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George Russell, founder of Machinery Advisors Consortium and collaborator on the Big Dealer report, points to a movement by Kubota toward Kubota-only branded stores and dealership groups with scale. “Kubota is in with a lot of other brands’ dealers, but (corporate) is really pushing to have Kubota-only stores. What you’re seeing here is a lot of that; the effect of that emphasis is Kubota-only stores.”

Alex Woods, senior vice president, sales operations, supply chain & parts at Kubota, said the rise of Kubota-only dealerships was not a brand purity attempt but rather an organic response to the company’s improved equipment offerings.

“Historically, there’s been a high percentage of our dealers who have had another major-line, but that’s been changing over time,” he says. “I think this has been happening largely organically. Because if we can provide the dealer more products to sell, we get a bigger share of the wallet. We’re able to cover more of the total operating expenses of the dealership, so we’re able to earn that ability.

“We are not about brand purity; we aren’t demanding that of our dealers. We think if we can continue to get a bigger share of the wallet, then brand purity is naturally moving our direction. We hope to keep that moving.”

Woods did say this Kubota-only dealer trend could slow down in the future, as equipment supply chains continue to struggle across the industry.