Every month, AM profiles at least one car dealer in depth, exploring different aspects of the motor retail industry and offering insights direct from the coalface. These are the 13 motor retail executives we interviewed in 2014:

 

Face to Face: how serving every market sector is giving Arbury Motor Group its edge

Managing director David Stenning says attention to detail and an emphasis on serving all market sectors is giving Arbury Motor Group a competitive edge.

 

Face to face: Why delivering the right customer experience comes before dealer sales at Hatfields

Hatfields managing director Gareth Williams won’t let customer experience suffer as his dealer group ramps up sales.

 

Why Williams Automobiles ditched the franchised dealer model for Morgans

Fed up with “ridiculous” volume demands, Williams Automobiles abandoned its franchised dealerships and is carving a future with Morgan sports cars.

 

Marshall Motor Group's new five-year plan is all about the customer, says CEO Daksh Gupta

Marshall Motor Group's focus is on the customer experience now its expansion drive is over, says chief executive Daksh Gupta.

 

How daily targets led Rybrook Warwick BMW to global aftersales success

Daily targets and a focus on every individual have driven Rybrook Warwick BMW, the AM Awards winner for Excellence in Aftersales, to global success, says aftersales manager Simon Birchall.

 

How Holdcroft Group built its award-winning fleet business from scratch

Malcolm Pearson, fleet director at Holdcroft Group, the winner of the AM Award for Best Fleet Dealer, explains how it has built a successful and standalone corporate sales business.

 

Pentagon's Trevor Reeve explains the vital role of training in his expansion plans

Pentagon's Trevor Reeve details how investments in his staff and training academy are preparing the AM100 group for acquisitions.

 

HR Owen: Email, events and enticing the 21st-century customer

HR Owen marketing director Chris Harris explains how the UK’s largest luxury and supercar dealer mixes events, email and CRM software to entice and analyse potential customers.

 

Knights Group: Why we extended our working hours to 2am

Knights Group aftersales director Ian Dow explains why he has extended working hours, up to 2am for some departments, and why the motor trade needs to follow the lead of other retail sectors on customer convenience.

 

John Clark Motor Group: a pragmatic approach to upselling

Chairman John Clark talks about his motor group’s pragmatic approach to upselling and why, despite record financial results, he won’t let himself be carried away by the current strength of the car markets.

 

Ridgeway Oxford Audi: keeping the focus on people, not technology

Ridgeway Oxford Audi head of business Alex Matschy on keeping a focus on people in his sparkling, new ‘terminal’ site.

 

Michael Edwards: why the top MG dealer prefers a low-tech approach

Michael Edwards Group, the most successful MG dealer in the UK, illustrates the benefits of a low-tech approach.

 

Macrae & Dick: 'Why we do used car deals on the day'

Macrae & Dick managing director Andrew Grzesinski explains how a site with a territory the size of Switzerland ‘does deals on the day’ for used cars.