Auto Retail Agenda: 12 July 2021
11 July 2021
- EURO 2020: BOSSES ‘SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE WITH WORKERS’
- AGENCY AGREEMENT CONFERENCE LAUNCHED
- SOARING PROFITS FOR SPECIALIST CARS
- SUZUKI RETAILERS MATCH AMAZON.CO.UK CUSTOMER SERVICE
- FORD GOES GENDER-NEUTRAL
- CHIP SHORTAGE AND YOUR CUSTOMERS: EXPLAINED
- STOCKWATCH – Marshall shares hit all-time high
- COMING UP – CPI, RPI, unemployment
- ‘FREEDOM DAY’ TO SPUR SHARES
- CHANCELLOR VISITS ARNOLD CLARK
Euro 2020: Bosses ‘should be flexible with workers’
Business leaders should be “forgiving if employees are not quite as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they might normally be on a Monday morning,” says IoD policy director Dr Roger Barker, as England takes on Italy in the Euro 2020 finals at Wembley. “For most of us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”
CBI policy director John Foster said that “where possible,” businesses will be looking to show flexibility and a bit of common sense to allow their teams to enjoy the occasion”.
Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady has already called on bosses to consider allowing workers a later start on Monday – possibly allowing them to make up the time at a later date.
BCC co-executive director Hannah Essex added that firms already set up to work flexibly – including increasingly-digitised retailers – “should be able to easily plan for allowing staff short periods of time off. I’m sure most employers will be thinking about allowances to ensure everyone stays onside.”
A petition calling for a one-off holiday on Monday if England beat Italy has already received more than 360,000 signatures, which obliges Parliament to consider it for debate. “I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome,” said the PM’s spokesman. “Clearly we want England to go all the way and win the final, and then we will set out our plans in due course.”
Agency agreement conference launched
Following requests from retailers for more information and guidance on agency agreements, Auto Retail Network is running a conference on the topic on 18 August to investigate the future for franchised retailers.
Speakers and panellists already lined up for the half-day conference at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel in Coventry include:
- Andy Bruce, former CEO of Lookers
- Iain Larkins, Radius Law
- Miles Trower, TLT
- Mike Allen, Zeus Capital
- Simon Oldfield, Pimento
- Jayesh Jagasia, MSXi
More brands and manufacturers are in discussions with their retailers about the shift to agency models, including Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. The conference will delve into the following questions: what does each brand want and how will their plans be achieved, what is agency and what are the differences to today’s retail model, is it a binary choice of retail or agency or are there alternatives, and what impact will the revised block exemption have?
Follow the link to see full details and book your ticket.
Specialist Cars profits soar
BMW & Mini group Specialist Cars reported profit before tax of £1.49m for the year ended December 2020, compared to £512k the previous year. This was despite turnover falling from £98.9m to £88.9m.
Suzuki retailers equal Amazon.co.uk customer service
Suzuki GB has been ranked joint third in the latest Institute of Customer Service satisfaction index – behind only First Direct and John Lewis, and alongside Amazon.co.uk. More than 260 organisations were measured through 45,000 responses, including 3,000 from the automotive sector.
WORLD NEWS
Ford goes gender-neutral
Ford is adopting gender-neutral corporate language and will use the title ‘chair’ instead of ‘chairman’. Bylaws will be amended to adopt the new terms in Ford Motor Company; the company filed an update with the SEC last week. Professional networking site LinkedIn is also allowing people in certain countries the opportunity to add their preferred gender pronouns.
Chip shortage explained
Elon Musk said he has “never seen anything like” the current global semiconductor shortage, and the car industry has reportedly been hit hardest of all industries – worse than consumer electronics – with output to decline 5% this year.
Meanwhile, Pendragon has already warned vehicle supplies will be further restricted later in 2021 and prices are also set to rise: computer manufacturer HP has raised PC prices 8% and printers by more than 20% this year.
It could be more than two years before chip production is able to ramp up.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3hVigbX
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 9 July 2021 and weekly change
Marshall shares hit all-time high
Auto Trader Group 640.6p (-2.2p / -0.3%)
Cambria 77.0p (-1.0p / -1.2%)
Caffyns 450.0p (n/c)
Halfords 378.8p (-56.0p / -13.7%)
Inchcape 806.0p (+17.0p / +2.1%)
Lookers 67.3p (-2.2p / -3.2%)
Marshall Motor Holdings 226.0p (+23.0p / +10.7%)
Motorpoint 362.0p (-3.0p / -0.8%)
Pendragon 19.2p (+0.7p / +3.7%)
Vertu 43.8p (-0.5p / -1.1%)
COMING UP
Tuesday, UK retail sales
Wednesday, CPI, RPI
Thursday, UK unemployment
Thursday, Experian trading update
MONEY MATTERS
‘Freedom Day’ to spur shares
Chancellor visits Arnold Clark
Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week visited four businesses in Wolverhampton which have benefitted from the government’s Plan for Jobs support initiative – including Arnold Clark, which has taken on seven new workers through the Kickstart scheme focused on creating jobs for young people. It gives funding to employers to create jobs for 16–24-year-olds receiving Universal Credit and is part of the government’s £352bn support package for businesses during Covid.
Tags:
Agency Agreements, Amazon, Arnold Clark, Chips, CPI, Euro 2020, Ford, Freedom Day, Marshall, RPI, Specialist Cars, Suzuki, Swansway 
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