Ten branches of Andrew Page have been closed.
Carlisle and Ellesmere port closed last week. Cardiff, Peterborough, Kettering, Shrewsbury,Chesterfield and three others closed on Monday. Calls we made to affected branches diverted to a nearby Euro Car PArts. Meanwhile, managers from other branches took part in conference call on Tuesday.
In a written statement, a spokesman for ECP said: “We can confirm that we have closed 10 Andrew Page branches, following the completion of a recent business operational review by the Andrew Page Management team. There are no plans to close any further Andrew Page branches. We are currently working with employees at affected branches to look for alternative options within the ECP or Andrew Page network, and working closely with customers of these affected branches.”
Andrew Page was bought by the parent company of rival Euro Car Parts in 2016 immediately after the former went into administration. Following a lengthy investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, nine depots were proscribed to be closed in the interest of not ‘significantly reducing competition’
Interestingly, none of the branches closed over the past week were on the CMA list. Liphook, Scunthourpe, Wakefield and York were on the list, but remain on the company’s depot finder.
Note: This story has been updated to include the statement from ECP
The point which he has raised it’s so alarming for us because it is getting horrible for our garage industry.
From thirty odd years selling car parts and a current AP employee.
I see the way we are going is to pick up the business from customers that don’t care for the ECP steamroller way of factoring.
With the ECP logistics behind us we have every chance of becoming a customer focused modern factor with good stock knowledgeable staff and sensible pricing.
It’s going the right way from where I stand that’s from reaching a senior position in 20 years of working for a very successful independent before moved to CAF/AP 10 years ago.
Exciting times for us after the uncertainty of the past five years our future is in our hands.
I purchased this business 15 years ago from Larry Farrell who traded for 28 years prior to that. I have seen significant changes in the 15 years in Cardiff. We are part of AIMS. Its very difficult to compete and be profitable because the bigger suppliers do not help us where price is concerned but are keen to support the nationals in this area. Granted we don’t buy as much but without us they would have little customers particularly in this climate where everyone is buying each other out.
Hi all, if your job is unsafe please take a look on our careers site to see if we have any vacancies that may suit your skills set http://www.nationwiderepairs.co.uk/careers
Was any of you part of conference call yesterday, no didn’t think so!!??? All jump on with comments and “told you so” but what do you really know!!! Yes, LKQ have shed some branches but also kept majority of people in jobs. We all could have been unemployed last year!! All staff on consultation will be offered other positions.
I’m surprised it was only 10 branches. The way AP was being run before ECP took over was a joke. it was let down by its own managers who were allowing parts to be sold at a loss as well as letting the warehouse operate at sub 90% accuracy and not caring about where the stock has gone.
I was forced out as manager of one of those closed branches after 40 years of service
KARMA
the independent garages will be the ones that suffer….and about time too.
their lack of loyalty when the big boys come in and sell their cheap parts and giveaways will leave them with not much buying choice out there in the market place…prices will rise with the lack of competition and the consumer will suffer with either increased bills or shoddy repairs where the jobs are trying to be done quicker…i can remember this happening over 20 years ago when this buying each other mentality of the big players came and bit them…partco buying brown brothers , finelist buying edmunds walker, autela , lucas , macess , fps etc…this set about a spate of independent motor factors opening and offering choice and service…BUT even now most of these sold out to buying groups who have since been multi sold… i hope that we get some independent players back that will offer a service and experience that the independent garage loves
To all those who hailed the fantastic takeover by Euros as some sort of saviour, I take it you will write to all of those poor people who now find themselves out of work, so that the millionaires are kept in their golden palaces. For those of us who have been there before (Autela, Partco, Edmunds Walker etc) somehow “I told you so” seems like a hollow victory.
If you want job security in this business look to work for one of the non multi national motor factors in your area. Usually family owned, working on sensible margins and treating their customers and staff with respect. http://www.carspares.co.uk in our 50th year.
Totally agree Graham. The sad thing is how many decent independents are left? the answer is very few and of those that are left, how many are tied into large buying groups so one would ask how truly independent they are? Seriously good luck in all that you do fighting the Blue & Yellow perils. The trade desperately needs good quality, decent, independent actors like yourselves.
A great point and well made. The UK aftermarket is littered over the decades of `nationals` all with the same business model – hundred or so depots, head office, central warehouse, eventually failing. The cost of stock in so many outlets with no substantial cost advantage when you factor in the additional costs, simply doesn’t provide the margins needed for a so called big player, either to give shareholders the returns they demand or even repay the billions borrowed.
Independents. Good independents rather, are much better placed and do provide the basics as mentioned by Graham above – respect to customers and staff. You can sense it as soon as you walk in a depot.
Is what LKQ are doing fair? not really no, is it the fault of LKQ? not really no, its a business that has seized an opportunity and is trying to stop one of its acquisitions from haemorrhaging money, I don’t know why its not plain to see to everyone that the fault lies with the directors of the original board before the takeover.
Now I’m certainly not a ‘Company Man’, but I cant stand by and watch people lay the blame where it isn’t deserved!!
All the people who worked at A.P for any decent length of time will agree that it started to go downhill once Andrew left, I have commented quite a few times in recent months and clearly stated who, why and when things went wrong. if anyone should be made to “write to all of those poor people who now find themselves out of work” then it should be the directors!! they should apologise and try to justify why they were and are incompetent, why they were greedy, why they were arrogant, why they didn’t have a clue what they were doing, why they didn’t listen FOR 5 YEARS to the staff at the depots, why they came up with ridiculous ideas such as ” customer contact strategy” – this was the brainchild of a certain Irishman I believe who couldn’t understand the simple concept that a garage does not want calling 5 times a day EACH AND EVERY DAY TO BE HASSLED AS TO WHY THEY DONT BUT CERTAIN PRODUCT GROUPS, he was also dense enough that he couldn’t grasp that we at branch level had worked that this was just ‘busy work’ designed to keep us pre-occupied and stop us from seeing that the business was being dismantled from the inside!, why certain directors held “staff meetings” which he were required to attend out of working hours unpaid so he could stand at the front, tell crap jokes and swim around in his own foppy haired sense of self importance, why they kept buying fancy company cars whilst the rockface staff struggled on with no payrise!!!
The ONLY staff that should be fired are the original directors
inevitable
Wow what a surprise NOT!!!!