rumor stage only
Amsnow
We don't know whether or not there will be a Polaris line of lawn & garden power products to include snowblowers and log splitters, but would a blower look like this? Polaris isn't talking but consider these points of interest which lead us to our speculation:
1. Polaris CEO Thomas Tiller's announced game plan is to increase Polaris brand awareness in order to help make this already successful Minnesota-based company a $2 biliion a year firm by 2002.
2. Polaris is already a worldwide purveyor of motorsports toys - snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles and watercraft.
3. Mr. Tiller is on record as favoring marketing partnerships to expand the Polaris brand. Hence a partnership in the marketing of go-karts and mini-bikes. So, wouldn't a partnership in snow removal equipment be a natural step in the growth of Polaris and the Polaris branding initiative?
4. Our doctored photo shows what a nifty two-stage snowblower Polaris could bring to market. This version of a Polaris-branded tracked blower offers a steerable track, which is a feature of MTD Products's E740 snowblower. MTD already private labels its products, so this company fits with the Polaris "branding" initiative.
5. It might also follow that Polaris would offer wheeled versions of dual stage blowers as well as popular single stage units in a 4 to 6 horsepower range. And since MTD offers log splitters and other lawn & garden products, a Polaris label could be a logical extension.
6. As many old timers might recall, Polaris looked at this lawn and garden segment many moons ago. At one time Arctic Cat actually offered such lawn & garden gear in colorful purple.
A tie-in with a manufacturer like MTD, which supplies many private label products, would make a nice partner for the aggressive Polaris team.
We don't know whether Polaris will or will not appear with a snowblower line, but a recent survey of AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER readers indicates that more than 55% of readers who owned a Polaris snowmobile also owned a snowblower. More than half owned a garden tractor and nearly 70% owned a chain saw. So, brand extension in this realm makes good business sense for a firm looking to be a multi-billion dollar company in the next few years.
So, don't be surprised if there is a Polaris snowblower or other lawn & garden products in your future.