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Richard Smithson has 14 Published Articles

United Kingdom,
Cardiff,
Llanishen,
Ground Floor, Lambourne House,
Lambourne Crescent



Carlyle Finance and Ron Skinner make a Strong Partnership to help overcome the recession.

Posted On : May-03-2010 | seen (558) times | Article Word Count : 524 |

The Ron Skinner & Sons business sold its first car in 1969 and this family run firm has been going from strength to strength ever since. The first major step for the business was to become a successful Toyota franchise in 1974 which continued until a second site opened in 1984.
The Ron Skinner & Sons business sold its first car in 1969 and this family run firm has been going from strength to strength ever since. The first major step for the business was to become a successful Toyota franchise in 1974 which continued until a second site opened in 1984. The major expansion however was the investment in 2001 in building their own 300 car showroom with room for a further 700 cars on the forecourt.

From those early days the business has been run with a customer focused ethos at the very top of the agenda. The management team call this delivering to the customer a ‘sense of wellbeing’. Not only does this deliver high levels of customer satisfaction, with 65% of all sales being repeat or referral, but delivers strong sales and profitability results also.

After the downward trend in 2008, in terms of used car prices and sales, Phillip Skinner, the Director of Ron Skinners, entered 2009 with a confidence that the market would stabilise. Philip considers the first three quarters of 2009 as a success, however with hindsight he believes they could’ve been even better. He understands that when recession hits you have to adapt quickly and perhaps could have made changes a little quicker. They realised that their traditional stock of under one year old cars was becoming increasingly hard to source, so made the change to cars up to three years old and mainly premium brands.

The business’s partnership approach to suppliers certainly helped during the tough times. Their policy, as a family business, of establishing long-term relationships helped greatly, especially with sourcing cars as they were able to gain access to cars before they were offered to market or auction.

Philip also pays credit to customers and staff during the recession. ‘We’re a family business established in the same area since 1968 and we have a large base of loyal customers. We also see our staff as our greatest asset and this means we have very low staff turnover, therefore loyal customers dealing with the same people supports our business through the tough times.’

The F&I income line has remained strong over the last year. Carlyle Finance, the leading independent dealer finance organisation, has been instrumental in their financial performance actually improving through 2009. Ron says, ‘They offer a great service in dealer finance which means we can deliver that service to our customers. Thus far in 2010, Skinners are also ahead of plan thanks to Carlyle’s focus on the point of sale market, their technology and the excellent support from their Account Manager and management team. Carlyle Finance has helped support the business through excellent customer services and we are proud to be offering dealer finance through Carlyle.’

When asked about 2010 Philip believes it will still be tough, perhaps even tougher than 2009, especially with an election on the horizon. However this long-established and successful family business will surely continue to prosper. With customer service, staff loyalty, strong F&I support and great partnerships, Ron Skinner & Sons will be in great shape for the future.

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Carlyle Finance and Ron Skinner make a Strong Partnership to help overcome the recession. _17697.aspx

Author Resource :
Carlyle Finance, Ground Floor, Lambourne House, Lambourne Crescent, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5GL. Carlyle Finance is a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (London Branch), a branch of FirstRand Bank Limited. More information motor finance, carlylefinance, dealer finance visit http://carlylefinance.com

Keywords : finance a car, motor finance, loan advice, car finance uk, best car loan, carlylefinance, dealer finance, carlylefinance.com, ,

Category : Finance : Loans

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