While automobile consumption habits are evolving as are the demands of manufacturers, how can we reinvent ourselves as a dealership?
A challenge that the site BYmyCAR Mercedes‑Benz of Villeneuve‑Loubet (06) was able to successfully meet the challenge. “We had a sales space that no longer corresponded to market developmentspresents Elise Potoladirector of this site. We have therefore transformed it into an automobility hub where we bring together in the same place city cars to heavy goods vehicles, including vans, exceptional models of the brand, as well as used vehicles, both products from the Certified Mercedes label as used vehicles from BYmyCAR Occasions. In addition to the development of after-sales, we also deploy rental services, whether LCD, LMD or LLD. This restructuring allows customers to benefit from a smoother journey, in line with the brand's standards, while optimizing the surface area and our profitability.“
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Significant investments
Concretely, this resulted in a development of the concession whose showroom was divided into two parts. “The first is dedicated to the brand's models and meets Mar20XX standards, the second to used vehiclespresents Élise Potola. Between 2016 and 2023, we invested four million euros to which are added 3.5 million euros to bring the manufacturer up to standard.“
If the changes to the commercial display are the tip of the iceberg, significant transformations have been made on the after-sales side. “We have, for example, repatriated all the workshop activities that we had to the city center“, she explains. After-sales is indeed a very important activity covering 110% of the dealership's costs. “We carry out more than 100,000 hours per year in Villeneuve-Loubet“, she explains.
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Moreover, after-sales contributed 50% of the dealership's results and is growing strongly. “This activity (workshop entries and sale of parts and accessories) generated a turnover of nearly 24 million euros, an increase of 14%.“, indicates the manager.
The Mercedes‑Benz dealership in Villeneuve‑Loubet, which is the most profitable of the distribution group, with a net profit of five million euros for more than 140 million euros in turnover, is the showcase of the policy transformation of the Cosmobilis group and others, such as that of Roquebrune-sur-Argens (83), are currently in discussions to evolve into an automobility hub, “while maintaining the specificities of each site“, specifies Élise Potola.
In addition to the real estate and organizational aspects, these transformations could not be done without the support of the teams in place. “We have changed the organization of the company by eliminating silo management positions but grouping them by scopeshe explains. For example, I no longer have a VN manager and a VO manager, but a VN and VO manager.“
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And to even better unite the teams, led by a management committee made up of six women and six men, the manager launched a series of podcasts called “Fragile“. “The idea is to rely on each person's weaknesses and to see how they have been overcome to achieve the best of oneself.“
The first episode will be broadcast next September, we will have the opportunity to return to this original experience.
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