Page 9 - OPE March 2020

MARKETPLACE
Chainsaws & Accessories
Quality top of
mind as CORDLESS
continues its charge
We ask if a quality outlook still applies as battery power continues to make inroads at almost every level in the chainsaw category. Andy Kerr reports.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE a couple of months make! Since Christmas, much of the country
has been baked golden brown and, if drought wasn’t enough to subdue outdoor power sales, Covid-19 certainly looks set to cause some local business disruption.
Nevertheless, Jochen Speer, MD at STIHL NZ says he’s very optimistic for 2020 and maintains high hopes for the high-volume chainsaw market.
“2019 was a slightly less than ideal year due to a dry summer and autumn, especially in the upper half of the North Island, and the large bush fires in the Tasman region,” he says, adding a brighter outlook that those weather patterns do not repeat year to year, “so our expectations are more positive for
this year.”
STIHL’s product pipeline is another reason
for optimism, says Jochen: “We’re going
to introduce a significant amount of new product in petrol and battery that will help us gain additional market share, even if weather conditions or elections or business confidence are not necessarily what we would hope for.”
That said, the STIHL MD doesn’t fancy an Indian summer: “If the grass doesn’t grow and the hedges don’t grow, there’s lower customer demand and we see that in areas of the country.
“And I think from last year’s fire in the Tasman region, there’s still some remnant nervousness around power tool use during the very dry period, so we’ve seen a lot of customers not using power tools during
the extreme dry period that we’ve got at the moment.”
James Brooker of Stanley Black & Decker reports sales of outdoor power are holding up well at the moment given the lack of rainfall in much of New Zealand and says plans are afoot to expand SBD’s cordless chainsaw offering in 2020.
Growth in outdoor power equipment, says James, is currently split across commercial and high-end domestic, adding that, in the mid- to higher end of the market, he finds customers “want high performance, trade warranty, service and platform depth” and “are less focused on price than getting the tool they need for the job”.
He suggests these end users are also unwilling to compromise on “good quality
more at www. facebook.com/NZOPEmagazine MARCH 2020 NZ OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT 09