Today we move a Dealership…

30thMarch 2010

Today we moved a Dealership

Graypaul Birmingham

•1000m2 of sales area

•1200m2 of aftersales

•8 workshop Bays

•100m2 of parts storage

•20 employees

•Sytner group ranked in

the top 6 “Best

companies to work for”

for three consecutive

years.

•40% of cars sold are via

the Sytner group

Mario Vignali the dealership

director locks up for the last

time at the former Nick

Whale Dealership.

Since the opening of the

Bromsgrove facility there

had always been plans to

move to a purpose built

facility that reflected the

Ferrari Brand values and

identity.

It was always felt that

although the Bromsgrove

dealership had a “nice feel”

to it, however a shortage of

space in order to provide

the facilities that are

required by a Graypaul

Ferrari dealership

In essence the requirements

of Graypaul Ferrari could not

be met and the physical

layout of the Bromsgrove

dealership which meant that

even the parts and servicing

department was sharing

office space with the

administration and sales

team. This lead to delays in

accessing parts and

continual walking around the

building.

Equally the detailing bay for

vehicles in the workshop and

sales area was not ideal

having to move vehicles

through an outside area

open to the elements prior

to entering the showroom,

which often resulted in

remedial drying and

polishing in the showroom

The new purpose built

dealership has been made to

the new Ferrari identity and

the staff areas to the Penske

standard.

As part of moving the

dealership, it required

several vehicles to be

moved. According to Jason

Harris of Ferrari North

Europe the easiest way to do

this was for journalists to

drive the vehicles from the

old dealership to Graypaul

Birmingham and “experience

the Ferrari Brand”

Although as part of this, it

was felt by all the journalists

that they should swap

vehicles on arrival at the new

showroom and experience

as many models as

possible…

From concept to

completion in 12months

at a total cost of £4.5m

Graypaul Birmingham is

the first Ferrari showroom

in the UK and 5th in the

world to benefit from the

new Ferrari corporate

image.

The dealership is based

in Solihull the 6th richest

borough in the UK and

aims to provide for a

regional sales area only.

Therefore resulting in

reduced lead times ie a

458 via Birmingham has

a lead time of 12 months

compared to 2 years

elsewhere

The old dealership

The new dealership

The tinted glass screen

divides sales and

administration teams

from the main

showroom area

As part of the new

Ferrari identity the staff

which include

accountants, sales

administrators and brand

managers all share

office space behind the

tinted glass partition,

which has been situated

in order that they cannot

see the customer car

park and therefore not

prejudge clients on the

basis of what car they

arrive in.

The staff will not

“pounce” on clients

simply be there to assist

when required, browsing

of vehicles in a leisurely

fashion is encouraged

“The car is the star”

according to

Mario.Vignali

Franchise Director

Although an expensive

option for the

dealership in terms of

space, the concept

behind the showroom

is that the cars can be

viewed from all angles

and when combined

with lighting which can

be adjusted to suit the

natural light conditions,

this shows the cars in

their full glory

As well as providing the

facility to display 10 new

cars, Graypaul

Birmingham also boasts

the opportunity to deal in

Pre owned Ferraris with

a dedicated 12 car

display area

Each pre owned car is

subject to a 190 point

inspection before being

offered for sale and pre

owned vehicles up to 8

years old are eligible for

a 2 year factory backed

power warranty.

This is as well as the

Ferrari breakdown

assistance available to

any Ferrari.The pre owned vehicle display area, notice the roller doors at the

rear which leads to the detailing and preparation area

The lounge is in keeping

with the Ferrari identity,

thus being a replica of

the lounge which can be

found at the factory,

complete with the

Cavallino embossed

into the leather chairs.

According to the

franchise director, the

lounge has been

designed to be an

extension of your home

“like being in your study”

incidentally all the;

literature and models

are part of Mario's

personal collection built

up over the 15 years of

working with the Ferrari

brand.

Matteo Torre Regional

Manager for Ferrari North

Europe introduces “The

Atelier Room” or

specification room, where

clients can take their time in

deciding the specifications

of their new car.

The design room contains

the various styles of seats

which can be tried for

comfort, various steering

wheel, wheel options as well

as interior leather and

exterior panel colours.

The room boasts a brand

new car configurator and

pictures to remind clients

that each car is still

handcrafted

The new facility offers 8

dedicated workshop

bays each with their

own factory trained

technician. Each

technician undertaking

at least 2 weeks worth

of training every year in

order to stay current on

models within the

Ferrari range.

The service facility

offers a one stop facility

for servicing, MOTs,

new tyres, small paint

resprays and detailing.

For complete resprays

or for major body work,

Graypaul utilise

Chartwell the Ferrari

SPA approved repair

centre.The new workshop. Top and left. Right The old workshop

Each technician is

responsible for their own

area and workstations.

The work stations

provide individual air,

water and oil supplies

The most common tools

required are also kept in

the service bays with

more specialist tools

kept in a central location.

For “engine out” jobs a

dedicated workshop has

been built to complete

such jobs (see photo

bottom right)

Graypaul Birmingham

hold over £0.5m in tools

and over £60,000 in

spare parts.

The new detailing area above.

Below, The old detailing area in

Bromsgrove

The new detailing centre.

The dealership layout

was designed around the

detailing bay.

During informal meetings

with the detailers it

emerged that the problem

with the old facility was

the need to move a

detailed car from a clean

facility thought an outdoor

area to enter the

showroom, resulting in

the need for remedial

work especially during

bad weather.

The new detailing centre

now links from the

workshop area to the

showroom via a roller

door.

Staff facilities now

include a boardroom

which looks down onto

the workshop area.

The boardroom facilities

are available to clients

for hire.

They are also frequently

used by Graypaul

Ferrari partners such as

Shell, Bridgestone and

Ferrari

(For more information on

the possibilities of using

the boardroom, please

contact the dealership)

The new staff facilities

Below left, the old staff

facility

Part of the staff

facilities includes a

fully functional and

stocked kitchen

together with a

television.

Staff facilities also

include a changing

area with individual

lockers and shower

facilities.

All views contained are independent and

not those of Ferrari SPA or Sytner Group

nor should they be implied to be.

Graypaul Ferrari Birmingham

120 Highlands Road

Shirley

Solihull

West Midlands

B90 4NU

0121 7012458