18 February 2018

 

• EXPANSION PLANNED FOR CITROEN’S CITY RETAILING CONCEPT
• JCT600 SIGNS NEW TWO-YEAR DEAL WITH BCA
• SLUGGISH START FOR RETAIL SALES
• INCHCAPE BUYS SYTNER SITE
• GAMBLING ADDICT SALESMAN CLEANED OUT AT COURT HEARING
• EUROPEAN CAR SALES SURGE AHEAD
• STOCKWATCH – Caffyns moves up
• LAUNCH DIARY – It’s off the blocks for Kia’s ‘athletic’ Ceed
• MONEY MATTERS – Call for State-backed investment bank to boost SME funding
• COMING UP – Wednesday – unemployment and average earnings figures
• OUR BLOG – Time to eliminate pink and blue from the sales patter?

Expansion planned for Citroen’s city retailing concept

Citroen is planning on expanding its recently launched city retailing scheme, with locations being assessed for a UK site.

Citroen’s ceo, Linda Jackson, said: “I would love there to be one in the UK. I was in the UK in January discussing where. It’s not necessarily the ideal place to put it in the middle of London – I want to sell to people that live there, not tourists.”

First revealed by Auto Retail Agenda in June 2017, there are currently La Maison Citroen sites in Belgium, China, Colombia, France, Japan and Morocco, with Jackson saying: “We are planning to have about 30 by the end of 2019/2020 across the world.” There will be three in France’s capital city alone by the time the Paris motor show starts in October this year.

She also said that each site will be more than just a marketing exercise, and the stores will be expected to sell cars. “It shouldn’t just be about presenting a great brand experience it should be about selling vehicles and giving the customers the ability to buy vehicles in a city centre,” she said. The sites will have sales targets like every other retailer.

Ms Jackson did not put a precise time on when the first UK site would launch, saying: “It is not imminent, but of course I feel slightly embarrassed that I have got this great idea but I don’t have one in the UK, so the pressure is on the UK team.”

JCT600 signs new two-year deal with BCA

Retailer JCT 600 has signed a new two-year deal with BCA, to manage more than 24,000 vehicles a year. The arrangement builds on an existing sales programme that sees JCT600 vehicles sold daily at BCA Brighouse and BCA Leeds.

All vehicles are available to BCA Live Online buyers and will be presale prepared with eligible vehicles offered under the BCA Assured scheme.

John Tordoff, ceo at JCT600. said: “BCA continue to provide an innovative and responsive service that makes them an invaluable partner. As a market leader, BCA has the scale to work flexibly with us and react quickly to market conditions.”

JCT600 has dealerships in 50 locations across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.

Sluggish start to year for UK retail sales

Retail sales in January saw only a slight rise after a disappointing December, according to the Office of National Statistics.

UK sales volumes went up by just 0.1% in January from the previous month, with sports equipment and gym clothing being one of the few sectors to show any growth.

The ONS said the longer-term picture showed “a continued slowdown” in the retail sector.

High street stores look to be particularly vulnerable, with chains such as Debenhams cutting jobs and supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons following suit.

“Following a wave of profit warning and job cut announcements, these figures confirm a terrible start to the year for retailers. Indeed, the worst January since 2013,” said Richard Lim, chief executive of research consultancy Retail Economics. He added inflation remained problematic, and because people were spending more on essentials, they had less money left over for discretionary purchases.

It was also noted that shoppers are increasingly switching to online, which longer term, means an uncertain future for shops both in high streets and in retail parks.

http://bbc.in/2FdSv2w

Sytner sells Lexus site to Inchcape

Auto Retail Agenda understands that Inchcape has bought Lexus Leicester from Penske Automotive’s Sytner Group. It is believed the deal will be formally announced on Monday, ahead of Inchcape’s annual results on 27 February.

Gambling addict salesman cleaned out at court hearing

A jailed car salesman from Lichfield, Staffordshire, who cheated people out of £100,000 in bogus investment schemes on traded-in cars, was found to have just £10 left in available assets at a Proceeds of Crime hearing.

The fraud began in January 2015 when Lamb was general manager of used car supermarket, MotorDepot, in Birmingham. He would approach customers and tell them they could make money by investing in traded-in cars that he would re-sell for a higher price. He would repay small proportions, but the remainder would be gambled away. He also threatened to send people who would “break legs” when the victims said they would go to the police. Lamb committed similar scams at a Peugeot dealership in Lichfield and Mercedes in Wolverhampton.

http://bit.ly/2Glpam8

WORLD NEWS

European car sales surge ahead

Most European car manufacturers have reported rising sales figures for January, with registrations totalling some 1.29 million, compared to 1.2 a year earlier, equating to a 6.8% rise, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association

Among the strongest performers cars was VW and its Skoda brand saw an 8.7% rise in sales, with its Koliaq and Karoq models being most popular. Fiat Chrysler also reported it had sold 70% more Jeeps, which are imported into Europe. Sales were fuelled by the improving European economy – sales in Spain were particularly strong, with a rise of 20%, while in Germany they were up 12%. However, in the UK, sales were down 6.3% which was attributed to the Brexit vote.

However, analysts at LMC Automotive said the pace of expansion in Europe is not sustainable, commenting: “Notwithstanding exceptionally strong results in some markets in January, there is still limited scope for growth in Germany, and a relatively weak UK market will constrain regional growth.”

STOCKWATCH

End of week share prices

(As at market close, Friday; prices for previous week in brackets)

BCA Marketplace 165.80p (-5.20p)

Caffyns 395.00p (-10.00p)

Cambria Auto 63.50p (+0.50p)

Inchcape 722.50p (+34.00p)

Lookers 89.90p (+0.50p)

Marshall Motor 151.00p (+1.00p)

Motorpoint Group 216.00p (+2.00p)

Pendragon 25.80p (+5.50p)

Vertu Motors 44.40p (+1.35p)

LAUNCH DIARY

Kia’s new Ceed will be formally revealed at the Geneva motor show next month and be available in Q2. Pricing to follow.

Audi A7 Sportback; the second generation five door coupé is now available to order from £54,940 with deliveries in April.

Citroen’s new Berlingo Multispace will be available in the second half of 2018.

This month sees the launch of the limited-edition DS 3 Black Lézard with a patterned roof inspired by reptile skin, black leather upholstery and with only 100 models available, priced at £19,545.

MONEY MATTERS

Call for State-backed investment bank to boost SME funding

The UK needs a state-backed investment bank to make it easier for smaller businesses to obtain funding, according to a think tank. Civitas said there was “market failure” which has led to a lack of long term investment in SMEs. It added the new lender could be independently financed at no ongoing cost to the taxpayer.

http://dailym.ai/2sDx9Jn

COMING UP

Tuesday – CBI Industrial Trends Surveys

Wednesday – Unemployment Rate and Average Earnings Index

Thursday – GDP Growth Rate

24 April – Auto Retail Network Used Car Conference

OUR BLOG

Time to eliminate pink and blue from the sales patter?

Many young people today say gender matters less. While they may not be buyers today, should this be something retailers take on board and incorporate into their sales strategies?

That could be somewhat difficult for retailers charged with selling the new DS 3 Black Lézard, which comes, on delivery, with a free ‘clutch’ handbag in the same reptile pattern as the roof.

But, away from this, sexism has never been so high profile in the business world and unsurprisingly, car retailers come in for their fair share of stick. For example, there was fury when a Mumsnetter was asked during a visit to a dealership: “When will your husband be coming in to look at the car?”

Not all women want small cars that lack power or a model ideally suited to transporting children. Equally, there are more than a few macho men who love their Minis. It is easy to make assumptions, but it could be also worth exploring how open-minded and non-judgemental sales teams are and if they have preconceptions, to explain why these should be parked at home.

It was interesting to read that an American car salesman called Ali Reda from Les Stanford Chevrolet Cadillac in Dearborn, Michigan, is poised to enter the Guinness Book of Records for selling most cars in the US in one year.

In 2017, he sold a record 1, 582 cars, beating a record from 1973 record held by a famed salesman called Joe Girard back in 1973, when he sold 1, 425 cars.

Ali must sell shedloads of cars to men and women, but he says the secrets to his success are acting as an ‘adviser’ rather than as a salesman, sorry, that should be salesperson. He adds he works in a small community, where everyone knows each other and so if you are doing a good job, word spreads and you’re trusted. He also goes to as many social and charity events as possible and believes “zero pressure” equals more sales. Finally, he sees customers as friends who have a problem – i.e. what car to buy – and it is his task to fix it.

This may sound ridiculously simple and even old fashioned, but it is clearly working – and such tactics also tick the gender-neutral box that seems to fit with the business requirements of tomorrow.

Rachel Gordon

Editor

Auto Retail Agenda

Tags: CDK, Citroen, Inchcape, JCT600, La Maison, Linda Jackson, MotorDepot, Sytner