Stihl refuses big-box stores and sells only through service dealers

Andreas Stihl built the first electric chainsaw in 1926 around the idea that 'the saw must go to the tree'. Today the group employs 20,000+ people, holds about 2,800 patents and turned over about €5.5bn in 2025.

Its Mittelstand method: no big-box chains. Machines reach customers only through specialist dealers — 50,000+ in over 160 countries — who are trained to sell and repair, keeping the product working for decades.

The US operation, the group's largest plant, sources 61% of materials locally and generates about €2bn of sales; consumers pay more than for do-it-yourself-store models but get advice and service, and Stihl has been the world's best-selling chainsaw since 1971.

Sell where service can follow

Dealers' service income ties them to the brand for decades.

Exclusivity protects price and margins from big-box discounting.

In-house production and development keep quality and patents in one hand.

The service promise justifies a premium price to professionals.

Premium goods rot on mass-retail shelves where nobody can serve them: constrain distribution to channels that can deliver the experience, and let margin defend the network.

Stihl is shifting to battery power — targeting 80% of sales by 2035 — while keeping the dealer network, and investing in the US (Virginia Beach) as its main growth engine.