The Farnsworth Group

A great week at Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) EQUIP EXPO. Interesting to see manufacturers increase their focus on gas power. Some battery focused manufacturers are now offering gas power in their line up this year. We too are noticing a flatting on the adoption curve along with budget considerations cooling batteries share gain of recent years. STIHL USA ECHO Incorporated The Toro Company @CubCadet See The Farnsworth Group findings on gas vs battery OPE: https://lnkd.in/g2Bkdz2k

Great week at Equip Exposition. Thanks to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) for another outstanding show. Several themes as also shared by The Farnsworth Group's Taylor Pence. - ZTRs remain dominant, but there are now increasing battery options. Visually represented with Greenworks and Dixie Chopper side by side at the show. - Robotics are everywhere from a range of brands, many of whom are technology brands first. Segway Navimow released their entry into the now more crowded space. Other tech companies like URSROBOT Inc. and Kress Outdoor Power Equipment are competing with more traditional OPE manufacturers like The Toro Company. - Charging station options are increasing for landscapers. Examples like Chervon North America, Inc / EGO's 70 battery system on a standard outlet was one of many choices displayed. This will be important in the goal to address pro concerns of in-field run time. - Michelin jumped on the scene this year with increased use and visibility of their Tweel. Some Tweels for high load/low speed, others for light load/high speed. Many OPE manufacturers had Tweels on their machines. - Brands with a multi-prong approach by offering both gas and battery to allow customers to choose what's best for them. Husqvarna Group made it clear with their marketing 'The Power of Choice'. ECHO Incorporated and others had a similar offering of both gas and battery. The Farnsworth Group released research on consumer behaviors towards battery and there is evidence in their attitudes and sales that the quick growth from early adopters may be cooling as we reach the mid-point or backend of the adoption curve. Plus, budget considerations of homeowners is also playing a factor in the recent resilience of gas. Download the full report here:  https://lnkd.in/gc-Xd2QE Chuck Bowen, CAE, Daniel Mustico, Brandon M. #OPE #Landscapers #EquipExpo #Louisville

After strong battery sales through the first years of the pandemic, gas power has now seen a jump in purchases. As battery power continues to improve charge time and run time it will be interesting to see when it makes another jump in sales and if pro adoption is the catalyst. https://lnkd.in/g2Bkdz2k

Great week with the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) at their annual Market Statistics Forum. The Farnsworth Group presented new research on Homeowner Attitudes & Behaviors towards Battery vs Gas powered OPE. Some takeaways from the meeting regarding the Outdoor Power Equipment market. - We're seeing a return to pre-pandemic sales levels - ZTR sales that were increasing rapidly YoY may have cooled - Battery growth is starting to level off in some categories with the impact of budgets and as we reach the mid-point of the adoption curve - Gas continues to be perceived as a more powerful source, but the gap is closing - Brands must continue supporting Suppliers' digital efforts - There are continued opportunities for Brands and Suppliers to collaborate, but must keep the customer needs as priority to ensure proper product offering - Optimism for 2025 as their is forecasted, modest growth Good to hear from Kyle Guenther from Lowe's Companies, Inc., Marcel Berben from Briggs & Stratton, Daniel Mustico, Brandon M., Chuck Bowen, CAE and to see so many familiar faces. #OPE #landscpaers #batterypowered #outdoorliving Equip Exposition Taylor Pence

Join The Farnsworth Group and Venveo next week, Oct. 8 at 11am Eastern for a webinar where we'll discuss challenges and opportunities within building products and home improvement as we head into 2025. I'll be joined by Zach Williams and Beth PopNikolov along with a special guest or two. Sign up for the webinar: https://lnkd.in/gM-epUTc Labor, Interest Rates, Availability, Material Costs, Budgets, Housing Supply, Home Improvement Demand are all hot topics critical to understand for Building Product Manufactures and Building Material Suppliers to plan for 2025. We'll briefly touch on these areas and more at a high-level as we prepare for our Building Products Customer Workshop this Dec. 3-4 in Nashville. Register for our annual Workshop at https://lnkd.in/g2m7zeBP where we'll spend two days with a lot of engagement among our colleagues and industry experts to do deep dives into these topics. Sign up for the webinar: https://lnkd.in/gM-epUTc

Great week at the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) Insights Summit. Thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, and of course Pam Heidel, Dave King and Stephen Giles. - The Farnsworth Group shared insights on Contractor behaviors, the impacts of Homeowner budget constraints with indecision, and the challenges ahead for Pros to address labor and financial pressures. Loyalty will be key in this competitive market. - Eric Lynch, M.S., CBE, CSSGB from National Association of Home Builders shared some excellent macro economics leading to modest Single Family housing growth, and an ongoing challenging Multi-Family market. - Todd Tomalak shared some excellent comparisons to conditions in the 80s with today, and recent project deferrals that could result in YoY double digit growth for years ahead. Not to mention the impact a select group of brands might play. - We heard directly from Design/Build Contractors Bruce Case and David Pollard who shared their views on technology and made the plea to manufacturers and suppliers to make things easier. - Sara Gutterman from Green Builder Media, LLC shared insights on early adopters of sustainable and environmental categories that suggest the masses will be taking hold in the years ahead. - Liza Hausman from Houzz shared changes to remodel design trends. Goodbye "farmhouse" hello "dark and moody". - Abbe Will from Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies did a wonderful job as always highlighting demographic characteristics for home improvement spend and opportunities, with an optimistic forecast as we reach mid-2025. - Elizabeth Parks share some knowledge on the smart home/tech space about the increasing complexity pros face as more household increase the number of connected devices within the home. Thanks to everyone that attended and for the invaluable discussions this week! Jennifer Castenson, Kent Panther, Clement Feng, Eric Whetstone, Rachel Maxson Kravitz, Terri Prisco, Nicole Rocheleau, MBA, Melanie Canning, Mark Bromiley, Craig Webb, Eric Voyer, Calvin Friedrich, Chris Igielinski, Rhem Wood #HIRISummit #homeimprovement #HIRI #Insights

The Farnsworth Group's Q3 Contractor Index is available. Here are some takeaways: - Though consumer confidence is still in “uncertain” territory, we may soon be coming out of a holding pattern for many homeowners that want to do a home improvement or remodel project but have yet to act on those desires as the fed rate drop and consumer confidence increases. - The Farnsworth Contractor Index for Q3 suggest pros may also be seeing some increasing optimism with homeowners. - Average revenue per project continues to increase with nearly 75% of pros reporting their project revenues are up compared to the prior 12 months. This may be in part due to labor and material costs but may also start reflecting increasing project size. - As we typically see in Q3, contractors are busier than they were in Q1 and Q2. Keep an eye on labor challenges among Pros as their workload increases not only due to seasonality, but due to the expected demand we anticipate next year. Manufacturers and suppliers will play a pivotal role in helping pros, at partially, solve for ongoing labor constraints. - Lead volumes are at or above levels of Q3 last year. - Quality of leads is at or above levels this time last year. These two factors are also leading to contractor optimism. Collectively, we see Q3 inch slightly above sentiment levels of Q2. Play close attention to the impact that rate drops have on homeowner confidence and affordability. As we move from “uncertain” to “more optimistic”, project demand will increase. Check out the full Q3 Index here: https://lnkd.in/gHmYt4qK #homeimprovement #contractors #consumerconfidence #buildingproducts

Great chat with Duane Johns, builder and remodeler extraordinaire, about dynamics impacting homeowner engagement, and the broader housing and home improvement market. Some topics of our discussion: - Low inventory continues to impact home prices and homeowner equity - Desire to do remodels and home improvement is there, but projects may be delayed due to affordability or waiting for rates to drop - Demand is strong, with the youngest Millennials driving home buying demand - Consumers are price conscious, it's impacting contractors, and homeowners need 'validation' of the spend - Age old challenges of Homeowner:Contractor communication remains. Open communication is key more than ever with today's availability, labor, product challenges - Involve the homeowner in the decisions, leverage their preferences, and their excitement in the project https://lnkd.in/gJxeeW7v #homeimprovement #builder #remodeling #customerservice

We want to extend a warm welcome to Rachel Sedgwick, who is joining our team as Lead Production Designer! We're excited to continue investing in the right people to continue to deliver an even higher quality work on behalf of our clients and the entire building products industry. A constant and core focus of ours is to invest in people and technology to provide our clients with better analysis and improved story telling for unique, actionable insights based on our industry research expertise. Adam Mowrey, Taylor Pence, Amy Theophilus, Grant Gries, Brad Farnsworth, Cy Gourlay, Bonnie Hoy, Kimber Kreilein, Danielle Fauteaux, Carrie Salsman, Dave King, Pam Heidel, Stephen Giles, Jason Anderson, Jeff Shull, Erica Farnsworth, Dawn McElfresh, Robin Graziano Haseler, Grant Farnsworth

Grateful to present industry insights and forecasts to Window World and the hundreds of owners this week at their national family reunion. Thanks to Steven Kamody, Bob Schindler, and the entire Window World team. Key takeaways: - A strong majority of franchise owners feel optimistic about growing the business in 2025. - Home Improvement, and the potential for larger projects, continues to be a strong area of opportunity due to the underlying supply and demand fundamentals. - There are some geopolitical events that are causing, and may continue to cause, consumer confidence to remain uncertain for the rest of 2024. - Unknowns remain about fed rates cuts, but it's believed they will have a positive impact on consumer confidence once they occur. - Pricing will continue to be a part of the discussion, so it's critical to understand the importance of value propositions, defining the customer audience, and what resonates most.