European Press Conference
GAFA 2006
Cologne
Sunday, 3rd September 2006, 11:00 AM
VIKING well on the way to becoming the leading brand
in the European gardening tools market
Your contacts:
Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Managing Director, VIKING GmbH
Norbert Pick, Managing Director, STIHL main sales office in Germany
Wolfgang Ebbecke, Managing Director, STIHL France
CONTENTS
Texts
VIKING well on the way to becoming the leading brand in Europe Page 2
Facts & figures: VIKING at a glance Page 4
Company history: VIKING in short / contacts Page 5
Speech by Dr. Nikolas Stihl Page 6
Speech by Norbert Pick Page 9
Speech by Wolfgang Ebbecke Page 14
Further information materials
Press CD, September 2006 (texts of this press pack and images)
VIKING innovations brochure 2007
VIKING - 25 Years of Innovation for the Garden
Well on the way to becoming the leading brand in Europe.
Cologne, 3 September 2006. VIKING is consistently gaining market share in the highly contested European garden machinery business. Convincing functionality, superior technical solutions and distinctive ergonomic design fulfil our market promise to millions of satisfied customers day after day. For years, VIKING has pursued the strategy of being a premium brand manufacturer, despite growing competition in the lower price segment. VIKING deliberately distances itself from competitors with cheap products because a favourable price/performance ratio is the decisive factor for discerning customers.
Founded in 1981 and a member of the STIHL Group since 1992, VIKING, with its head office in Langkampfen/Kufstein (Austria), produces lawn mowers, ride-on mowers, garden shredders, grass trimmers, hedge trimmers, hedge cutters, blower units and tillers. Innovation, quality, competence and a lifelong obligation to its customers are the driving forces behind VIKING’s success. VIKING gardening tools are available exclusively from service-oriented dealers. One of the largest partner networks in Europe (approximately 10,000 dealers) ensures that customers receive a competent service right on their doorstep.
What began in 1981 with the first garden shredders has progressively developed into a complete range of ‘professional standard’ appliances for garden work. Today, VIKING enjoys an excellent reputation as an innovative and service-oriented supplier among dealers and customers throughout Europe, as well as in independent product tests in the media.
By adopting a rigorous premium strategy it has been possible to continuously improve the position and image of the brand. Excellent growth potentials are also being opened up by additional efficiency improvements, continuous investment in new products and the wide range of products for dealers in cooperation with the STIHL sales organisation.
Success series
Over the past years, VIKING has comprehensively updated its range of lawn mowers. A whole "series" of innovative lawn mowers are therefore available – from the 4 Series through to the professional 7 and 8 Series.
Meeting the highest demands
At the VIKING plant in Langkampfen, Austria, all departments including research, development, production and product testing are united at one location. The VIKING employees contribute significantly to the company’s success through their high degree of qualification, motivation and commitment. Finally, VIKING customers in particular have very high demands. Their requirements in terms of quality, design, engineering, safety, convenience and service are a major focus at VIKING.
2005 – the most successful year in VIKING's company history
VIKING has been a member of the STIHL Group for more than 10 years. The VIKING garden tool range supplements the product range of the global market leader for motorised saws in an ideal way and the Austrian company, based in Tyrol, profits from the support of the internationally-operating group. VIKING is a fully-owned subsidiary of STIHL International GmbH. Last year, VIKING once again returned positive figures. In 2005, the Langkampfen plant achieved a 12% increase in sales volume to 83 million euros, the best result in the company's history.
Facts & figures: VIKING at a glance
Company history
1981 Foundation of VIKING GmbH
1992 VIKING becomes a member of the STIHL Group
2001 Inauguration of the new Competence Centre in Langkampfen/Kufstein
Management
Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Heinrich Lechner
Product range
Lawn mowers, ride-on mowers, garden shredders, grass trimmers, brush cutters,
hedge trimmers, hedge cutters, blower units and tillers
Business figures for VIKING GmbH, A-6336 Langkampfen
2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005Employees / 133 / 141 / 146 / 152 / 152 / 161
Turnover / in thousand EUR / 70,625 / 76,034 / 78,370 / 82,644 / 73,700 / 83,200
Balance sheet total / in thousand EUR / 33,760 / 45,263 / 40,832 / 44,115 / 46,474 / 50,300
Equity capital / in thousand EUR / 17,042 / 18,924 / 21,958 / 26,609 / 28,924 / 33,000
in % / 50.5 / 41.8 / 53.7 / 60 / 62 / 66
Export share / in % / 98 / 98 / 99 / 99 / 98 / 98
Company history: VIKING in short
VIKING was founded in 1981 in Kufstein and was able to continuously expand the production of its garden shredders under Managing Director Heinrich Lechner. Three years after founding the company (1984), VIKING began the development of their own line of lawn mowers. In 1992, following incorporation into the STIHL Group, the company completely renewed its garden tool range, and Dr. Nikolas Stihl has been Managing Director at VIKING since 1993.
Today, VIKING produces and sells lawn mowers, ride-on mowers, garden shredders, grass trimmers, brush cutters, hedge trimmers, hedge cutters and tillers. With a current export share of approximately 98 percent, the garden tool specialist is represented in some 60 countries worldwide, the most important export markets being France, Germany, Spain/Portugal and Scandinavia.
The consistent development of high-quality products and good marketing techniques in collaboration with the STIHL Group have made VIKING a leading company in the garden tool sector.
Your contact persons for further questions:
VIKING GmbH
Christian Dag
Hans Peter Stihl-Straße 5
A-6336 Langkampfen / Kufstein
Tel. (0043) (0) 5372/6972-267
E-mail:
www.viking-garden.com
Speech by Dr. Nikolas Stihl,
Managing Director of VIKING GmbH
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to warmly welcome you to this VIKING press conference at the international gardening trade fair 2006. Many faces are familiar from our press conference last year at the Jardin & Paysage in Paris, and I am sure that many of you will be comparing your notes from last year with the results which we will be presenting to you today.
Market trend
First off, the most important result: VIKING has made significant progress towards becoming the number one on the European lawn mower market.
The season was generally difficult for the garden tool sector. The winter was long – much too long – although many will have forgotten this after the July heat wave. The spring was correspondingly short. In June, during the World Cup, little was sold apart from soccer fan items. The heat wave during July and early August was likewise damaging to business. As is generally known, there has been talk of a great drought in England and water is also in short supply in Spain and Portugal. The most important supplier of engines for lawn mowers, Briggs & Stratton, has recently announced that 18% fewer engines were delivered in the last fiscal year. In that sector, the autumn business will provide some indication of the main trend for the 2007 season.
In contrast, VIKING has succeeded in increasing its sales figures for lawn mowers in double digits, gaining market share in the process. We are also very satisfied with our growth with regard to our other products. Structural changes on the market continue unabated. On the one hand, the proportion of cheap appliances, which are almost exclusively imported from low-wage countries, is increasing. On the other hand, the market for high-end appliances which correspond to our customers' desire for convenience, safety and service is also growing. The losers are those suppliers which are neither extremely cheap, nor extremely good. From today's perspective, I estimate that the de-facto division of the market into these two segments will be complete in 3 years at the latest.
This trend is being accelerated by the increasingly stringent European requirements with regard to environmental compatibility and the safety of our appliances. European manufacturers spend a great deal of money and development capacity in order to adhere to these regulations only to find that many competitors from the Far East very successfully circumvent these regulations. This is made possible, just like the theft of intellectual property rights, through the understaffing and lax approach of the authorities who are responsible for monitoring the market.
Several times we have also experienced that the Asian branches of the TÜV have awarded the GS seal to appliances which are quite obviously unsafe, while in Germany the requirements for the same seal are often higher than required by the statutory regulations.
Please do not misunderstand me: I am for high standards for the protection of the environment and of our customers. I only advocate that these requirements should be valid for all. European law offers all the possibilities. It is only its implementation which is unfortunately lacking.
VIKING and Europe
VIKING is well on the way to becoming a real European brand. This is evidenced by our export share of 98%. Above all, we have understood that there is no single European market, because each country in Europe has its particularities and its own language. For this reason, we have subsidiaries in all European countries, which our dealers support locally, and which provide us as the European headquarters with an insight in to our customer's wishes. As a result, we offer an exceptionally broad and deep product range which covers customer requirements in Norway just as it covers those in Spain, which serves developed markets such as Germany and France as well as it does Russia. Of course, all the important documents are available in the languages of all the countries in which we are present. Consequently, VIKING is very international, while it acts very locally.
VIKING now serves a network of nearly 10,000 dealers in Europe. It is a well established fact that small and medium-sized companies such as our dealers create considerably more jobs than large companies do. In the STIHL and VIKING network alone, more people find work than with all the European large-volume suppliers put together.
Premium strategy
VIKING's success lies in our premium strategy. We recognised the division of the market into two segments in good time, and have adapted to it. The premium strategy therefore encompasses much more than simply excellent products. This alone does not suffice to compete successfully today.
Good products are the basis which must be complemented by advice and service, by supporting customers from purchase through to disposal and renewed purchase. In order to achieve good results in these three areas, very close co-operation between manufacturing, sales and dealers is required. This is the STIHL Group's great strength and the secret of VIKING's success.
Results
As a result of the premium strategy, we are in a position to report growth and an increasing market share in a very difficult environment. Our goal remains to be the number 1 on the European specialist market. 2006 has brought us one step closer to this goal.
The highly successful new product introductions over the past year have certainly also helped. The 4 Series and 6 Series lawn mowers have been exceptionally well received on the market and have contributed significantly to growth. The market response to the new special mowers and our first excursions into the professional sector have been equally pleasing. We are evidently moving in the right direction.
Innovations
These signals are of great significance to us because we are pursuing our product campaign in a sustained manner. Numerous innovations are again on show at the VIKING booth, in nearly all product segments. I would therefore like to warmly invite you to our booth to take a close look at these innovations.
The new 5 Series lawn mowers and our new 7 Series professional lawn mowers deserve particular mention, but also the new 6 Series models with new engines. Further important products include a new hedge trimmer and a new garden shredder. After all, our shredders have achieved the goal we have set for our lawn mowers: to be number 1 on the European specialist market.
Product range
Together with STIHL, VIKING offers the most comprehensive range of garden tools in the entire sector. The growth of the STIHL Group over the past years shows that we are on the right track.
Outlook
We will therefore pursue this course. You can expect further interesting and important innovations in our product range in the years to come. This month, we will also begin with the expansion of our location at Langkampfen. We are on schedule with this project and have also been successful in securing land for further expansion in future. This also represents a pledge to Europe as a production location, which we will continue to defend with numerous ideas.
Shortly, our next speaker, Mr Pick, Managing Director of the STIHL main sales office in Dieburg, will report in greater detail on the VIKING product campaign and implementation of the VIKING premium strategy in Germany.
First, however, I would like to introduce VIKING's new 5 Series as an example of one of our many innovations in the form of a short video. I hope you enjoy it!
Speech by Norbert Pick
Managing Director of the STIHL main sales office in Dieburg, Germany
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would also like to warmly welcome you to this press conference here at the international gardening trade fair. In particular, I would like to welcome our foreign guests here in Germany in the Rhenish cathedral city of Cologne.
Today, I would like to focus on two very important points for us here in Germany:
· the product campaign launched by VIKING and
· the further development of our VIKING premium strategy.
As you know, we have set ourselves an ambitious goal: To be the number 1 among suppliers of manually-operated lawn mowers in the service-providing specialist market as well as in Germany. All the activities and measures implemented by VIKING are directed at this goal. For this purpose, we rely on linking quality with service. The customer must be convinced that sophisticated appliances as well as comprehensive advice and service bring concrete benefits. These include for instance operating convenience, excellent performance, long service life and customer service.