Page 4 - OPE July 2019

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Change at the top for STIHL in New Zealand
THE END OF March saw Jochen Speer take over from Jim Bibby as Managing Director of STIHL’s
New Zealand operation.
After 20 years leading the organisation,
Jim will continue in a support role as Chairman and Director, while Jochen, himself with 15 years at STIHL here already under his belt, takes the helm in terms of driving and direction.
We caught up with the outgoing MD to look back a little and get his take on some of the key changes he’s seen in the Kiwi outdoor power sector and of course the STIHL network.
Prior to STIHL, Jim managed strategic planning at the TAB and then at Steelfort he accumulated valuable experience around marketing, manufacturing and importing outdoor power products.
What Jim learned at each of these companies would inform his next two decades leading a team that would not only transform the way STIHL went to market in New Zealand but also by extension transformed the market itself.
From the TAB, Jim’s key learning was that a successful organisation needs structure: “If you don’t have structure
in the business, you don’t have structure in your reselling channel and you don’t have a clear framework for people to work within.
“And then you can develop people and talk about the skills required and then you can make big statements about vision,” he says, quickly underlining the point thus: “What the hell is the point of having a vision if it’s built on sand?
“There has to be a structure and a discipline and, if you agree and you sign up, then you follow the plan...”
But, 20 years ago, how STIHL operated and the market it operated in, were quite different to how the highly recognised brand and associated network we know operates today.
Back then, STIHL products were sold by a disparate band of 120-odd servicing dealers, usually family-based, selling outdoor power equipment to generally professional end users.
Trouble was, recalls Jim Bibby, customer loyalty was to the brand and the product, rather than where they’d bought it.
Plus, the advent of more consumer- friendly outdoor power products meant STIHL had to address domestic users’ needs
as well as the professionals’ and, in the view of STIHL and of Jim Bibby and his team, that required a major change in how the company went about its business here.
“The model was broken,” says Jim today of the outdoor power channel back then. “No-one can tell me it wasn’t broken.”
Today, the New Zealand STIHL Shop network is 70-strong and works under a highly successful licence model, there’s a unified, nationally recognised brand and a firm structure addressing the look of the stores, technology and systems to support how they operate and how they market themselves.
Not all of STIHL’s dealerships wanted
to follow this new direction but, says Jim without a hint of “told you so”: “Today, the people that took up the opportunity are significantly more successful they otherwise would be.”
He’s equally firm that, despite the rise and rise of the DIY big barns in outdoor power, the servicing dealer channel is stronger than ever.
Some of this is thanks to a growing band of entrepreneurial owner-operators taking up or buying into the STIHL Shop network.
Says Jim: “You need people that have an affinity for product but the number one skill set has got to be around people and having an entrepreneurial spirit, being prepared to take a risk.
“You know you’re not going to be successful if you just wait and see who comes through the door.”
Beyond the network, the branding and the operational aspects, the last 20 years of Jim Bibby’s career has really been about working with people.
“STIHL’s success in this market can only come–asithasinthepastandasitwill
in the future – through our resellers being successful.
“Fundamentally, our success comes through their success. And if they’re not attuned to what our customers or potential customers want and they’re not the preferred choice we won’t be successful – it’s really that simple.”
“People” would also be Jim’s greatest satisfaction, including the fact that the New Zealand operation can now fill positions
at a senior level from within. The new MD, Jochen Speer, is one example of this.
Says Jim Bibby: “We have a highly motivated team that want to do the best for our reselling customers and who really
New STIHL MD, Jochen Speer, congratulates outgoing MD Jim Bibby on his not-quite-retirement.
04 NZOUTDOORPOWEREQUIPMENT JULY2019
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get it that our success comes through their success.
“We have some outstanding people and outstanding performers and to see them prosper and to see them succeed the way they have in a really competitive market is hugely satisfying.”
All of which makes a great segue to new MD, Jochen Speer, who came to STIHL in New Zealand 15 years ago as IT Manager.
Fully aware and happy that he has “big shoes to fill”, Jochen says that although he is “going to be doing things his way”, he also readily acknowledges the outgoing MD as a key mentor.
“I have learned a lot of lessons from Jim over the last 15 years, lessons that I intend to heed, and I will make the most out of what I have been taught by Jim during his time at the helm.”
Looking ahead, the new MD says: “One of our biggest challenges will be to accelerate
our growth in cordless products and expand the cordless product range alongside our continued drive to also improve petrol products.
“Our efforts in R&D have not slowed down in developing superior petrol as well as cordless products ... and then there’s the introduction of the iMOW robotic mower, which is imminent!
“In terms of our distribution system
we will continue to grow and support our STIHL Shop network as the only specialist outdoor power equipment network in the country and as a premium outlet for great service, premium customer experience and great product as a real antidote to the DIY store networks in New Zealand.”
Sounds like the opposition is going to have just as hard a time over the next wee while as they have during the last two decades of STIHL in New Zealand...
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