That's all good news to entrepreneurs such as Marc Croft, founder and owner of Croft Power Equipment LLC in Woods Cross, Utah-but not quite as good one might expect.

Sure, sales of walk-behind mowers, riding mowers, lawn tractors and other outdoor power equipment were up this year, and additional gains are forecast for 2005, according to OPEI. However, the greatest beneficiaries of those gains have been big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot, not small businesses like Croft Power Equipment.

For just about anyone involved in the business of selling products and/or services to the general public these days, competition from big-box chains is a brutal fact of life. "It's the 800-pound gorilla sitting smack-dab in the middle of the small business owner's showroom," is how one veteran retail analyst puts it. "You couldn't ignore it even if you wanted to."

Certainly, it's a challenge that Croft faces on a daily basis. "A small business like ours does not have nearly the amount of money the large chains have available to throw at a new concept," he says.

"In order to compete in that environment, we have to be creative enough to come up with ideas that the big-box stores can't duplicate. That's what keeps customers coming back to us."

Big-box stores are tough competitors for smaller businesses in many industries

CHANGE AGENTS

Consolidation among retail dealers leading to a split in the industry, with a few large, well-managed dealerships on one side and many small, one-person operations surviving on low overheads on the other. OPEAA projects a 50 percent reduction in the number of current dealers over the next five years or so.

Consolidation by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) organizations, a trend that to date has manifested itself in OEM companies buying down the distribution channel. "OEM organizations are re-thinking their distribution strategy and the value of aftermarket companies," the OPEAA strategic plan states. "As OEMs buy up family-owned businesses in the industry, they bring a corporate mentality toward money, market share and control, which is changing the face of the industry."

Big-box retailers are continuing to expand, forcing OEMs to build to price points, increasingly offering the high-volume parts to their customers and generally shaping the retail environment.

Throw-away values in society appear to be increasing, leading to a preference for replacement instead of repair. This is being fostered by OEM designs for products that cannot be repaired at costs low enough to make replacement unattractive.

While that seems to paint a pretty dismal picture for small operators in the OPE industry, they do have at least one factor weighing in their favor, and it's a critical one.

"The one big factor that consumers love about independent operators is service after the sale," says a spokeswoman for the Service Dealers Association, a trade organization for companies such as Croft's.

"Anyone who has bought equipment from a large retailer or discount chain knows that most do not service the equipment, even if it is under warranty," she points out.

"Local service dealers, however, not only provide service on the equipment they sell, they also provide the tune-ups and off-season maintenance that add years to the life of outdoor power equipment."

That positioning represents a key competitive advantage for independent OPE dealers. Croft has relied on it since he started his business, and for a number of years it was enough to keep his company afloat.

However, the trends identified in the OPEAA strategic plan are only going to intensify. Indeed, several of them have already become markedly more pronounced, leading Croft to conclude that just sitting on the status quo was no longer a viable formula for success.

"The thing that consumers love about independent operators is service after the sale."

As an early 17th century proverb avers, "If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain." Croft has applied just that concept to his equipment repair business

"As an outdoor power equipment repair business that started out with on-site repairs, we saw an opportunity to provide a mobile service division that would bring our business to our customers rather than wait for them to come to us," Croft says.

"We originally came up with the idea for the mobile service division as a way to bring in additional revenue during the winter, when we have four months of very little business. But we soon realized the opportunities that existed were much broader," he adds.

CUTTING EXPOSURE

Not only has the move broadened Croft Power Equipment's existing and potential customer base, but by expanding into areas outside traditional boundaries of the OPE business model, the company also has lessened its exposure and reduced its vulnerability to some of the negative trends afflicting the independent sector.

Croft's efforts to overcome industry-wide challenges have not come without some obstacles of their own. Chief among them have been getting the word out to customers and potential customers about the new services being offered by the mobile division and trying to manage two separate businesses while keeping them integrated and working together as part of a single company.

Even with his focus on the new aspects of his operation, Croft stresses that he has not lost sight of the fundamentals on which he has built his company.

"In a service-oriented business like ours, the concepts of quality and service are everything," he says. "When customers are treated well, not only will they keep coming back, they'll also recommend us to their family and friends."

Along with keeping an eye on the big picture, Croft has always paid attention to the small details, and he credits that steadfast approach with playing an important part in the company's growth.

"Keeping a clean store, having nice, eye-pleasing displays and, of course, providing quality, friendly services-these are the things that keep your customers coming back and your business growing," he says

As committed as he is to keeping Croft Power Equipment ahead of the industry curve, Croft keeps both feet on the ground and all things in their proper perspective. Without humor, he says, life would be "dull and boring," so he tries to make work a fun environment.

Paying attention to little details plays an important part in a company's growth.

Still, Croft finds a different kind of fulfillment in his business life. "Self-employment is the hardest, most time-consuming, stressful, draining job anyone will ever have," Croft admits. "But at the same time, it is also the most self-rewarding, self-motivating job, because we are responsible for whether or not we succeed."