Perrys has been trading since 1908 and is celebrating its one hundredth year as a business.

The dealer group opened its first Ford dealership in 1912 and has since grown to 39 outlets in the UK.

Ray Sommerville, Perrys managing director, said that trading in 2008 holds a much bigger challenge than when the business first started.

He said: “It’s a buyers market these days. The choice and variety of cars available and the number of outlets which sell them, mean that we must constantly adapt.

“Better cars which need less servicing means that we do not see the customer as much as we used to when cars were serviced every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. This has made the industry a much more competitive and challenging environment. Customers themselves are also more knowledgeable so dealerships must work hard to stay on top.”

For the future, both Ken Savage, Perrys’ chairman and Sommerville agree that the business will be nothing like Perrys today when it comes to 2108.

Sommerville said: “You just have to look at the difference 100 years has made. We may only view cars in a museum, with a completely new form of transportation on offer in 100 year’s time.”

Left to right: MD Ray Sommerville and Chairman Ken Savage celebrate Perrys’ centenary at the company’s head office in Northampton.