Warranty Guarantees

3 Months Ended

Feb. 03, 2012

Warranty Guarantees

Warranty Guarantees

Warranty Guarantees

The company’s products are warranted to ensure customer confidence in design, workmanship, and overall quality. Warranty coverage is for specified periods of time and on select products’ hours of usage, and generally covers parts, labor, and other expenses for non-maintenance repairs. Warranty coverage generally does not cover operator abuse or improper use. An authorized company distributor or dealer must perform warranty work. Distributors and dealers submit claims for warranty reimbursement and are credited for the cost of repairs, labor, and other expenses as long as the repairs meet prescribed standards. Warranty expense is accrued at the time of sale based on the estimated number of products under warranty, historical average costs incurred to service warranty claims, the trend in the historical ratio of claims to sales, the historical length of time between the sale and resulting warranty claim, and other minor factors. Special warranty reserves are also accrued for major rework campaigns. The company also sells extended warranty coverage on select products for a prescribed period after the factory warranty period expires.

Warranty provisions, claims, changes in estimates, and additions from acquisitions for the first quarter of each of fiscal 2012 and 2011 were as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	February 3,			January 28,
(Dollars in thousands)	2012			2011
Beginning balance	$	62,730		$	56,934
Warranty provisions	8,196			8,126
Warranty claims	(7,011		)	(6,946		)
Changes in estimates	823			2,898
Additions from acquisitions	25			250
Ending balance	$	64,763		$	61,262