The rumour mill was in full flow at Agritechnica, that John Deere had summoned the heads of its dealer network to unveil its new growth strategy.
The dust has not long settled from the previous shake-up which has seen several dealers amalgamate or lose the franchise to others who have expanded, Cornthwaite Group probably being the most recent example of this in the UK.
The first casualty of the new strategy is the five-depot dealer Sharmans, who put out the following statement on their website:
It is with shock and a heavy heart we announce John Deere have made (in our opinion brutal) the decision that Sharmans are not to be part of their future Growth Strategy and have advised that we will not continue to be John Deere dealers effective 31st October 2020.
Despite being number one in our area for the last 25 years and never missing a target, this is now our harsh reality…
We first learnt of John Deere’s latest global Growth Strategy at a meeting in Agritechnica, November 2019. All 350 European dealer groups were informed that in future there would be a reduction of approx. a third to a fifth of current dealer groups, as well as an expectation of meeting the following criteria:
- Double Current Tractor Area (varies by dealer)
- 100m Euros Turnover
- 30 Combines to be sold each year
- 15 Foragers to be sold each year
Although this comes as a shock to our dedicated and long-standing team of staff and our loyal customer base, we are resolute in continuing to provide our first-class support to the farming community and assure you that we will go from strength to strength as a solid, stable, family business.
Together with our wealth of agricultural business experience, committed workforce, premium suppliers and loyal customers, Sharmans will continue to embrace the future.
In the meantime, please be reassured that we will provide our usual service and support to all our customers.
Solid. Stable. Still Sharmans!
No doubt several manufacturers will be currently courting the Sharmans’ management to see if they are a fit. But this is bound to have a ripple effect with other dealers in the area.
The future of others holding the John Deere franchise could also be shaky if the above product targets are the same for all. Some years the Republic of Ireland combine market does not even total 30 units!
