consideration. However, I would have to swap dealer availability for the ability to obtain the product of choice and I'm not going to, not have I do/done that. If I have a catastrophic malfunction which I cannot handle personally, I would have to have the tractor transported to the dealer, but that would be the case if I had bought a popular brand and the distance wouldn't be all that different.

I don't keep track of what other dealer's do other than the large scale operations handling the major colors which are pretty rock solid, course they have a different customer base. I don't know how long Kukje will be around but will bet if they disappear, something will pick up the slack. Happens all the time in other areas, why not in the lighter duty tractor environment.

In short, daily I use my tractors. Daily I get my preference in what I think is important. The dealer network is a distant thought only entering the thought process in the few instances where I need a part for something (seldom), or purchase another tractor, also seldom. So what Branson management does with their business model is really of no interest to me.

 

[DavesTractor]

This thread has me more comfortable with Branson than before. It's nice to see that predictions of Branson's demise have been going on for awhile.

Is there the same amount of demise talk with other (what I consider 2nd tier) brands LS, TYM, Kioti, as there is Branson?

Rumors have swirled around Branson for years. In part because I think they did look for a buyer for a time. So there was/is some merit behind the rumors.

As with a lot of manufacturers, they like building tractors and find the distribution and selling of them to be another challenge. This is not rare. But the last couple of years have been profitable, new models continue to be developed and Branson is significantly investing in their infrastructure. That is promising.

I once heard a tractor executive state "the tractor world is quite incestuous". An odd way to look at it, but no doubt going back decades you can see the buying and selling of brands, mergers, splits, etc. Currently or in the recent past we see the parent company for Kioti selling the same units as Bobcat, we see TYM selling as Mahindra, LS as NH, for a while Branson as McCormick and the list goes on. Then look back over the decades at some of the previous big names. Mergers, splits, name changes, rebrands. Its a tractor thing I think.

One cool thing about Branson is that, like Kubota, they build their own tractors. They are a real-deal manufacturer. And they are good to the dealers.

 

[whizdbiz2]

Just watched the Kukje video on the Branson site. Very interesting that they make a wide variety of powered farm machines from little more than walk behind tillers to large tractors and harvesters. And they were/are making large tractors for JD. The language was a bit funny, obviously being a direct translation from the Korean. I guess it gets their point across however.

 

[k0ua]

Korea??s Dongkuk Steel Mill puts Kukje Machinery up for sale - Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea

Kukje machinery was put up for sale. Of course that doesn't mean that the buyer would not continue.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm always interested to what happens to Branson since I bought my Century tractor in 2002. I'm very pleased with my tractor, but doubt I wold buy another because I lack faith the brand will last. I've had close to a dozen dealers in my area come and go. Branson had the stupid idea of competing with themselves with Century and allowing dealerships just a few miles apart from each other. Seems that anyone from a trailer guy, to the hardware store, to a wrecking yard to the chainsaw shop can have a dealership without a parts department or a place to service or repair them. The one dealer who did service work complained that he was having to do all the warrantee work and not making money selling tractors. He was probably the last to go, but eventually he switched brands to Mahindra and LS. Now the closest dealer to me is about 3 hours away. They have a nice website, so that's where I get most of my parts when can't find something comparable at Napa.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I'm always interested to what happens to Branson since I bought my Century tractor in 2002. I'm very pleased with my tractor, but doubt I wold buy another because I lack faith the brand will last. I've had close to a dozen dealers in my area come and go. Branson had the stupid idea of competing with themselves with Century and allowing dealerships just a few miles apart from each other. Seems that anyone from a trailer guy, to the hardware store, to a wrecking yard to the chainsaw shop can have a dealership without a parts department or a place to service or repair them. The one dealer who did service work complained that he was having to do all the warrantee work and not making money selling tractors. He was probably the last to go, but eventually he switched brands to Mahindra and LS. Now the closest dealer to me is about 3 hours away. They have a nice website, so that's where I get most of my parts when can't find something comparable at Napa.

I think a lot of these startup tractor companies want to have overnight success and don't really understand that's not how it works. I don't think they understand that majority of folks aren't going to buy something from a place that doesn't have the ability to service it and to allow all these fly by night "dealers" to take on your product line with no way of servicing it is just foolish. Not ALL dealers of tractor companies like Branson are like this but many are. I remember when Farmtrac was kinda popular on here, there was a dealer that sold them out of his yard. Now why in the world am I going to spend thousands on a tractor I bought from some guys front yard? Not gonna have much faith in him being around for long and I was right, he wasn't and he was stuck with a bunch of faded tractors rotting away on his lot.

I think Kioti and LS are wise in how they're going about establishing their products and dealer network. They haven't made it around my area yet but if they keep going I'm sure they will before long. Mahindra was bad about letting every Tom, Dick and Harry carry their line but they've scaled back on that and I see more traditional tractor dealers carrying them now.

 

[DavesTractor]

I suspect Dongkuk has for a while wanted to divest itself of the tractor part of the business. Their big deal is steel. But another owner would surely continue with the line and perhaps add some enthusiasm at the upper levels in Korea.