Forging ahead Becoming an independent small-tomedium-sized business has enabled Renault
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Trucks dealership RH Commercial Vehicles to be lighter on its feet Words: Steve Banner Ba rely a yea rafter its disposal by global logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel (K+N), MD Nigel Baxter says East Midlands Renault Trucks dealership RH Commercial Vehicles (RHCV) is forging ahead despite the tough economic climate.
"We sold 100 new trucks and 30 light commercials in 2012, and we aim to increase sales of both by 20% to 25% this year," he says. "We've got a new range of trucks coming this summer and that should hopefully generate a lot of interest.
"Good fuel returns, plus the Volvo connection, mean Renault has come up the pecking order — and we've already managed to convert local Scania, Volvo and Mercedes operators."
With his father Neville, his brother Peter and commercial director Paul Pearson, Nigel acquired the dealership for an undisclosed sum in January 2012.
The four had been involved with previous owner RH Group, which had been owned by the Baxter family. Neville formed what became RH Freight, its transport operation, in 1970, and was instrumental in transforming it into a successful logistics business. RHCV passed into the hands of K+N almost as a by-product of its purchase of parent company RH Group in April 2011. K+N wanted RH Freight and had no interest in running the truck dealership.
Nigel, however, did. "I became responsible for the dealership in January 2009 while it was still part of RH Group," he says. "I ran it for more than two years prior to the deal with K+N."
He felt the business had potential and could thrive under independent ownership, especially if it was owned by people who already knew it intimately.
Taking things into their own hands Much of the first 12 months of ownership has involved disentangling the dealership from all the centralised services provided by the parent group — payroll, IT and so on — and establishing equivalent services of its own. "Managing them ourselves has reduced our overheads," says Baxter.
At the same time, RHCV has continued widening its customer base away from the three or four big fleets it depended on for new sales in past years.
It has also been developing second-hand sales and is a Truckplus approved used dealer. Seventy second-hand models found buyers last year and among the dealer awards the firm picked up from Renault at the manufacturer's recent truck conference was the top used vehicle salesman accolade for Adrian Godber.
RHCV won the Club Excellence 2012 award for being one of the five best-performing dealerships in the network while Jim McNeil was named top service manager.
Based in Nottingham, and with an 8,000ft2 branch in Leicester opened in 2010, RHCV is placing more emphasis on its aftersales activities. "We're achieving utilisation levels of at least 95% in both workshops — we're designated premises at Nottingham — and our MoT pass rate is 93%," says Pearson.
"Our plans include the establishment of a comprehensive network of sites," adds Baxter. "Extending our footprint will take us closer to our customers." • RHCV: SNAPSHOT Founded in 1977, RHCV has been a Renault Trucks dealer since 1986. With more than 60 employees it has an annual turnover of around £14m to £14.5m. Its Lenton Lane HQ site includes a body and paint shop as well as sales, service and parts facilities.