Business

Ambitious STIHL growth plans despite challenging year

Despite declining business performance, the company confidently looks to the future with determined growth and investment plans, especially in batteries.

Stihl factory

Faced with weaker economic development, inflation, and the increasing cost of energy consumer spending in general has been subdued. In addition, dealers’ high stock levels put further pressure on sales. STIHL generated revenue of €3.84 billion euros (January to August 2023) which is a decline of 1.5% (YOY). The workforce decreased by 0.5% to 20,311 employees worldwide as of August 31, 2023.

Speaking at the International STIHL Media Day on the 13th of September, Michael Traub, the Chairman of the STIHL Executive Board, said: “After several years of strong growth, our markets find themselves in a period of temporary consolidation in 2023. But with over 100 years of history in the industry, STIHL has plenty of experience in responding to fluctuations in operating business. Our family-owned company has a long-term outlook, and we look to the future with confidence. We have ambitious growth plans and continue to invest a great deal in our business, especially in batteries – the technology of the future – and in our global manufacturing and sales net-work.”

The growth plans include further expansion of the founding company in Germany. In addition to a new manufacturing facility for battery-operated tools, the company also plans to build its own EC motor plant for professional battery-operated products in Waiblingen. There are also significant growth plans in the battery segment despite challenging market conditions

“What’s positive is that our battery strategy is paying off and that our customers around the world remain very interested in battery-operated STIHL products. Sales of battery-operated chainsaws and other battery-operated power tools have increased year on year, and we have also achieved growth with our iMOW robotic mower. Some regional markets are also developing positively. Nevertheless, we are still seeing an overall decline in sales worldwide across all drive types”, added Traub.

Traub went on to explain that the company is investing significantly in;

  • the expansion of consumers and professional product ranges
  • Development of high-performance charging solutions for battery-operated products
  • Expansion of the global sales channels with e-commerce solutions and growing their (global) network of specialist dealers
  • Targeting the market potential in emerging markets