BRIGGS & STRATTON TO LAUNCH 40 LAWNMOWER MODELS IN 2013
March 13 -- Todd Teske would’ve preferred Briggs & Stratton Corp. launch new products in a steady stream over the past couple years, not the flood it’s planning this year.Nevertheless, the president and CEO is excited about what’s in store for the auwatosa-based maker of small engines and outdoor power equipment, which this year expects to introduce 40 lawnmower models and related products across its dealer network — the most product launches in the past five years combined, according to the company and Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. financial analysts.
Part of the reason for the rush of new products into the dealer channel is Briggs & Stratton had been putting resources into its lawn and garden products for mass retailers, Teske said.
But the company decided a year ago that it would no longer place its walking lawn mowers and riding tractor mowers in national retailers, primarily Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot and Sears.
That meant a loss of about $100 million in annual revenue this fiscal year, but also frees up between $80 million and $100 million in free cash flow from reduced working capital, Baird analysts wrote this week.
“We realized last year that we just weren’t giving enough attention to the dealer channel,” Teske told me this week. “We were focused on a lot of different things. What you’re seeing is now our focus is on a few things and doing those very well, one of those being new and different products to the dealer channel.”
Briggs & Stratton’s three primary dealer brands in the United States are Snapper, Ferris and Simplicity.
Meanwhile, the company is focused on international expansion and is launching plenty of new products in markets like Australia and Brazil as well, Teske told me. “When you look at how our strategy is starting to play out at Briggs, it is one of innovation and new product introductions,” Teske told me.
Innovation is a common theme with Teske, who is also co-chair of the group Innovation in Milwaukee, or MiKE, a Greater Milwaukee Committee initiative working to boost entrepreneurship and make the area a design and technology hub.
Teske told me this flurry of product launches shows his company isn’t just talking about innovation.
“Now what you’re seeing is us talking about it and doing it,” Teske said.
Reference: www.opeesa.com