How long do you think they can survive making residential equipment only? They're not exactly Honda that also happen to make pretty popular cars, motorcycles, atv's, generators, marine outboard engines and such. No way I would consider purchasing Snapper products today without knowing I would be able to get parts for it in the future.
Take a walk through the neighborhood and see how many people own a Snapper mower. Where I live it's mostly Craftsman or Honda for folks that still run a gas walk behind.