Husqvarna to Increase Focus on Premium Product Offerings

Husqvarna Group said it will increase its focus on its future premium product and service offerings under the core brands of Husqvarna and Gardena, and gradually exit from low price point product segments and brands, particularly gas-powered walk-behind lawnmowers and garden tractors.

Michael Roth

Aug. 1, 2018

2 min read

Husqvarna said it will further increase focus and efforts on premium products and service offerings.

The extent of the exits and associated adjustments to the manufacturing footprint and brand portfolio are being reviewed. The changes will be realized in two steps, as customer commitments for the 2019 season will be honored. The second step for 2020 is being reviewed. The net sales impact for 2019 is close to SEK 2 billion, but will have a favorable impact on the Group’s operating margin.

“We will focus our remaining consumer forest and garden operations in North America to areas where we have proven to bring customer value, such as handheld products, premium garden tractors, zero-turn lawnmowers and particularly robotic lawnmowers,” said Kai Wärn, president and CEO of Husqvarna Group. “The reorganization will facilitate reallocation of resources towards these offerings that have greatest potential for growth and profitability. Exiting non-core segments and brands is a decisive step to reduce complexity in the Group which will enable us to put even stronger focus on our high margin business in Husqvarna and Gardena. As a consequence, we will dissolve our Consumer Brands Division into the Husqvarna and Gardena divisions.”

These changes will start immediately and be fully implemented by year end. The Construction division is not affected by the changes.

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.