will be critical. Further, I think having a significant digital presence as a dealer will be non-negotiable for a consumer. Everything from video “how to’s” to maintenance scheduling will be something a consumer will demand from their local dealer. PET: How important is the dealer going to be as cities are moving to mixed use communities and projecting more and more millennials in high rises? NA: This is a hard question to answer, because it varies so wildly from city to city. I would say this: A dealer has to own their market and understand their customer better than anyone. If a dealer is the market expert, any trends away from what we see today will be something they adapt to well in advance. If you are someone who is worried about what these trends mean to your business I would recommend doing a self-assessment and really coming to terms with whether you are a local market expert or not. If not, then start asking those questions today. If you are, you have probably already started to adapt your business model to the change you are likely already seeing.
DO YOU HAVE A STORY IDEA FOR POWER EQUIPMENT TRADE? Is your dealership doing something different than the other guys that sets you up for success? Do you have a technician who really knows his stuff, and designed something awesome that could help other dealers? Dan and Jessica want to know about it! Drop an email to jessica@hattonbrown.com with a few basics and we will be in touch. Don’t have a story but want to provide some feedback on an issue? The complaint department can be reached at dan@hattonbrown.com.
PET: What about the Ariens product offering? NA: We go to where the consumer is, and we do market research relentlessly. We have started seeing some of the movement you describe in certain areas and have developed product more closely suited to it. We have also seen that demand for more traditional products has not wavered (and is growing) in many areas. As a manufacturer we are largely ambivalent to these changes—we do enough research that I am confident we are developing products that consumers are demanding. PET: If you could develop any product for Ariens, what would it be? Think big! Think silly! NA: We have lots of “silly” product ideas in our R&D test center and model shop that may never see the light of day. Or they might be the next big thing. That is part of our process. I believe we have well over 100 R&D projects ongoing today, some small, some big. But unfortunately if I told you what they were, I’d be looking for a new job. I can PET say this though—stay tuned. POWER EQUIPMENT TRADE
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