Krzysztof Soszyński, Vice-President of the Management Board of Inter Cars S.A. Comments the meaning of transaction of taking over the shares of Mekonomen Group by an American LKQ distributor.
Mekonomen Group is one of leading distribution chains in Scandinavia and another company in which the American potentate invested lately - LKQ Corporation. In 2011 LKQ took over a British leader Euro Car Parts, two years later a Dutch Sator Holding, in December 2015 Rhiag, and in October the same year Andrew Page.
We asked also Krzysztof Soszyński, Vice-president of the Management Board of Inter Cars S.A. To comment on this fact:
Distribution market still has very promising perspectives for development. Growth of fleet of vehicles, its age structure, growing awareness of drivers and owners of fleets about possibility of servicing their vehicles in independent garages, also during warranty period, confirms this fact. It applies particularly to rising markets, where Inter Cars is building its distribution chain. Currently it is 14 markets, from the Balkans to the Baltic. We are the biggest company in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe and 5th player in Europe. We want not only to catch up with the west, but also to play crucial part in consolidation of the sector. We are focussed on organic growth and also on micro-acquisitions. We are creating a franchise chain - the so called shops of the 21st century, which are to cooperate closely with garages. Geographical expansion allows us to gain access to new markets, new human resources and talents, lowers the cost of operations and diversifies the risk. Currently over 40 percent of the Group’s income is generated abroad. We do not forget about developing the product range and implementation of strategy in all product range segments. We develop with success the sales of automotive products for passenger cars, trucks, motorbikes and other products and services supporting our „core business”.
Similar interest in distribution sector is presented by many companies in Europe. We can observe intensified activity of financial investors directed at consolidation of the industry. Market attractiveness is also caused by market fragmentation. According to company monitoring the market - Wolk After Sales Experts - in Europe there are currently 47,967 independent distributors. There are about 200 large distributors. These are companies with more than EUR 20m turnover per annum. The whole aftermaket in Europe is EUR 124.6bn. The independent aftermarket is about 60%, i.e. EUR 74.8bn. Five international purchase groups, associating the biggest players on each geographical market, realize a turnover of EUR 27bn – 36 percent of market share.
Above numbers show that perspective for development is positive for those companies which know the right way to the customer. I believe that our idea for development, which has worked up to now, will also be successful in the future. We do not rest on our laurels. All the time modifying our strategy. We are positive towards the future. LKQ and Mekonomen belong to the same purchase group that we do. We know well both those organizations, just like other companies in Europe, which were taken over by the American player before. We are competing on some distribution markets and this is a fixed element of the game for many years. No competition means no progress and no motivation for development. LKQ was number 1 in Europe, even without investment in Mekonomen company. Decision of investment of LKQ in Mekonomen does not change much for us. One financial investor changes into another one. After combining the volume of the company the turnover shall reach about EUR 3.4bn., i.e. approximately 4.5 percent of the European market. From above analysis we can see that there is still enough place for many players on the market. We are focusing on our plans and the future. Such information we treat as market opportunity for Inter Cars.
source: motofactor.pl
7.12.2016