Page 13 - OPE November 2019

MARKETPLACE
Walk-Behind Mowers
Plenty
of confidence
in cordless
Petrol-powered mowers ain’t going anywhere soon but battery mowers are certainly set to play a bigger part in a category split by motor type. Andy Kerr reports.
THE WALK-BEHIND mower segment is “pretty consistent year- in, year-out with some highs and
lows depending on seasonality and weather conditions”.
That’s the broad-brush assessment
of Husqvarna’s Steve Middleton, who acknowledges “it’s still a sector driven by value for money and ease of use”.
It’s also a sector split down the middle according to motor type, and the rate of change in the cordless camp makes you wonder how much longer petrol sales will dominate.
All the major cordless players, including
Husqvarna, have plans to expand their walk- behind ranges next year.
After what he considers “a delayed start to a true spring season”, Steve Middleton says things are really pumping now on
the mowing front and interest in cordless mowers is going from strength to strength.
“Battery mowers are certainly attracting more attention,” he underlines, at the same time signalling that potential changes to local compliance “will definitely play a bigger part in this category in the future.”
In time, he sees an inevitable flow-on from across the Tasman with importers having to meet more stringent local regulations.
“Changes could signal a clean-out of certain machines and a shift in buyer behaviour. We’ve always met overseas criteria even though it hasn’t been applied locally.”
Steve Middleton suggests brand influence drives Husqvarna sales in the walk-behind market with buyers often already having Husqvarna cordless products.
“One battery fits all, so people who have started off with a battery line trimmer are half way there because they have the battery and the charger.
“And they’re accustomed to the ease of use and low noise, so they go straight into battery mowing.”
Appetite for expansion
These sentiments are echoed by Makita Marketing Manager, Jamie Teague, who is very forthcoming about plans to ramp up Makita’s cordless mower range in the wake of strong sales.
“There’s been a massive momentum swing towards cordless and our expanded range will reflect that. We’ll cover a full spectrum of mowing requirements,” he says.
The current three-model range will expand to seven in the first quarter of next year and Makita will start catering for commercial lawn mowing contractors. The revamp will also see the introduction of self- propelled mowers.
“There will be an entry price-point
model for small, apartment-type properties, mid-size models for standard-size sections, and commercial models for commercial lawn mowing contractors or those with larger lawns, including lifestyle block owners.”
Singling out the DLM460/461 model as Makita’s stand-out cordless offering to date, he says: “Its sales have been driven by quality overall design, a run time that allows up
to 800m2 of mowing and its high-powered brushless motor.
“It definitely outperforms a lot of petrol mowers in the market and, while it’s
been sitting at $899, we’ve been running promotions where customers can redeem a cordless blower worth about $399.”
Jamie Teague reckons such bonus
deals offer customers a solid incentive to investigate cordless options and to consider switching to cordless from an older petrol- powered mower.
He also stresses that chasing that “magic run time” is not just about the battery, “which is effectively just the fuel tank”.
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