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STRATEGIC PLAN
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I. Our Mission, Vision, Purpose; Our Promise to Members:
OPEAA is an organization whose strength in membership can influence the growth and future direction of the industry and enhance members' competitiveness in an open and competitive global marketplace.
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- Promote the sales growth of aftermarket parts through advertising, pursuit of the OEM market share, and by promoting a positive image of aftermarket parts providers.
- Inform members of events, trends and new developments affecting the outdoor power equipment industry.
- Drive membership growth by facilitating networking among current and future member firms.
- Monitor and benchmark the progress and growth within the OPE industry.
- Provide financial stewardship and fiscal responsibility to the membership.
- Provide members with networking opportunities that foster business relationships and partnerships, and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas.
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III. Action Plan and Tasks:
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- Benefit member businesses by providing informative programs at meetings throughout the years. (Education)
- Enhance Association finances by promoting the OPEAA credit card program. (Member Services)
- Update Market survey to monitor industry trends. (Industry Analysis and Trends)
- Expand membership 10% annually. (Membership)
- Market the Association through increased press exposure. (Marketing)
- Investigate and develop new services to add value to our membership, including our Canadian members. (Member Services)
- Counter OEM intimidation. (Marketing)
- Evaluate and update website to provide current and future members with useful information and tools. (Marketing)
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- Dealers of OPE equipment will continue to decline. The survivors will be bigger and better businesses with more experienced management. Perhaps these businesses will have very different skills and needs. OEMs will try to service these big dealers directly, bypassing distributors. As dealers split into the very large and the very small, there will be opportunities for new "Large Dealer" associations and "Buying Groups" of smaller dealers. OEMs will have less control over the large dealers or the parts they buy. Some dealers will become much more demanding of their suppliers. The "Chain Model" with branded dealerships in multiple locations can be expected within five years.
- OEMs will continue to acquire vertically and may increasingly buy each other. This is already happening as OEMs now own a number of formerly independent aftermarket parts companies. They see the aftermarket as a growth opportunity, and so should we. This consolidation is likely to be fastest in the landscape equipment area.
- Big-Box Retailers will continue to expand their number of outlets until they over-saturate the market. They will continue to pressure the whole goods manufacturers on pricing - forcing greater consolidation there. As retailers push for lower price points, they will reinforce the economics of throwaway equipment, rather than repair. We doubt these retailers will do repair themselves, but will farm it out to specialists. All this will drive dealer margins on whole goods lower. The dealers who survive wil be either higher-margin niche players, or service-only operations.
- Landscapers will increasingly want and need higher quality equipment. Currently this is a niche served by dealers, though the big-box retailers are increasingly focusing on this market, in addition to the low-margin consumer products. OEMs are likely to try to add "mid-level" products to this mix, leading to product and parts proliferation. There will be big opportunities for aftermarket parts suppliers to furnish parts to repair shops for brands that shop does not carry. The larger landscapers will attempt to cut out intermediaries and the OEMs will cooperate happily.
- Government Regulations will continue to cause challenges for the industry. We believe the precedent set in California (parts that meet OEM Specifications do not need independent testing) will hold, which will open the market for our parts in big ways. Overall, this will be very positive for the industry and aftermarket suppliers should be firmly behind this initiative. It will lead to faster development of alternative energy sources and improved technology - all of which will still require parts. Some of our parts will become obsolete, but others will replace them.
- Global Marketplace pressures will continue to challenge the OPE industry in the future. Foreign exchange rates will continue to fluctuate making it harder to export and import goods at predictable and profitable margins. Foreign manufacturers working to sell direct provide challenges by offering goods at continually shorter margins, possibly sacrificing quality and damaging the reputation of non-OEM products. We must insert ourselves in the distribution chain as a checks and balance to maintain our heritage of quality products.
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The Outdoor Power Equipment Aftermarket Association
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