Dealer changes in the Northeast

Jim.ME · Feb 21, 2020

It appears United Ag & Turf is spreading to the northeast. One of the major JD ag dealers in Maine announced in their newsletter that they have "made the difficult decision to sell their company, along with many other dealers in New England to new owners." They said are "becoming United Ag & Turf NE." A dealer in Vermont had a similar announcement, they were selling to a large Texas based distributor. Guess it will get interesting in the coming months.

MJMJ · Feb 21, 2020

That's become the norm for both New Holland and Deere dealers all over the country. It basically being forced on the smaller dealers, either become a "super dealer" or sell.

Hay hay hay · Feb 21, 2020

The alternative is to watch them slowly shrink until they have no market share and lack the will, capital or energy to be aggressive in the market and able to fix what they sell. Then they close and leave the market void. It is not new....haven't you watched it happen to other Ag brands? How many Mom and Pop groceries have survived?

Tx Jim · Feb 21, 2020

I think JD is going to find out this will not be a "Good Thing" in the long run.

If United Ag & Turf stumps it's financial toe things can come tumbling down.

You probably wouldn't believe the rumors I heard about United Ag & Turfs owners.

jal-SD · Feb 21, 2020

CIH dealers in the upper-midwest & great plains have pretty much gone the same way. JD has already gone that way. The JD dealerships under the same umbrella all offer the same price for equipment. It is a non-negotiable deal from one "independent" dealer to any other under the umbrella. Looks like price fixing from the corporate level to me.

jaoneill · Feb 21, 2020

Our local dealer here in Canton sold to a regional last fall. Sad state of affairs by my way of thinking. The family owned business we've dealt with for almost 50 years is now a crass commercial, small farmer be damned outfit. No more net 30 accounts, parts prices through the roof, centralized micro-management, sad day for us.

cool hand · Feb 21, 2020

This is just the way things are and are going to be. Too many of us are under the delusion that resistance to change can effectively prevent or even reverse the trend. I recall a time when there were five IH dealers within 25 miles of here. Now there is one, 50 miles away. Mom and Pop businesses simply cannot survive very long.

Philip d · Feb 21, 2020

There?s 13 JD dealerships under one umbrella here now. The
last independent was forced to sell after internal
misappropriation of funds over a long period of time in the
finance department. You have to travel over 500 miles from
here to the next umbrella of dealerships. None of them stock
much for parts inventory. They like to charge air freight and if
you don?t like it you better stock your own parts.

Jim.ME · Feb 21, 2020

We've watched it happening around the country; so no its not a surprise, beyond knowing who it will be. On a smaller scale this Maine dealer, and some others, had bought out others in the area, often as owners wanted to retire. Over the years so the number of dealers was dropping anyway. The construction and forestry side has been that way under Nortrax for a number of years. Now it is just a wait and see what total area they end up with. I'm sure they will go for the ag and turf dealers first, then work down through the ones focused on the compact and "turf" side.

Traditional Farmer · Feb 21, 2020

I suspect JD knows a whole lot more about the business end of new tractor sales than YT posters.

tim s · Feb 21, 2020

AgPro has bought about 20 stores in my area,,and no one likes what they offer,, they charge 25% more than the price listed on the Deere site, and they charge $20 per pound shipping,,they cant keep store Managers,, and think it's redicuios to stock parts for 4430's/4440's..they said why would any one use some thing that old...

SVcummins · Feb 21, 2020

One good thing I can buy oem parts and I usually do if they aren?t to far out of line or I can buy used or aftermarket

jacksun65 · Feb 21, 2020

Worst part is John deere bought A&I so where to get aftermarket parts.

johndeerejim · Feb 21, 2020

Noticed the last 10+ years lots of dealers are becoming "umbrella dealers". Ag and even starting to
see it in automotive dealerships too. My old dealer sold to an dealer in 2009 and last year another
Deere dealer did the same. My old dealer opened in 1919, this other one 1920. Personally like the
Mom and Pop dealers however those days are long behind us here now.

gregww · Feb 21, 2020

I owned and operated a business for 15 years. Like a lot of small business, the large share of customers are going to the big time operators. I could see what was coming. Rather than sell to the BTO, I sold to another individual. This was 2001. Now, the place isn't even worth much in real estate value. It was a special building, built for a specific use.

The operators of these small shops need to sell, while they still have something to sell. They may not want too, but they too can see the writing on the wall.

Willow Lane · Feb 21, 2020

Which dealer? only a couple of large JD dealers in Maine

Jim.ME · Feb 21, 2020

Hammond is the one I saw the announcement from. Trottier in Vermont is the VT dealer there was a newspaper article on.

730virgil · Feb 21, 2020

we have 3 John Deere dealers in what I think is reasonable driving distance of me. One has 20 stores I think the other two have less than ten.
the one I go still has the old parts books sometimes lots better than computer

NY 986 · Feb 21, 2020

Not surprised with the auto dealers. Several years back all the major American manufacturers made their dealers build new facilities. I can't imagine that business was ever that good to do it without coercion. At some point the business slumps as it always has been cyclical in nature then the dealer can not meet its obligations. Then corporate comes along with a buyer for the ailing business. The new owners come in and have a facility that has already lost value since the doors opened after the paint dried but the new dealer does not make up the difference. The Rochester area tried one Ford dealer organization back a decade ago but being comprised of former Ford dealers who had no synergy as to one vision. I suspect the next coming effort will come from one entity that most likely has little in the way of local roots but this time will stick because there is no block of one time dealers whose egos need constant massaging.

NY 986 · Feb 21, 2020

The talk has been around for a long time that New York will have one JD dealer network which I would guess to be Land Pro at some point in the near future. As of today
there are three organizations within 50 miles of me. Just a few years ago there were 4 different JD organizations within 100 miles of me. I expect changes to come with
CIH and NH given the slump in dairy farming. Monroe Tractor (CIH) is still the largest ag dealer in NY period and handles industrial as well.

NY 986 · Feb 21, 2020

Similar density here when IH was still by itself. Similar with JD. Back in the 1960's most counties here had at least two JD dealers and two IH dealers.

ss55 · Feb 21, 2020

What are the farm trends in your areas? Manufacturers are adapting to meet what they see as the future of farming. Today farming in the Midwest is dominated by 60, 70 and 80 year old farmers that will soon retire with no family members in a position to buy out the farm or take over the operation. Farm consolidation into corporate owned farms will likely accelerate.

The farming industry could soon be dominated by 10 percent large farms making 90 percent of the production and purchase/leasing almost all of the new farm equipment. The remaining 90 percent of farms being small part-time, hobby or recreational farms that will likely only buy used farm equipment or the smaller new equipment sold by the lawn and garden dealers.

JK-NY · Feb 21, 2020

You are talking about ?L&C? selling out to Caz. I am being a
little careful about the names .Caz. Equipment has been our
closest ag JD dealer for years and has bought out several
other dealerships in the last 20 or so.

paul · Feb 21, 2020

Deere, CNH dealer consolidations into snobby high dollar mega dealerships have sold a lot of Kubota tractors....

Several of the Red dealers have consolidated into still-friendly and caring dealer groups. Titan came, and actually left again, couldn?t compete with a real dealer. I don?t know what JD is thinking with their strategy of creating terrible awful overpriced dealerships. Loyalty only lasts so long, I don?t understand burning it up the way they are.

Paul

Dealer changes in the Northeast

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