They said they was gonna do it, they did!

[Justsaws]

And they didnt have to sell Poulans to do it!!!!!








...

:hmm3grin2orange:

Did not have to sell actual Poulan's, but they did have to start making saws just like the actual Poulan's.

 

[MuleyJ]

All those crappy cylinders, poor reliability, sorry azz dealers have really hurt Stihl, yup, Stihl quailty has really declined. So much so they may not be in business much longer, oh wait, lookie here,LOLOL

Thankfully Stihl has chosen to gloat with tact. Now if only some of their dealers would follow suit, their reputation would be even more respectable.

 

[jra1100]

.


Read the book and it will be clear how all of this came to pass..

.

Wow that looks like an interesting book. If memory serves there was some guy on here a while back who was going to copy it on AS so that we could all know the story of Stihl. Not sure what his name was, Tom, or Tommy, or Elvis or something like that. Don't know what happened to him, probably died, or married that Demi chick that he was nuts about and was never heard from again. To bad, it was pretty interesting. Anyway I hope he rests in peace.

LOL JR

 

[spacemule]

Two weeks ago I looked at the rack and wanted to add something new, I'm a firm beleiver never let your rack get stale with the same ole

Is Demi ok with that?

 

[belgian]

Whats really interesting is how they are saying they did it. They point out how their products are sold and where they are sold verses the competition.
Seems the dealers are beating the big box and the big box is actually hurting their suppliers more than they are helping them..

Having read the book from Stihl, one must admit that when Stihl decided to take the distributon channel in each country into their own hands, it prooved to be a fantastic move. I particularly liked their patience to gradually implement that strategy in other parts of the world, after their first succesful move in France, without upsetting the existing importers at that time. Very smart and smooth. I can't imagine such patience anymore in todays stock quoted business.

Stihl recognized very early on that a chainsaw is a tool that needs servicing and hence recognized the need for local technical support through trained and skilled dealers, and they have stuck to that strategy ever since.

But they could not have afforded this strategy without excellent quality products, which fuelled their continuous growth, and built the reputation of Stihl during the past decades. For me, it was the main reason for their success, along with their excellent spare parts back up.

Stihl also made a wise move with widening their product range, which made it easier for the dealers to develop a decent income with Stihl products, and use production capacity more efficiently at their plants.

Stihl is a successful family owned company and one should be proud of their history and track record so far. I just hope one day they will get rid of them dang flippy caps...:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[spike60]

I'm by the book for the most part. I've had a few discussions about re ringing engines with my buddy's at Stihl. They sell rings for the job but point out if the cylinder is worn as well new rings aren't going bring back that cylinder. I think if you have a engine with the rings totally worn out that cylinder is worn as well. I know many re ring but at the shop I can't chance charging someone for a re ring job that may run fine for a few months and then fade off due to that worn cylinder. With a new cylinder I don't have to worry about come backs...

Your right as usual Tom, (even though I was afraid you might have hyperventilated from blowing the Stihl horn here LOL.) I have had a lot of fun doing these type of repairs on older saws for myself in a hobby sense, and they all seem fine, but I have so many saws, that I'll never put that much time on one to get an idea of how long they may run. It's a great way for the hobbiest who can do his own work to bring back to life a saw that would otherwise not get fixed. But I just can't warm up to doing these type of repairs out of the store, and having to stand behind them. I've done a couple for guys that I know fairly well though. But they also own several saws, and most important, they understand the difference between this type of repair vs a new OEM P&C.

Headin out for my morning bike ride, but I'll be back with some thoughtful analysis on the main topic here, and I'll of course address Ultra's Poulan comment.

 

[Cantdog]

I'm by the book for the most part. I've had a few discussions about re ringing engines with my buddy's at Stihl. They sell rings for the job but point out if the cylinder is worn as well new rings aren't going bring back that cylinder. I think if you have a engine with the rings totally worn out that cylinder is worn as well. I know many re ring but at the shop I can't chance charging someone for a re ring job that may run fine for a few months and then fade off due to that worn cylinder. With a new cylinder I don't have to worry about come backs...

Congrats to Stihl!! Not much of a Stihl guy simply because I prefer the Swedish saws. No other reason really and for the record I do own a K130R!! But they picked a working marketing program that is self sustaining. Harley Davidson utilized a slightly different but similar strategy to get a leg up on it's competition just after WWII. They saw a need for their products and took hard look at the supply and demand side and built a certain number of bikes for walk-in sales but also never quite filled the ordered sales for any given yr. You know humans "if you can't get one they must be better than all the others" so there was always a back log of orders from one yr to the next. Most chose to wait for "the best one" thus keeping the line moving instead of saturating the market with product. It worked and they survived where others with comparable bikes (like Indian) just faded away.

As far as the rebuilding of chainsaws goes; the industry, no mater which brand, has never embraced the notion of rebuilding. This can be seen in the outlandish sums needed to purchase any OEM P&C kit. This gets slightly more realistic when you get into the very expensive high end models but still....bottom line is if your saw needs a new top end you have pay half to two thirds or more the price of a new comparable saw. This does not reflect the actual cost of said parts just what you as a consumer must pay. This is only another marketing strategy that works.
As Spike said we as saw hobbyists/collectors must at times just rering as OEM and aftermarket pistons are NA. In my experience, if there cyl has no scoring and shows no measurable wear but the rings and piston are worn, a new piston and ring are all that's needed. Nikasil lined cyls are extremly hard, cast rings and aluminum pistons are soft. You should be able to wear out at least two new pistons to each cyl. Of course the ability to accurately measure both the cyl bore and piston are indispensable in making any decision. That said the decision to replace a given P&C with OEM is more likely to be made at a dealer than your neighborhood OPE service shop. It's a win-win for the dealer usually, "I can fix this old thing for $450.00 or I can put you in this this shiny new baby for a mere $650.00" But in all fairness Tom your point is valid too. Form the dealer outlook you can't be half fasting stuff together or your personal/shop rep and the rep of your product will suffer. Again my take is this is industry wide and not the fault of any individual brands or dealers. The companies all want to sell new saws not major saw rebuilding components. Though they will for enough $$$$.95!!

 

[2000ssm6]

Stihl #1? No news there, been that way for over 40 years.

 

[spike60]

Okey-dokey, time for some morning fun.

Poulan: Roll in the green, and other brands, and Husky is the number one manufacturer, though not the number one brand. We could debate it for days, but I think it might be wiser to address the lower end of the market with a brand like Poulan, (and the soon to arrive McCullochs), than to dilute the premium brand. And if we want to add non-saw handheld, why not add in the wheeled good categories, at which point Husky is so far out in front of everyone that there's nothing left to discuss?

But I want to join Stihl's party here, not rain on it, so let me get back to Tom's original topic. It totally makes sense that Stihl would be the number one handheld brand, and I think it's been that way for a while. I've often said here that the only two companies on the lead lap with saws are Husky and Stihl. But Stihl has also been on the lead lap, (along with Red Max and Echo), in trimmers and blowers. Husky has been in the pits with the hood up wondering why the motor won't run. I'm still waiting for them to build a decent trimmer, other than the Red Max sourced units. (I won't get in trouble for this rant, cause I tell them that all the time. LOL) So, there's only ONE company that on that lead lap in both saws, and trimmers/blowers, and that's Stihl, so congrats to them and all of you Stihl guys.

Across the country, you'll see Stihl on landscape trailers more than any other brand. Up here in the Northeast, there may be more Red Max, and other areas may have a player or two, but on a national level, Stihl is consistantly strong. It's not just the 8000 dealers, (too many IMO), but they are very often in the good commercial houses. Again, nationally, Exmark and Scag are on top, with other brands like Bobcat, Ferris, Hustler and such doing well in some markets. Stihl has smartly targeted those dealers, because the reality is that most landscapers are going to buy their handheld products from whatever shop they get their mowers from. Stihl knew what they were doing, and they cultivated that market very well.

Husky's position in that pro market was made worse by their marketing approach from 10 years ago when they tried to strong-arm dealers into stocking their commercial mowers. A good many of those commercial dealers decided they'd rather say goodbye to the handheld than hello to the commercial mowers, and showed Husky the door. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot' eh?

Now, it may seem like I'm dishing out too many compliments to Stihl here, me being a Husky guy and all, but I think they are well deserved. Still, I don't want anyone to think I'm rolling over here, and I feel I should give my Husky brethren something to smile about. So, I'll part with this comment: If the 560XP/562XP comes to market as good as the one I've been playing with, Stihl's gonna have to make a motion to the bullpen, cause this saw is over the fence and outta the ball park. :rockn:

 

[belgian]

Stihl #1? No news there, been that way for over 40 years.

Oppppps, I see smoke signals rising from Husky camp... Bookerdog and Rope must be up to something....

 

[2000ssm6]

Oppppps, I see smoke signals rising from Husky camp... Bookerdog and Rope must be up to something....

They can bark all day long but denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

 

[lcso10]

Where I live, the calendars are banned. The owner of the Stihl distributor doesn't like images of women who look better than her, and all women look better than her.

We have the same problem down here.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Tom the early years!!!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!! "GO STIHL GO" HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

I don't know what's worse, cheerleading threads or the arguing pissing match threads that go on forever.

BLA BLA BLA!!

Is that Joran Van Der Sloot in prison garb?

 

[JustinM]

Interesting.

Maybe I missed it, but I didnt see:

How are they calculating "number 1 sales" - in units moved, or in total $ sold.

If they are basing it on the average Stihl saw selling for say $500, and the average Poulan selling for $150, obviously you could sell a lot more Pull-ons and still fall short of selling the most $$$ of saws.

Either way, dont get me wrong - Stihl is one of the best & Im glad to see them getting a solid market share. I hope they (and Husky, Dolmar, Shindawa etc etc) continue to build good machines and drive the big box products (Homie, Poulan etc) to start producing good saws once again.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Tom, I probably asked you this before...why are the majority of pro landscapers around our area packing Echo OPE?

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

Tom, I probably asked you this before...why are the majority of pro landscapers around our area packing Echo OPE?

Price, plain and simple. A lot of guys know their employees will kill almost anything that you put in their hands in 2-3 seasons use. And HD stocking Echo's, guys will buy 6-10 new Echo trimmers, every season put it on their HD card, and not pay have to pay for it until next year. Or this is what a few local guys have told me. But they still walked out the door with an FS55 or two.

 

[Grande Dog]

Howdy,
"I particularly liked their patience to gradually implement that strategy in other parts of the world, after their first succesful move in France"

I can't imagine where they got that strategy from.

Regards
Gregg

 

[belgian]

Howdy,
"I particularly liked their patience to gradually implement that strategy in other parts of the world, after their first succesful move in France"

I can't imagine where they got that strategy from.

Regards
Gregg

Well, it's described very well in the said book.
The french market became only accessible to Stihl once they teamed up with a french distributor by the name of Yvan Beal. They were very successful with Beal but when Mr Beal departed, relations with the Beal successors slowly degraded and Stihl decided to establish their own distribution center, but all in agreement with the Beal family. As such, Stihl took control over their own distribution and implement their own sales strategy in one of their biggest markets at that time. It proved to be a success.

As I see it, their strategy evolved naturally and the decision was taken from a business risk point of view, as the future of their sole importer in France was becoming uncertain at that point.

But I suppose you suggested something else.... opcorn:

 

[AUSSIE1]

Imagine how many more units Stihl could sell if they improved the antivibes and filtering on some of their models!

 

[Tzed250]

Howdy,
"I particularly liked their patience to gradually implement that strategy in other parts of the world, after their first succesful move in France"

I can't imagine where they got that strategy from.

Regards
Gregg

At least they didn't try to annex the Sudetenland.....


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