Corriher Implement closed up?

[ducati996]

TrueBlue, how many other New Holland dealers do you have in your area?

I have been told by managers of two different New Holland dealers that they can not push their tractors in the other dealers area. If someome comes down and buys one they can sell but they can not purposely advertise in the other dealers area. Up here there are territories for New Holland dealers in regards to advertising.

I would say if they have a web site and post a picture of the tractor its now has global reach implications since the web is designed as such. A MFG has no legal leg to stand on to tell someone they cant post info reagrding the brand or models they carry. Promoting a website is a form of advertising, which removes barriers in the geographical ideals you mentioned.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Posting information on their own store site is up to them. The problem was selling tractors via sites like Ebay, intentionally pushing tractors into other dealers areas. If my local dealer puts their tractors on their own web site are you going to know about it? Now if they put their tractors on Ebay, you and anyone else who checks Ebay will know about it.

Locally, my dealers do not push their tractors in the other dealers areas. They do have websites but do you know their web address? No? Exactly. There is a big difference between personal sites and Ebay.

 

[trueblue]

TrueBlue, how many other New Holland dealers do you have in your area?

I have been told by managers of two different New Holland dealers that they can not push their tractors in the other dealers area. If someome comes down and buys one they can sell but they can not purposely advertise in the other dealers area. Up here there are territories for New Holland dealers in regards to advertising.

Sorry Robert, I missed your question earlier. I probably have 5 NH dealerships within an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes of our first location. I'm not sure of the
number of dealerships in total though-quite a few. Luckily now three of those five are ours, but they weren't starting out.

I guess you are technically right in that dealers have an advertising "territory," but only for listing their real prices. You can advertise anywhere if you put list or no pricing. We thought it would really kill us when we got off eBay, but we have such a high search engine ranking that our website usually comes up when someone does a search.

 

[MikePA]

A MFG has no legal leg to stand on to tell someone they cant post info reagrding the brand or models they carry.

The dealer and the MFG sign a contract. If that contract stipulates what kind of information can be included in dealer advertising, that's their 'legal leg to stand on' as confirmed by trueblue. "...dealers have an advertising "territory," but only for listing their real prices. You can advertise anywhere if you put list or no pricing."

 

[ducati996]

The dealer and the MFG sign a contract. If that contract stipulates what kind of information can be included in dealer advertising, that's their 'legal leg to stand on' as confirmed by trueblue. "...dealers have an advertising "territory," but only for listing their real prices. You can advertise anywhere if you put list or no pricing."

As explained by Trueblue, no one broke the terms only that incentives were in jeopordy. probably wasnt a big deal, since Corriher decided to go through with it anyway. As explained we dont know the real reason why they closed - just speculation

 

[Turbys_1700]

This thread just highlights the increasingly difficult task that manufacturers have in protecting sales territories. This old business model of sales territories has certainly been ripped to shreds by the flat world we live in today. What will manufacturers do? I don't think they have a clue. One things for sure. As the technology continues to evolve, sales and distribution channels will continue to evolve and change. You can either adapt or die.

 

[VA_Joe]

It also goes against one of the fundamental principles of capitalism. Competition promotes efficiency which in turn results in higher profits to the seller and/or better value to the consumer (which could be expressed as either lower prices or value added services). Artificial monopolies in the form of exclusive territories provide little/no incentive on the part of the dealer to clean up their act. If the manufacturer they represent has an exclusive, high demand product - then the dealers can ride the gravy train with little market consequence (provided of course they maintain the manufacturers minimum sales/service requirements).

What has been nice about the Internet is that it has forced brick and mortar to focus on their unique advantages over internet (easy returns, opportunities for impulse add-on sales, etc.) to compete against the price focused Internet vendors. In short - the brick and mortar stores that learn to adapt will survive and the ones that don't will perish. This is what capitalism is all about.

My two cents.

Joe

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

# of tractors bought from cut rate dealer - # of those that broke - # you serviced - # of services over book time = very small number

Equales 0 actually. I've never seen of one of their tractors in our area. Around here there are so many good dealers, the standards in lancaster country are so high and the pricing so competitive there is little need to go somewhere else. I understand the business, so I'm filling in the blanks in the conversation. While I don't think their business model is the best for themselves or for the company - I've got nothing against them.

They've been giving the dealers more incentives to pass on to the customer in an attempt to regain marketshare. For this area solid marketshare is 17% or more. Our average has been around 26% but lately it's just under 40%. I don't know how Messick feels, but for us it seems to be working.

We typicaly average higher than that, but we're in a very blue area. Thats with AG equipment anyway, Kubota is king when it comes to compacts.

Messick is right though-the skid steers and track machines are controlled by New Holland Construction and we are New Holland Ag. dealers. The construction side got VERY sensitive about out of state sales and from what I'm told they do pay attention to where the machines go. The thing is, it's still not a violation of the dealer's agreement and since the Ag. side sells 70% of all NH's skid steers and track loaders, I don't think too much has been said.

We're both CE and AG and we still get trouble about it. Over the years "local" for us has grown to about a 200-300 mile radius. Thats happened not through being some cut rate internet selling tractor clearing house but by selling at a very competitive price and doing business the way business should be done. Its amazing how many places have trouble with that.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

This thread just highlights the increasingly difficult task that manufacturers have in protecting sales territories.

This has nothing at all to do with sales territories, as has been said - we don't have them. The issue is a dealerships ability to provide parts and sales support after the sale is completed.

 

[Turbys_1700]

This has nothing at all to do with sales territories, as has been said - we don't have them. The issue is a dealerships ability to provide parts and sales support after the sale is completed.

I'm not going to argue with you Neil...

It is about sales and service...

It's also about protecting that sales territory...

You know it...

I know it...

And everybody on this thread knows it...