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another big box goes green


gwiseman

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Lowe's to sell John Deere lawn tractors Mon Jun 6, 2005 11:20 AM ET ATLANTA, June 6 (Reuters) - Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Cos. on Monday said it would begin selling outdoor power equipment by Deere & Co. (DE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in Spring 2006. The John Deere product lineup will include lawn tractors, said Lowe's, which earlier on Monday confirmed it was expanding into Canada. Industry leader Home Depot began selling John Deere products a few years ago. Also read an article in WSJ that Deere is partnering w/real estate firms to pkg lawn equipment in new house sales deals in different part of the USA. A new home owner will open the garage to a new mower, weedeater, etc. Are they buying the market? Will this market strategy drive our beloved company into similar competitive strategies (or worse - into a dark hole)? Perception among upper middle is there is only one prestigious color it appears......
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IMO, there is enough market share to go around. Not everyone thinks that GREEN is king......
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quote:
Originally posted by MDB [ Not everyone thinks that GREEN is king......
That's right. They all can go green, because I don't plan on buying one.
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There is a warrentee for the Home Depot ONLY John Deere's on the John Deere web site. Perhaps that will include Home Depot and Lowes ONLY. I dunno why a guy would want someone, who sells carpet and plumbing supplies, to sell em a lawn tractor.
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There is a warrentee for the Home Depot ONLY John Deere's on the John Deere web site. Perhaps that will include Home Depot and Lowes ONLY. I dunno why a guy would want someone, who sells carpet and plumbing supplies, to sell em a lawn tractor.
Price would probably be the first thing. Along with Lowes will probably offer free delivery,great selection,etc. Does this mean they won't have Husky's,or MTD/Cub Cadet?
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Lowe's and Home Depot begged Deere to come in and Deere finally gave in. The L and G Series mowers are good mowers for the money from everyone I've talked to. Good quality mowers (not as much as the dealer models LT, LX, GT, GX, and X series), at a more economical price. Deere is a big enough company that selling a few lower end models won't hurt them. However, it sometimes will sway sales from dealers, which can be bad, but in my opinion, other than prices, the dealers will always be the best way to buy anything. Just remember Simplicity sells a ZTR at Sears wearing Craftsman colors. I see this as a way in for Simplicity in to the department/discount stores. It would not surprise me to see Craftsman's higher end mowers starting to resemble Simplicity within the next couple of years.
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There is not a Home Depot ONLY warranty. It's a Home Depot ONLY warranty registration page. The dealers are very happy with the Home Depot arrangement. I took the time months ago to ask the local dealers personally. Prices at the HD are identical to the dealer prices. Quote From the Deere site: If you've found this page, you probably have bought some of our quality John Deere products at The Home Depot. We are quite excited about this partnership and want to do everything we possibly can to make your purchasing experience one that is convenient and agreeable. Below you will find links to where you can register your warranty online. This is for products bought at The Home Depot only! If you purchased your John Deere equipment at a dealership, the dealer probably registered your product for you. If you aren't sure, then you can contact your local dealer.
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quote:
Originally posted by JJ MARSHALL
new home owner dream big house payment and something to work on JJ
Most garages in new houses these days are incomplete anyway.....they just need paint, just a nice weekend project.
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Hi, The Sears ZTs are the old Simplicity ZTS that were discontinued several years ago. They got new controls and are manufactured for Sears. They go with NO support and warranty from Simplicity. If a Simplicity dealer works on one they have to go to the Sears web site for parts and parts info. Simplicity has nothing on them for dealers. Sears handles all of the warranty and buys the units that way. It was a chance for Simpicity to use some old obsolete tooling and get some more dollars from it. Al Eden
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quote:
Originally posted by bigcountry
Just remember Simplicity sells a ZTR at Sears wearing Craftsman colors. I see this as a way in for Simplicity in to the department/discount stores. It would not surprise me to see Craftsman's higher end mowers starting to resemble Simplicity within the next couple of years.
I really doubt that. My Sears store said they sell very few of the Simplicity units, only one or two last year, and that some people don't like the infinite height ajustment crank on the deck. Most sears around St.Louis don't even have a Simplicity unit at their store. Craftsmans (poulan pro) are a better product and a better buy in my opinion than any of that Home Depot deere stuff. You can still get a nice heavy six speed transmission with 5 lug 12 inch rims on the larger craftsmans( which sell around $2000 on sale), thats the same basic transmission they used on the 1966 and newer Suburbans, which can even be competitive pullers. They went to simplicity for the Zero turn because either Poulan didn't make one, or they didn't have one to fit Sears needs.
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It'll be interesting to see what Lowe's does with the Cubs... I'd guess they'll drop them.
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris727
quote:
Originally posted by bigcountry
Just remember Simplicity sells a ZTR at Sears wearing Craftsman colors. I see this as a way in for Simplicity in to the department/discount stores. It would not surprise me to see Craftsman's higher end mowers starting to resemble Simplicity within the next couple of years.
I really doubt that. My Sears store said they sell very few of the Simplicity units, only one or two last year, and that some people don't like the infinite height ajustment crank on the deck. Most sears around St.Louis don't even have a Simplicity unit at their store. Craftsmans (poulan pro) are a better product and a better buy in my opinion than any of that Home Depot deere stuff. You can still get a nice heavy six speed transmission with 5 lug 12 inch rims on the larger craftsmans( which sell around $2000 on sale), thats the same basic transmission they used on the 1966 and newer Suburbans, which can even be competitive pullers. They went to simplicity for the Zero turn because either Poulan didn't make one, or they didn't have one to fit Sears needs.
I see what you're saying but the Craftsman GT's are still belt driven. The transmission isn't really that close to the Suburbans. Most of them were Peerless units. The newer ones tend to be more Dana/Spicer axles. The one I have is a Dana/Spicer. However, the Craftsman/AYP lawn tractors still tend to have lower quality than even the cheapest JD units. The only real advantage to the Craftsman is that they use Briggs engines for the most part, which means cheap parts, as opposed to the Kohler Commands in the JD's. The transmissions are pretty much the same. The JD garden tractors got away from the gear drive in the late 80's because the hydros were refined to the point that big power could still be made from a hydro unit, relegating the gear drives to the lower end/lower power models, where a higher power to ground efficiency is needed. Even the big Cubs such as the 782 and 982 were hydrostatic drive.
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Bigcountry. I have had probably 10 or more Suburbans. Basically tough tractors. The 1966 and newer models have an aluminun 3 forward speed transmission, with reverse and Hi and Lo of each gear. They are also a belt drive transmission. My Dad's 2000 Craftsman garden tractor has nearly the same identical transmission, as does my neighbors which he bought last year. I have looked at some in the store as well and they are the same basic setup. I'm only talking about the gear drive garden tractors. The lawn tractors have a light duty cheapie transmission. The hydro garden tractors also have something lighter. You won't find the beefy one under a Deere at Home Depot. Below is a parts diagram for a 1966 Suburban 12 transmission.

Below is a parts diagram for my Dad's 2000 Craftsman's transmission.

There are were some changes over the years as to the hubs etc. but the case and basic design are the same.
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Perhaps the direction Simplicity should take is a partnership with Sears-Kmart, I've always known Sears for quality tools... unfortunately Sears has always had a pride thing in putting their name on tools and lawn mowers. I'd say Walmart would not be a good partner as I don't see them as quality... just cheap. Heck you can buy a VCR-DVD combo now for $79, cheaper than anywhere I've seen yet! I think Simplicity needs to take the Vanderbilt attitude and give Deer a run for it. They should consider supporting sites like this and keep everyone interested in their products. They should really push to make their high end tractors competitive with the Kubota and then make their low end tractors fit the Sears market, then get the dealers servicing the lower, upper and selling to the middle of the market, the consumers who know the difference. They should prepare for developing Loaders which fit their midmarket machines, because my next bet will be that Deer will recognize that their is a desire and they'll lower that market price... can you image a new loader machine for $2300... Or buy an add on new for $1200-1500.... what a market. Forget the old stuff. Go new! Go safer. go better design.
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
Perhaps the direction Simplicity should take is a partnership with Sears-Kmart, I've always known Sears for quality tools... unfortunately Sears has always had a pride thing in putting their name on tools and lawn mowers. I'd say Walmart would not be a good partner as I don't see them as quality... just cheap. Heck you can buy a VCR-DVD combo now for $79, cheaper than anywhere I've seen yet! I think Simplicity needs to take the Vanderbilt attitude and give Deer a run for it. They should consider supporting sites like this and keep everyone interested in their products. They should really push to make their high end tractors competitive with the Kubota and then make their low end tractors fit the Sears market, then get the dealers servicing the lower, upper and selling to the middle of the market, the consumers who know the difference. They should prepare for developing Loaders which fit their midmarket machines, because my next bet will be that Deer will recognize that their is a desire and they'll lower that market price... can you image a new loader machine for $2300... Or buy an add on new for $1200-1500.... what a market. Forget the old stuff. Go new! Go safer. go better design.
8D8D8D You have just hit something here! Why not as (purist/enthusiast/Simple TrACtor members) contact Briggs/Simplicity management and ask to discuss the above agenda. We could ask exec committee and/or Al and other dealers to sit in (could be internet or conf call). Give them our/your proposal and see where it goes. Hopefully, at least, we coudl get the sponsorship. The Sears/Craftsman idea is a great one! Applause for creative business thinking!!! Let's go for it.
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Sounds good! Also if anyone wants to call or WRITE, just do it. Extra calls or people expressing interest can only help. I talked with the Simplicity technical group once and they were easy to reach. I really think Sears would be the best partner, one other idea would be if Target ever puts in a garden center. I've heard they are giving Walmart a run for their money.
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
Sounds good! Also if anyone wants to call or WRITE, just do it. Extra calls or people expressing interest can only help. I talked with the Simplicity technical group once and they were easy to reach. I really think Sears would be the best partner, one other idea would be if Target ever puts in a garden center. I've heard they are giving Walmart a run for their money.
Sears is wanting to be all to everyone, so quality wanes. Sears/Kmart is a geritol fix. I would expect that a Simplicty product in the sears line would not be allowed to exceed the GT5000 in price or capeabilitys.The GT5000 is top of their line. Also Sears electrical tools are not trustworthy to me. Simplicity should remain as they are and expand to the web and go factory direct. Simplicity should participate in home and garden shows. Where a direct comparison in component levels are in the hands of the potential buyers. I went to a farm supply for a belt on the Simplicity 7016 This farm supply has been in business for 50 years here. He said who makes the Simplicity? This guy has worked for this company for 5 or more years. Then i went to sears and asked them for a belt. SimplicITY???? Simplicity needs to get the product lable out there but to do so requires home and garden shows because the folks that use em go there. Online support for folks who are to far from a store. IMHO. Sears would cheapen the brand and make Simplicity to appear as they are out of the fying pan and into the fire.
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
Forget the old stuff. Go new! Go safer. go better design.
This site is about old stuff, Folks do buy new if they can get it. How is cheaper safer? Who has designed a "better" machine than the Allis Chalmers and Simplicity Machines?
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quote:
Originally posted by Leroy This site is about old stuff, Folks do buy new if they can get it. How is cheaper safer? Who has designed a "better" machine than the Allis Chalmers and Simplicity Machines?
I like the old stuff, specializing in 1957 to 1970 series stuff... Did I say cheaper was safer? I don't agree with that. Leroy, you sound like "you are all about the old stuff... like me". I was blasted a while back saying who'd buy the new Simplicity stuff... I see great value in new, I also like the old. Sears has been good to me. I have a fairly large collection of Craftsmen tools. If Simplicity doesn't do something, they will die away. By then, I'll be on to something else.
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
quote:
Originally posted by Leroy This site is about old stuff, Folks do buy new if they can get it. How is cheaper safer? Who has designed a "better" machine than the Allis Chalmers and Simplicity Machines?
I like the old stuff, specializing in 1957 to 1970 series stuff... Did I say cheaper was safer? I don't agree with that. Leroy, you sound like "you are all about the old stuff... like me". I was blasted a while back saying who'd buy the new Simplicity stuff... I see great value in new, I also like the old. Sears has been good to me. I have a fairly large collection of Craftsmen tools. If Simplicity doesn't do something, they will die away. By then, I'll be on to something else.
Im not about dampening your enthusiazim. I just know that a tractor loader combo at 2,300 bucks is cheap. in that respect cheaper is not better. I agree with you on the compitition with Kubota. Simplicity should duke it out with a pull off or a tractor pull/drag.
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I agree with one point and that is Simplicity needs to get there name out, maybe show an old next to the new and say something like "Your grandfather machine and your's" or something nastolgic(sp?). I have seen a few adds on TV recently.
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Leroy, agreed that amount ($2300) was too low for the two... perhaps $5000-7000 for a new loader/tractor combo verses $11K. I believe you can get a Kwik-way for $2500 new and add it to a GT17 Ariens and various other non-simplicity tractors... I was really aiming my price suggestion at the loader parts/assembly... not adding the value of a good garden tractor. If they can drive a loader to the $5000-7K market, they'd have a jump on JD and others. Otherwise, they really need to go one on one with Kubota and such on their high end. I'd say there are three areas, low (the box store/cheapo gear machines... haven't seen a hydrostatic at HD yet). Then there is the mid-tractors (all seem to be hydrostatic about $5K+). Then there is the high range, diesel 4WD which could almost compete with the BX23 Kubota... just not quite. So I suggested get the low end machines in a store (Sears as an example, but I don't know of any other competitors to Lowes/HD/Tractor Supply (who has Cubs)) and to really push the high end. It's a tough battle right now, but Simplicity looks to be loosing it. I hope not, because I'd like to see them keep supplying parts for our older machines!
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
Leroy, agreed that amount ($2300) was too low for the two... perhaps $5000-7000 for a new loader/tractor combo verses $11K. I believe you can get a Kwik-way for $2500 new and add it to a GT17 Ariens and various other non-simplicity tractors... I was really aiming my price suggestion at the loader parts/assembly... not adding the value of a good garden tractor. If they can drive a loader to the $5000-7K market, they'd have a jump on JD and others. Otherwise, they really need to go one on one with Kubota and such on their high end. I'd say there are three areas, low (the box store/cheapo gear machines... haven't seen a hydrostatic at HD yet). Then there is the mid-tractors (all seem to be hydrostatic about $5K+). Then there is the high range, diesel 4WD which could almost compete with the BX23 Kubota... just not quite. So I suggested get the low end machines in a store (Sears as an example, but I don't know of any other competitors to Lowes/HD/Tractor Supply (who has Cubs)) and to really push the high end. It's a tough battle right now, but Simplicity looks to be loosing it. I hope not, because I'd like to see them keep supplying parts for our older machines!
We are togeather on the supply side. With Briggs being in the driver seat. The unknown to us in what they are going to do with this business. Will determine what folks will have to do with there tractor money in the future. Agco is not going anywhere anytime soon. The ST 25 is a reasonable machine. I have yet to lay hands on one because it is 250 miles from me. However Allis Chalmers is no doubt the major reason why Agco is alive today. They bought Duetz-Allis in 1990 who had bought Allis Chalmers 5 years earlyer. AGCO Corporation is a world leader in manufacturing, marketing, and distributing of agricultural equipment. Sold in more than 140 countries by over 3,900 dealers, AGCO produces and markets well-known brands with over a millennium of combined heritage. The cornerstone of our growth strategy is our global diversity, multiple brands and distribution strength with a keen focus on leading edge technology and superior customer service. --------------------------- Superior Customer service is what some folks demand. Alas..These folks don't do Home and garden shows either. There are still options, If Briggs does something devastating.
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