Sarlo Mowers
Sarlo, the Fort Myers-headquartered lawn mower dealership, opened in 1935 and celebrated its 90th anniversary in November. It did so because while the company passed from generation to generation, the caretakers pivoted as their retail environment changed.
Tony Sarlo, current company president and grandson of founder Anthony Sarlo, presided over one of the company’s biggest changes in 2020. That’s when Sarlo shut down its 37,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, converted it to a warehouse and distribution enter and shifted from manufacturing Sarlo-branded mowers to selling and serving lawnmowers of all the major brands.
“We had a three-year wind-down of manufacturing,” Sarlo says. “It’s a matter of scale. The same regulations that Toro and John Deere had to fulfill, we had to comply with. There just wasn’t scale and volume to support that.”
At its peak, Sarlo distributed its own branded mowers in 36 states. The decision to shift the business model away from selling its own branded mowers didn’t come easy.
“It was very difficult,” Sarlo says. “My entire life, I woke up and went to the manufacturing plant. My role grew as time went on. That was a big part of my life: producing and distributing and selling mowers. We realized after the fact that it was more of a passion than a profit. Even though it was our heritage, its time had come.”
In shifting to sales and service, Sarlo charted a new course for the company’s future. Riding mowers start in the $3,300 to $3,400 range and can go up to $20,000 for a diesel-powered, commercial mower.
“When it comes down to it, we make tall grass short,” Sarlo says. “But there are new and exciting developments that keep it really interesting. The people who are forward-leaning can keep it more competitive.”
Now in its third generation of leadership, the Sarlos are running the company with the future in mind. Arnold Sarlo, who is Tony’s father, was the second generation along with his cousin, also named Arnold Sarlo.
“We had one location with two Arnolds in it,” Tony Sarlo says. “It was Big Arnold and Little Arnold. It had to do with their size. My dad was Little Arnold.”
Tony Sarlo has help from his wife, Eloise, and his brother Joe. A fourth generation is also involved, with Tony’s sons, Mark and Michael Sarlo, and Joe’s son, A.J. Sarlo. Carly Sarlo married Michael and into the company; she’s an employee, too.
Sarlo has about 35 employees and four service centers: downtown Fort Myers at 2315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., plus Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Naples.
“What it’s evolved to, is we have outdoor power equipment stores,” Tony Sarlo says. “We sell the equipment professionals need to do their landscaping jobs. The stores primarily are focused on the professionals — the guys who are out there cutting grass and maintaining properties for a living. We’re supplying them with equipment. We’ve got the best brands on the market as far as the professionals are looking for.”
The future is sure to include autonomous mowers, Tony Sarlo said, because the shops already sell them. They start at $15,000 for a commercial mower.
“The electric powered is getting sophisticated enough to where homeowners can choose battery-powered over a gas-powered engine,” Sarlo says. “And the autonomous mowers are continuing to develop. The mower knows where it is. You can basically flip a switch, and the mower does the mowing, and the crew does the secondary work. The bigger national companies are keen on that, because it’s hard to get dependable labor from time to time.
“Autonomous mowers are not a new idea. It’s becoming more mainstream. It’s becoming bigger and scaling to where they’re commercial.”
Sarlo has proven a family-run business can pivot amid shifting trends and endure from one generation to the next. “We had some scale to the business,” Sarlo says of the old days. “But we did everything. Raw material would come in; we would cut and punch and bend and weld and paint and then box it and stack it up and ship it out, right here in Fort Myers.
“We figured out it was a passion versus most profit.”
The resulting change? “The past 15 years have been the biggest in our history,” he says.
Lauren Taylor, operations manager of Taylor Carpet One, represents the fourth generation preparing to lead the family-owned flooring company. The Southwest Florida business, founded in 1957, is marking decades of growth and community service.
Brian Tietz
Taylor Carpet One
The carpet company began in 1957, making this year its 70th in business, and is now run by John and Jennie Taylor. The third generation is preparing daughter Lauren Taylor, operations manager, to someday take over as the fourth generation.
John Taylor made his first sale when he was 11. Lauren Taylor, 34, started working for the company at an even younger age. “My sister and I have been doing commercials since I was 5 years old,” she says. “So, I have about 30 years into this, starting with when I was on TV.
“TV has been a big part of why we are where we are today.”
Lauren Taylor grew up in and around the store, now located at 12960 Metro Parkway, with other locations in Bonita Springs and Naples. She earned a master’s degree in medical science from the University of South Florida and spent eight years as a medical equipment distributor for Arthrex. But eventually, she felt drawn back to her family roots and their family-owned company.
“I was really just trying to create a name for myself,” Taylor says. “It just so happened that it was the right time for me to return. I’ve been in it for a little over two years now. I think part of it had to do with legacy. I grew up in it. I was able to see both my parents’ love for the industry and continue to grow what they’ve been able to do for the community, as well.
“One of the best rewards is to be able to help families create a home. We get to come in and create the home with new flooring. It’s amazing what just changing the flooring does to an area.”