Auto Retail Live - 23 March 2021

Auto Retail Live

With less than a month to go before showrooms can reopen in the UK, Auto Retail Live looks at ideas from around the world and how retailers have handled lockdown and their subsequent reopening. Central to our discussion is the impact of the pandemic and how it has potentially reshaped many of the processes for car retailing. Retailers have lost an entire quarter of showroom sales, and while online purchasing and click and collect work for some buyers, many more are waiting so they can see cars in the metal, carry out a test drive and negotiate face-to-face. In this Auto Retail Live broadcast, in partnership with Rapid RTC, we hear about ideas from across the Atlantic and around the world and discuss how UK retailers can put themselves in the best position for showroom reopening in April. On Auto Retail Live: Steve Chipman, president and CEO of Birchwood Automotive Group a 21-site group based in Winnipeg, Canada, who will talk about what he’s learnt about auto retailing in the pandemic. Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motors, who will discuss what his business is doing to get ready for 12 April after showrooms were shut for almost all of Q1. Jonathan Meade, owner of Hutton & Meade a Dublin-based franchised retailer and treasurer of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, will talk about what his business has learnt in the pandemic. Pontus Riska, vice president of UK sales at Rapid RTC, who will reveal what his data shows about how consumers have been behaving in lockdowns around the world. Key topics for discussion include: How to get ready for reopening the showroom Lesson s from overseas Online sales innovation Customer handling and lead management Test drives Staff safety and mental wellbeing