Briggs problem is they are a component supplier in a very price sensitive market so they are a price taker not a price setter.
The second problem is they are an assembler of engines from largely bought in parts so every part in the engine has a profit margin for the makers & transport added to the price .
This has happened because of successive generations of management who understand money but have no understanding of small engines or running a factory.
Because accountants need some measure of their "success" they invented a thing called a PE ration ( profit to capital ) and to make that higher you will always have to buy in rather than make it yourself.
This goes back way further than 2017 it goes back to the 50's when the first batch of university graduates got offices and became bad managers in place of what they should have been, good advisers.
And it is not unique to Briggs & Stratton where the top 5 levels of management are principally bonus farmers and not company managers , which is obvious by the granting of retention bonuses .
Then there is the idiot idea of "core business" so any part of the business that can be sold off is, which again raises the PE ratio.
The there is the religious zeal for not paying any tax so accountant will happily spend $ 100,000,000 renting land that they could have bought for $ 2,000,000 in order to avoid $ 10,000 in land tax.
Finally there is Chapter 11 itself , a piece of legislation that would appear to have been written to help large companies survive intact through very tough times but now has just become a tool in accountants tool chest to avoid paying tax & repaying debt.
IMHO, the only thing Briggs had going for them was the ability to get parts for engines that are 30+ years old.
Back when the $ A & the $ USA were in parity I bought 5 pallets of Briggs engines ~ 60 engines .
Right now there are 14 of them I can not sell because I have needed to pirate them for parts that Briggs have not been able to supply.
I waited 18 months for stators , 12 months for cam shafts , 8 months for rockers and am still waiting for 3 plastic cooling fans .
So once these engines are gone they will be the last Briggs engine I will ever fit .
I can get Kawasaki engines for a small amount more than the Briggs and take a hair cut on the fitting fees to make the price the same to the customer.
Or fit Loncins that come with a 2 year no question replacement warranty , cost 1/3 of a Briggs engine wholesale , at a really health profit .
As for Covid being a problem, horse feathers.
The Covid lock downs here have been a massive boost and my wholesalers have all put on extra staff & working overtime to try & keep up.
The peopl who are hurting are the contractors because so many people have bought a mower & are cutting their own lawns.
My guess is the new owners will announce the closure of all USA plants in order to allow President Trump to "rescue " them with a big fat chunk of taxpayers money most of which will end up in the pockets of the directors.