Page 7 - OPE September 2020

Garden Show, Hamilton, NZ.
www.waikatohomeshow.co.nz
2021
Jan 26-29: IPM ESSEN Horticulture Trade Fair, Essen, Germany. www.ipm-essen.de/world-trade-fair/
Feb 21-24: International Hardware Fair, Cologne, Germany. www.eisenwarenmesse.com
Feb 24-28: Auckland Home Show, Auckland, NZ. www.aucklandhomeshow.co.nz
March 13: Young Landscaper of the Year, Landscapes of Distinction Awards, Christchurch, NZ. https://masterlandscapers.org.nz/
May 11-13 National Hardware Show, Las Vegas, USA. www.nationalhardwareshow.com
May 30-1 June: Spoga+gafa, Cologne, Germany. www.spogagafa.com
June 16-19: Fieldays 2021, Hamilton, NZ. www.fieldays.co.nz
Sept 14-16: GLEE & Pawexpo, Birmingham, UK. www.gleebirmingham.com
Oct 20-22: GIE+EXPO & Hardscape North America, Kentucky, USA. http://gie-expo.com/ n
CLIPPINGS
Local and International News
US DIY big barns make big outdoor power changes
NEWS BROKE AT the end of July
that both Home Depot and Lowe’s had being busy “resetting” their outdoor power categories.
Headlines homed in on the fact that
the big selling EGO brand, a Home Depot exclusive, along with its battery-powered mowers, blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, lawn edgers, chainsaws and snow blowers, were being taken out of the big orange sheds.
The Home Depot has been talking about refining and simplifying the primary brands in its OPE offering: “We have been extremely pleased by the customer response to our premiere outdoor power brands, as we improved the shopping experience with a simplified presentation,” says Ted Decker, Executive VPO of Merchandising.
“Similar to prior resets in our power tool business, outdoor power equipment is being reset and positioned by brand, and we will complete this rollout to approximately 1,300 US stores by year’s end.”
The Home Depot’s new, “enhanced assortment” across cordless outdoor power will then comprise Ryobi, Makita, DeWalt and Milwaukee, a key stated factor being that
their various battery platforms “collectively make up the vast majority of batteries already owned by consumers”.
There’s good logic to that, but around
the trade there’s been surprise at the decision, given the broadly circulated but unconfirmed intelligence that EGO was the big orange sheds’ top selling outdoor power brand by value, second only to Ryobi and its consumer-friendly price points.
And then we learned that EGO would be shifting to Lowe’s – the US OPE market leader taking on the “number one brand
in battery-powered outdoor power equipment” – instead!
Pro and DIY level EGO products will be available through Lowes.com and some stores this autumn with the major roll out to all US stores by February 2021.
Lowe’s has also indicated it will begin offering select SKIL battery-powered outdoor power equipment in late 2020.
The SKIL brand by the way comes from the same stable as EGO, with both brands being under the Chervon umbrella.
http://global.chervongroup.com/
more at www. facebook.com/NZOPEmagazine
SEPTEMBER 2020 NZ OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT 07