The aftermarket industry is ‘tired’, says motoring journalist

Industry ’should look to the retail heavyweights for tips’

Halfords Basingstoke
Photo: Bigstock

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.”

What do you think of the opinion piece? Let us know in the comments.

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