In his latest opinion piece, motoring journalist Mike Rutherford says the automotive aftermarket industry could learn a lot from the likes of IKEA, John Lewis and Primark.
He labels the industry “tired” and “in desperate need of a positive disruptor to steam in [and] kick ass”, before singling out Halfords for criticism.
Having praised a store’s “young, helpful assistant”, Rutherford said “the whole sales experience just hasn’t moved on at all”.
“It might as well have been 1983 all over again. In fact, I could have sworn I heard Duran Duran playing over the tannoy.”
Mike Rutherford was one of the co-founders of Auto Express magazine and is the co-chairman and juror of the World Car Awards programme.
Having visited visited a franchised dealer to buy some parts, he said: “Most parts departments and service desks are just plain grubby, frequently away from the plush sales areas and quite often littered with just-delivered parts piled up so high that it’s like passing through an obstacle course before you get to lean on a desk that looks like it was last cleaned decades ago.”
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