Motor Trader The award-winning and longest running UK magazine for car retailing professionals. Your first stop for News, Jobs and Reports for the motor industry.
Buckingham & Stanley reveals how the group has adapted to changing circumstances following the demise of Saab in this special Dealer Insight sponsored by AutoProtect.
When Saab collapsed in 2012 many UK dealers were left looking for new representation. The answer for small Cambridgeshire-based group Buckingham & Stanley was to return to a brand it had walked away from two decades earlier.
Buckingham & Stanley was established in 1969 by managing director James Howarth and soon became a top Saab dealer. From 1981 it also represented Subaru with similar success, until the franchise was terminated 10 years later through a perceived need to focus on the then blossoming Saab brand.
By late 2012 it was clear that Saab would not survive its troubles and Howarth needed a new brand at the group’s prime site in Harston, on the outskirts of Cambridge, concluding the one with the most growth potential was MG.
The MG showroom opened in December 2012, but is proving a longer-term project than Howarth anticipated, although he’s encouraged by the addition of the MG3 supermini and the promise of new vehicles.
“MG is very much a future product. There is potential in it and the Chinese won’t give up.”
With MG on board, but with a small line-up, there was capacity for another franchise. At this point Subaru, which was about to lose its local representation, approached Howarth who was glad to once again work with the Japanese brand after more than two decades.
The timing was good. The adverse exchange rate, which had badly hit Japanese importers, had settled down giving dealers a good profit opportunity. While Subaru was at the beginning of a new product cycle which will see the arrival of the WRX STi in May and the Impreza in the summer.
The Subaru franchise opened in late 2013 and according to Howarth the business has been helped by the group’s experience with Saab in the past. Howarth has always seen a synergy between Saab and Subaru, the two attracting a similar type of customer.
“They are bought by those who want to drive something different, understated, but not pigeon-holed,” he said.
Howarth believes he has taken on Subaru at the right time. The brand is recovering sales lost during a period of unfavourable exchange rates with the yen. And it is also shifting its image away from high performance to a more rural outlook perfect for Buckingham & Stanley.
“It’s still a niche product appealing to our rather individual customer base but it’s moved away from the boy-racer image of the Impreza to the SUV-based country, shooting and fishing image that suits this area.”
“It’s an intelligent brand, for the thinking owner. There are lots of good hooks you can use when discussing the cars with your customers.”
However, Howarth realises that Subaru faces challenges and needs to increase its volumes.
“Selling 2,500 units a year in the UK, 50 to 60 per dealer, is not enough. It also has an impact on the used Subarus, which sell well but are very difficult to get hold of.”
However, the upside is that used cars fetch good money. “They command high prices, maintaining their RVs,” he said.
With such a tight sales base, aftersales is very important to the centre and top customer service is paramount. The competition is tough so the service has to be the best.
“We want our technicians to grow into the brand, work harder with the customers we are seeing and to create a lasting impression.
“In our terms that’s seeing things through properly from the booking to after the customer gets their car back. You are only successful by building up trust and you have to earn that trust.”
The group targets customers using traditional and digital market promotions with Howarth remaining a fan of direct mail.
“While there is a cost involved it gets the message physically to a customer. An email or a text can easily be deleted whereas a mailer can hang around on the kitchen table for some time. So long as that message is targeted at the correct recipient it can be very effective,” he said.
With the Subaru outlet having opened just before Christmas, Buckingham & Stanley’s promotion of the brand is only just beginning. Its priority in the coming months is to have a significant presence at local shows and countryside events attended by core Subaru buyers. This type of local, community-based activity is pivotal to any Subaru dealer’s business.
For the future, the biggest challenge however, will come from elsewhere in the business. Alongside the Harston centre Buckingham & Stanley runs Cambridge Chevrolet in Trumpington, which faces an uncertain future as GM pulls the Chevrolet brand out of Europe in 2016.
“As a group we have to face the loss of Chevrolet while enjoying the launch of the Subaru business. We are learning about the franchise and making the most of it,” he said.
Fact File: Buckingham & Stanley
Brands: Subaru, MG, Chevrolet, Saab service
Location: Cambridge (3 sites)
Established: 1969
Employees: Group 36, Harston 7
Ramps: Group 12, Harston 3
Andrew Charman
