May 2021

MAY 2021 AFTERMARKET 15 dedication we can put in supporting those businesses, then it could be a real win.” Established Garages out there at the moment are going to be looking to try and maximize potential revenue streams. We asked how Eurorepar is looking to help garages in its network to develop: “That is my focus. We are not looking to be dictatorial; we want to work with our partners. The reason we want to work that way, and be strong in what we say, is that we recognise these independent garages are great businesses. They may have been established as a one-man band or as a partnership with friends, or even as family businesses. They may then have grown into small groups, working in their communities. What I want to do is to help those businesses take the next step. “That could be establishing themselves in the local marketplace, or it could be that they want to take on the unit next door, but they don’t know how to do that.” Nick is also keen to help garages recognise the skills held within each business that may not be recognised: “The key person in an independent garage may be the person who answers the phone, who greets the customer, or it may be the one who fixes the car, or the one who gets payment from the customer. It’s actually all of them, and we can help them establish even better relationships with their customers. The independent model is an effective and long established one, and we see our role as nurturing and improving that model, not changing it. “What I want to do with our members, in partnership, is help them maintain their advantage as a local independent business, help them keep that family feel and help them take the next step. That could be a number of things. It might be that they are not sure how to take the next step, or how to generate that growth. They want to understand how they can create better presence in their local arena, and we can assist them with their marketing. It could be digital, it could be the social media side of things. It’s about establishing what our members need and helping them develop in their marketplace, look at their penetration, support them to grow and get that customer retention. “The customer touch-points are changing, look at today. They are not using telephones, they are using computers to make contact, and it is so varied across different customers. We need to make sure we can support our partnerships in being able to make contact via all those various channels people go down.” According to Nick, there is a lot of market share to play with: “Castrol did a survey a little while back, and they established that 28% of customers go back to the same business to service and maintain their car. The next 33% will go off and talk to friends and family to get their recommendations of a garage to attend. That leaves almost 40% of people using the internet to find suggestions. I am certain we can give our partnerships that presence. Where they are so busy ensuring the revenue streams, we can help them behind the scenes, helping them to develop and stretch their envelope so they can stretch their business too. “The way our business works is we don’t look for profit schemes or profit shares or any of that sort of thing. What we want to do is help them via a menu of support items and assorted partnerships. We can help members grow their business, grow their penetration, and grow their levels of revenue. Our team of specialist business development managers is dedicated to doing exactly this – supporting and guiding our members, helping them to develop and grow their businesses.” Electrification We talked about the garage sector being a very well- established industry in this country, but in the next few years it is going to have to completely upend itself if the 2030 deadline ending the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles actually comes to pass. We asked Nick what is Eurorepar doing to help its members with this: “By 2030 there is going to be a complete ban on internal combustion engine vehicles being sold new, but if you look at the average age of the vehicle, we have seen that creep up over the last 15 years. Depending on which report you read it is 8.1 8.2 or 8.3 years that is the average age of the product out there.” Some perspective is needed according to Nick: “Even though 2030 is there, we know there is an established requirement for doing service and repair work on internal combustion engines. That will exist for a number of years because of the age profile of vehicles. With regards to electrification, it is quite fresh to the independent marketplace.” Perspective, and training: “What we are looking to be doing is establishing links between our customers and our training academies, so t hat we can put out education plans over the coming years for our partnerships.” Nick concluded: “I don’t want to say it is going to be a complicated world, although it feels complicated when you are looking at it from the outside. Once the motor trade becomes immersed in the new wave of technology and the opportunities it brings, I am convinced the repair market will be in a strong position.” www.eurorepar.com I don’t want it to be one of the best kept secrets in the industry... ”