Docwheelhorse 2,660 #1 Posted September 8, 2023 Good Evening All, While I never really cared for Simplicity or Snapper (I did like there older push mowers) it's sad to see the door closing. Much like Toro did to Wheel Horse in 2007---I understand as a business if you not making money then things gotta change. But still sad... No more Bolens, Wheel Horse, Real Craftsmans / Sears and now Simplicity and Snapper among others I'm sure I've forgotten. Go give your WH a hug... Tony 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,170 #2 Posted September 8, 2023 (edited) That’s a shame. I think Simplicity had their 100th anniversary this year or last year too. I just did a quick search for news and press releases from BASCO, Snapper, and Simplicity and didn’t find anything. I suppose there is some honor in letting their dealers know first. nothing lasts forever. Steve Edited September 8, 2023 by wh500special Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,834 #3 Posted September 8, 2023 Awwww snap! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tractorhead 9,064 #4 Posted September 9, 2023 Thinking this is also a result out of the so called “robotmowers industry“ because they‘re grows more and more. Nothing against an electric Mower, because they advertise and offer you ain‘t waste your time while Mowing. The flip side of that coin is people running in a Gym to move weights because of lack of natural movement instead they do their Workout in the own garden. - so far they have one. For heavy work an technical helper is a good thing no doubt at all but some things like raking leafes or other small jobs give me sensfully movement than a Gym.shure it is much easier to do it with a machine but our Bodies be designed to move not to rest only. By asking a Physio how to move, you can prevent lot‘s of problems later with your Body like Backpains and do all the exercices outside in Nature with the positive item your. Invented to reduce the manpower while mowing, they get addicted to have one by advertizing. but there be things they cannot do. i find that a little scarry. All must now be „clean and green“ and goes electric, doesn‘t matter where the Energy comes from - even doesn’t matter the batteries. In South America there be landscapes, they be damaged and poisoned for very long timeline only while Lithium collecting. Here nobody cares. Here our green jokers praises the Lithium batteries and been offered as „ super green and envoiremental saving“ batteries - like praising a Lord. The Water waste and envoiremental damage while lithium collecting will in the industry be still ignored because here is the battery charged with hopefully Solar or Wind energy and offered as „envoiremental green“ They forgot that their „supergreen battery“ is made by destroying landscapes poisoned peoples and water. That tell‘s me a lot about their Mindsets. Actual they wonder where the Water is but in my equation it is not missed - it is just misused and poisoned. The whole planet turns it look over the last million of years that‘s a part of the truth. In the past few years we have more and more dramatic events like Vulcan erruptions and earthquakes than in the last decades. - Island erruption on Vulcan - Italy the erruption of Vesuv, - turkey earthquake in stage 5 and so on - all that in less than a year and not be made of any people. The planet changed its look again - permanently. We have to learn that to survive. All this can be verified. Natural catastrophes will be result of such changings and „not only followed by our footprint“.. The Continental drift runs each year with about 7-9 cm a year what is evident and it still keeps on. for me it is clear, this Planet changes it‘s surface continouesly even when there be a zero emmission planet the next periodes. Along with that also the Sea Streaming will changing and even if it will be just few cm, that changes a lot because our Weather is a result and affected of that Sea Streams. I ain‘t wanna ignore the CO2 affect on our Weather, but there are much more effects they must be included in this equations. I observe that the more they hadle over to AI the more their own intelligence drops...😎 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gasaholic 224 #5 Posted September 9, 2023 I actually pretty much predicted this happening 10 years or so ago - I could see the writing on the wall - OPE used to be a real good business to be in , then manufacturers started going cheap because of all the Gov. regulations increasing costs that they could not reasonably pass on to the consumer - It got to where it cost more to fix the cheap stuff than to toss it and go buy a new one, and then people started finding it was cheaper and easier to hire a commercial business to do their yard work, so they stopped buying the consumer level stuff - Manufacturers stopped making those models, and trying to compete on price Vs. Chinese goods was a losing battle. In about 2018, is when I decided there's just no money in small engines-only any longer, you had to get into the powersports and other diversified businesses to really make any money. I did not want to go invest the half million dollars in dealership upgrades needed to get into more lucrative business model, when I could take that same half million and invest in a select stock portfolio and make a hell of a lot more profit just sitting on my butt and watching the dividends roll in, so I closed up shop, liquidated, and couldn't be happier being out of the business now as I am watching all this stuff go down that does not surprise me in the least. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
76c12091520h 3,615 #6 Posted September 10, 2023 10 hours ago, Gasaholic said: I actually pretty much predicted this happening 10 years or so ago - I could see the writing on the wall - OPE used to be a real good business to be in , then manufacturers started going cheap because of all the Gov. regulations increasing costs that they could not reasonably pass on to the consumer - It got to where it cost more to fix the cheap stuff than to toss it and go buy a new one, and then people started finding it was cheaper and easier to hire a commercial business to do their yard work, so they stopped buying the consumer level stuff - Manufacturers stopped making those models, and trying to compete on price Vs. Chinese goods was a losing battle. In about 2018, is when I decided there's just no money in small engines-only any longer, you had to get into the powersports and other diversified businesses to really make any money. I did not want to go invest the half million dollars in dealership upgrades needed to get into more lucrative business model, when I could take that same half million and invest in a select stock portfolio and make a hell of a lot more profit just sitting on my butt and watching the dividends roll in, so I closed up shop, liquidated, and couldn't be happier being out of the business now as I am watching all this stuff go down that does not surprise me in the least. That makes 2 of us ( that's when / why my father closed the doors on his Toro / Wheelhorse dealership ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites