Turfco Pushes Internet Selling

In doing so, the company has become one of the first lawn and landscape industry suppliers to pursue "e-commerce" so aggressively and examine the potential for a sales approach that radically differs from the traditional dealer network.

Promotional literature distributed by the company boasts "Parts direct and quick. Overnight parts will become the norm. Loss of income and downtime are a thing of the past."

Contractors can now purchase Turfco products via the company’s web site www.turfco.com, its toll-free 800 number and its fax number. Contractors will be able to access on-line equipment manuals for the purpose of identifying the specific parts they need, and they will be able to charge purchases to a credit card or directly to an account with the company.

"The equipment prices are considerably less than what they used to be," according to a press release from the company.

"This new program was developed after very deliberate and careful market analysis, and I think this is a pretty logical step," explained George Kinkead, president, who declined to share whether or not he thinks the company can grow sales in the year 2000. "The fast pace of product development and improvements makes it imperative that new products be made available to end users as rapidly as possible.

"Our problem isn’t with two-step distribution, but that model just doesn’t work for us. The ‘mainline’ dealer operations focus most of their efforts on their primary product lines, so ‘short line’ and specialty products tend to get lost in the shuffle," Kinkead continued. "The ‘pull side’ – customer demand – has continued to develop very nicely for us. The ‘push side’ – dealer and distributor effort – was becoming a limiting factor. Today’s successful landscape contractor has become more and more sophisticated. But let’s face it – if a dealer salesperson has a chance to sell a $6,000 mower or a $1,000 edger, it just makes sense that he will spend most of his time learning the features and advantages of the mower."

One area some manufacturers and dealers have privately expressed concern about is that selling direct to contractors over the Internet eliminates a dealer and/or distributor’s markup from the retail price and makes a supplier’s prices accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem. As a result, some suppliers are concerned that selling direct will force manufacturers to lower their prices to be competitive – a fear that Kinkead said is a benefit to contractors.

"Now our prices are published and fixed," he observed. "As more manufacturers start selling direct, there will be more pressure on the different groups involved in the traditional distribution process to be bringing real value to the process. Otherwise, they are only serving to drive prices higher, and they are probably hampering the process."

One significant challenge the company will face, and one reason more manufacturers haven’t pursued the idea of selling direct to contractors more aggressively, is the contractor’s need for service support. As a result, Turfco has added a limited two-year warranty to its products and will be accessible via the phone for assistance in cases where equipment is shipped directly to a contractor and some assembly is required. In addition, Turfco continues to sign up servicing dealers.

"When the contractor handles the final assembly, he is going to know more about the machine, such as where the adjustments and settings are," explained Bill Lazar, Turfco quality and service manager.

According to Bob Brophy, Turfco lawn care products sales manager, the key benefit to contractors associated with buying direct from a manufacturer, particularly in this case, is timing.

"For specialized aeration and renovation equipment like we manufacture, there are two relatively short ‘windows of opportunity’ when most of the renovation work gets done – spring and fall," he noted. "The landscape professional needs his equipment up and running every possible hour and day during those busy seasons. By providing direct sales and service, we can shorten downtime and increase contractors’ profits."