KPM Blog

Rick Favata

Currently Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Rick Favata possesses over 45 years of experience in the Outdoor Power Equipment industry. After working part-time at a large, local Outdoor Power Equipment store during his high school and college years, Rick was given total control of the store and ran a successful retail operation for seven years. Then, Rick accepted a Territory Manager’s sales position at KPM Distributors. Due to his strong work ethic, excellent product knowledge and dealer empathy, he achieved outstanding sales growth over a six-year period and was promoted to KPM’s Field Sales manager in 1987 and then to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 1992. In 2009, Rick was given the added responsibility of overseeing KPM’s Customer Service Department due to his understanding of the service required by our customers. Rick’s 12 years’ experience in retail coupled with 33+ years in sales and distribution have given him a thorough understanding of the dynamics of our market and the Outdoor Power Equipment industry. Rick graduated from Montclair University with a degree in Business and Accounting.
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Recent Posts

2015 In Review: The Outdoor Power Equipment Industry

Posted by Rick Favata on December 31, 2015 at 1:31 PM

2015 was somewhat of an unusual year for the outdoor power equipment industry in the Northeast.

Sales and service of snow and ice handling equipment started out extremely strong due to the frequent and large amount of snow and ice we received throughout our region from mid-January into early March.  Manufacturers, distributors and dealers who offered snow blowers, snow plows, and spreaders/sanders experienced record-breaking sales in 2015. 

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Topics: outdoor power equipment, fall, winter, spring, summer

Small Business Saturday Can Benefit OPE Dealers

Posted by Rick Favata on November 23, 2015 at 4:43 PM

This year, Small Business Saturday is on November 28. It’s a day that encourages consumers to shop small and local. Since American Express started the initiative in 2010, eighty-eight million people have shown up to “shop small.”

In the outdoor power equipment industry, shopping small means to forgo the big box stores and take your business to the locally owned outdoor power equipment dealership in your area. In addition to supporting the community where you live, shopping local has other benefits.

Local outdoor power equipment dealers provide knowledge and services not found in big box retailers. For landscape contractors looking to make a significant investment in their next piece of equipment, that’s especially important.

So, why shop local for your outdoor power equipment?

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Topics: business, ope, small business

When is the right time to take on a new product line?

Posted by Rick Favata on August 24, 2015 at 5:55 PM

Want to change or expand the product mix at your dealership but don’t know when to start the transition?  The best time to take on a new lawnmower line tends to be sometime between late summer and late fall (September – December).

On the flip side, the best time to take on a new winter line, such as plows and/or sanders, is sometime between April and July.

This timeframe gives the owner, employees, and managers an opportunity to learn and get acclimated with the new brand four to seven months before pre-season selling starts.

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Topics: supplier, what do my customers want, how to decide, product lines

Protect your profit margins

Posted by Rick Favata on July 17, 2015 at 12:20 PM

David Dollard recently wrote about a few great tips to help dealers increase their profitability in his blog post.  Here are a few suggestions on how to protect and possibly increase your profit margins.

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Topics: dealer, pricing strategy, preferred customer, monthly payments, profit

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