Glenmac Pakenham Jason McMillan
5
Carene Chong21 Mar 2017
NEWS

Dealer Focus: Glenmac gets the price right

Victorian John Deere dealership Glenmac reckons it's got a good grip on what makes the business tick, and being upfront with prices is just one of many factors

Stepping into the Glenmac dealership in Pakenham, one thing was apparent. All of the items in the premises, both in the yard and inside the building, have been arranged immaculately. Not one tractor was out of place, and even the toy ones in the shop were all sitting in a nice, straight line.

You can imagine my surprise when dealership general manager, Jason McMillan, thought otherwise.

"I am sorry we didn't manage to arrange the tractors in the front yard nicely for your photoshoot today, we'd usually have them nicely arranged," he says.

"We've just sold a few tractors and had to move the machines around a bit, so now the yard looks a bit messy."

While I disagree, it makes sense. With so many farm machinery dealerships vying for the business of a small pool of farmers, every little bit counts to win them over – even if it means arranging the machines impeccably in front of the dealership to attract the attention of passers-by.

Glenmac Pakenham

Of course, being organised is not the only reason Glenmac has flourished as a business. After all, the dealership has expanded to include three branches across Victoria since its establishment in 1976.

Founded by Mike Toth, an ex-Chamberlain service manager, the business originally operated from a service bay at a petrol station in the Melbourne suburb of East Burwood. In that year, Toth sold one tractor and serviced a number of Chamberlain and John Deere backhoe loaders.

The '80s rolled by and Chamberlain was bought out by John Deere, but Glenmac stayed true to its roots and continued servicing and selling Chamberlain and John Deere tractors.

By 1979, the business has expanded to include a facility in Knoxfield to support a growing customer base. In 2001, Glenmac opened up a two-acre showroom in Pakenham, southeast of Melbourne, that focuses on ag equipment, while the Knoxfield base caters to mowing and turfcare customers. In 2013, Glenmac set up a third branch in Lilydale to service the Yarra Valley.

One-stop shop for industry

Over the years, the business grew from mainly servicing machinery to selling a wide range of John Deere tractors, balers, sprayers, mowers and turfcare equipment.

But it didn't stop there. Where there are gaps in the industry John Deere is not servicing, for example slashers and smaller sprayers, Glenmac has filled with a number of quality brands including John Berends, Silvan and Pottinger.

"Our brands are always complementary, never competing," McMillan says.

As a business grows, the only way for it to survive and thrive in a challenging environment is to adapt to ever-changing needs and McMillan says the business has done exactly that.

Glenmac Pakenham inside

"Compact tractors used to be our Achilles heel, but now it's become another string in our bow," he says.

"Mike [Toth] was always focused on real big farm tractors, but we're in a very compact intensive area. Sixty per cent of our sales are compact tractors, so if we haven't had our head around compact tractors, we're losing out."

The price is right

A strategy that Glenmac established from the start, McMillan says, was to be aggressive with pricing.

"You're never going to make big margins on compact tractors; it's very competitive, so we were aggressive with our prices at the start.

"We were the first John Deere dealers to put prices on our tractors and loader packages. Once we establish those price points, we've been able to increase the margins to become more sustainable, more viable and more profitable.

Glenmac Pakenham Jason McMillan

"If you look at where we are now, we're at that happy medium where customers get a good product at a great price, we're getting our market share for John Deere, and we're able to maintain a viable and profitable business that keeps 50 people employed."

That said, high horsepower John Deere tractors and equipment are also flying out the door, as are Glenmac's other product ranges.

"Everything is selling right across the board. The only area we're missing out on is maybe the 80 to 90hp tractor category," McMillan adds.

However, he expects the newly released 5R series tractors to fill that gap.

Customers and employees first

Another aspect that Glenmac takes pride in, is its aftersales service.

"When we sell something, we'll back it up, like Mike has always done from the start," McMillan says.

"When he says he's going to do something, he does it."

"Where the business is different from others is also that we're very quick to respond. We're very focused on our processes and our staff have the best tools at their disposal to get the job done, such as quick reference price sheets."

Glenmac Pakenham yard

While customers are of utmost importance to the company, Glenmac ensures its employees are also prized.

"When our staff is experiencing something on a personal level outside of work, we do whatever we can to help," McMillan adds.

"In here, everyone's input is welcome. We treat our staff like family."

From a humble start-up to a thriving business offering just about any farm equipment under the sun, Glenmac has certainly come a long way but it is not about to stop in its tracks.

"Right now we're in a better position than we were, say, five years ago. There was a certain degree of negativity then, and the drive among employees simply wasn't there," McMillan says.

"But now, there's definite expectations and accountability that wasn't there before.

"The biggest thing now for us is to keep improving. We're not happy to just stay where we are, we need to always be open to change."

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Written byCarene Chong
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