Husqvarna future

[sawguy21]

I had an interesting conversation with one of the Husky distributor people yesterday. E-lux is setting Husqvarna up as the parent  company of all the  chainsaw and lawn/garden equipment. They will have their own board of directors and be listed on the stock exchange. This will create the worlds largest manufacturer of these products. The E-lux references will disappear.
E-lux is returning to their core business of so called "white goods" , electrical appliances. They are keeping Frigidaire and McCulloch which in Europe is well known for commercial coolers. The only gas product Mac has there is a small line of lawnmowers.
Apparently, Stihl is breaking into a sweat and is planning to go public for the first time. This could get interesting.

[DanG]

Could be the beginning of the end, for a great line of products.   Public Corporations tend to be more worried about the stock price than the quality of their products.

[Firewood Farm]

Apparently, Stihl is breaking into a sweat and is planning to go public for the first time. This could get interesting.

Who says "Stihl is breaking into a sweat"? For years, people have been insisting that Stihl has to change marketing, distribution, pricing, products, etc. etc. etc. to remain competitive. But for the most part, they did not. And they remain the most recognized name in the industry.

IMO, all of this is simple outsider speculation with about the same predictability of a stock market forecast. I just gives fuel to those who insist on perpetuating the Stihl vs. Husky debate.

Joe

[fishhuntcutwood]

I agree with Dan and Joe.  I'd hate to see Stihl compromise what they are.  And as of yet, they have not.  Alot of folks will complain about Stihl for one reason or another, but hey, it's lonely at the top.

Jeff

[Lobo]

Electrolux has been raping the profits from all their saw and outdoor power equipment divisions for years now and sending the profits in to the parent company's coffers. The quality of Husky and Jonsered may not be what it once was, never mind their other divisions such as Poulan, McCullogh, Partner, Pioneer which are manufacturing big box store equipment selling for low dollars. Going public will give them the chance to reap one last big pay-off and send  it in to Electrolux coffers.
This is regularly seen in big companies which often make acquisitions, once the acquisitions are almost drained, no longer as profitable and its high earnings potential for the future significantly disturb, you turn around and make it public to get every last drop of money out of it. Then they eventually end up like Homelite and McCullogh.
Pitty

[mshillbilly]

wonder whats going to happen to the lower end saws like poulan, will they fall under husky or eletro. If they fall under husky I hope money is put back in to try to bring poulan rep back to what it use to be. Same thing kinda happened to winchester guns, brownings parent company finally bought them now they produse a good product again.

[Lobo]

I seriously doubt it

[fishhuntcutwood]

I seriously doubt it

I'd have to agree with Lobo.  And this is not a slam against Husky or a chime for Stihl, but they need to put money into keeping themselves competitive with Stihl.  I've read and heard alot of negative feedback about Husky's decision to sell themselves at Lowe's.  Good, bad or otherwise, it was seen by alot of folks as a sell out, and a cry for help.  Whether it was or not, or whether it was a good idea, or whatever everyone's opinion is, Stihl still sells the fact that they are still only available through dealers.  And regardless of how everyone feels about that, look at Poulan, Homelite and Mac.  Does the Husky move to sell at Lowe's sound familiar?  I personally think Husky makes a good product, but I don't think Lowe's is helping their credibility.  Bailey's, yes, Lowe's no.

Just my thoughts...let the barrage begin...

Jeff

[sawguy21]

I am not sure it is a bad thing. Husqvarna  will no longer have the E-lux teat for sustenance but will not be subject to a board of directors whose main interest is refrigerators. Certainly there will be some reorganization and some less profitable lines could disappear but overall, the company could become stronger.
I also believe Stihl will be forced to go public to maintain their place in the market. They are now too big to rely on private capital. The downside is that it takes control away from the Stihl family who are directly involved in the industry. This may have been part of Husqvarna's problems with E-lux.
It is going to be a tough battle.

[Chris J]

I hope that this works out for Husky.  If they can start producing more modern, better quality saws (& other power equipment) for a good price, then that will give Stihl some incentive not to get complacent.  The real winners will be the folks using their equipment.  Not that anyone around here cares about quality chainsaws  .

[Firewood Farm]

...If they can start producing more modern, better quality saws (& other power equipment) for a good price, then that will give Stihl some incentive not to get complacent...

Absolutely. I have never owned a Husky, because I have always been happy with Stihl, but I sure want to see Husky succeed so we have two good companies battling to be #1 and constantly forcing innovation and improvement.

Joe

[Sprucegum]

I bought my first "serious" chainsaw today, and its a Husky.

 First reason - I like the dealer

Secondly - I believe having Husky as the new parent of the chainsaw group can mean a better quality and more focused mission statement.

[sawguy21]

I have no problem with the quality of the Husky product built in Sweden and they have some innovative technology coming up.  I know this will start a heated discussion but I would really like to try Stihl's 4-mix engine on a saw. Now I am runnin for a foxhole. INCOMING

[fishhuntcutwood]

No need to run and hide.  The 4 Mix is supposed to be the face of things to come.  Emissions are on the hit list nowadays.

Jeff

[StihlDoc]

No need for a 4-cycle chainsaw from STIHL at this time.

[tony_marks]

huskys smart move would be to maintain quality to keep its excellent name.. the problem is the profit line pencil pushers approach.. since this changes all the time. we can only hope . jmo.

[jjmk98k]

Husky has a great name now, Lets just hope they keep it that way by producing QUALITY items and not always worried about $$$

Making profit is the name of the game, but so is customer loyalty..

[mats]

I have been following the Husky/E-lux story in Swedish business papers. As I have understood it Electrolux outdoor equipments (which Husky is  a part of) is the must profitable  part of the Electrolux company altogether. Unfortenuately, the Electrolux stock price does not reflect this at all. Therefore they are afraid that some big risk capital investor company just buy whole E-lux for a bargain and cut it to pieces and sell the outdoor division and the other parts and earn a *lot* of money selling the hidden golden nuggets of the company piece by piece. There have been a lot of business voices saying that the outdoor division business value must be made visible to the stock holders to raise the price of the Electrolux stock to what it is actually should be (according to them). The stock price of Electrolux took a big step up when it was made public that the outdoor equipment was going to be giving out as dividend to the stock holders.

Mats

[bassfisher]

good case in point could be the famed 'homelite' line of saws, it was brought to its knees by corperate buyouts and raiders to the point where it is now a garbage brand made in mexico and labeled as for 'occasional use only'.  i beleive they started life as independants and then got bought out by textron and trade back and forth.  right now i think they are owned by riobi. or have they been punted yet again?

[Hoop]

The future of Husqvarna depends on the pencil pushers.

I was in a Fleet Farm store last week and saw a Husqvarna lawnmower with a (drum roll please)......Tecumseh engine.

As far as I'm concerned, Husqvarna throw in the towel when they put their name on debris such as Tecumseh.