Brembo targets UK expansion

Jean Claude Dal Grande, Brembo’s aftermarket GBU – VP EMEA Sales, donated some time to PMF during Automechanika Birmingham, answering questions about the state of play in the trade and Brembo’s ambition and strategy to increase its market share.

Q.What’s your overall feeling about the current market landscape?

A. My feeling is that, in Europe, the markets have been experiencing quite a bit of uncertainty in recent months. This is primarily due to geopolitical tensions – the situation in the US, ongoing conflicts, and also China aggressively pushing into the automotive space. The automotive sector is struggling, especially when it comes to car sales. So, all of these factors add up to a lot of variables. In response, businesses are likely returning to their comfort zones – the traditional way of doing business, based on relationships and simple principles.

The trend is quite clear: distributors are optimising their product portfolios, carefully selecting the brands that will be part of it. There is also a push towards market polarisation, valuing top premium brands and private labels. On top of this, product innovation and service levels are crucial to making the difference in a difficult market situation.

Q. Do you think “returning to their comfort zones” is the right approach?

A. I find it fascinating how systems, how people, react to crises. And I don’t mean “crisis” as something purely negative; crisis also means a break in continuity. Reassessing the basics is actually a valuable opportunity to better understand how to respond. And I believe the aftermarket value chain needs to take some responsibility. We should push authorities and the system toward a new direction. It’s important to identify and address some shared challenges.

For example, just yesterday (talking to visitors at Automechanika Birmingham) we talked about the shortage of mechanics – this is a growing issue across Europe and even globally. The reasons vary: generational changes, the perception of the job. I think the aftermarket value chain could help solve this by investing in training and talent attraction – essentially creating an ‘academy’ to inspire and educate the next generation of mechanics. This is crucial for the future, not just in terms of parts and systems, but for ensuring continuity throughout the entire chain.

Q. Is Brembo involved in any initiatives or groups working on such an ‘academy’ or educational programmes?

A. For Brembo it is crucial both to teach and enhance braking skills, and to communicate Brembo’s specific values across the IAM chain. This means it’s fundamental for Brembo to maintain strong relationships with mechanics and garages. It’s essential that we ensure garages understand the quality of our products and how to work with them – that’s how we help create a functioning ecosystem around Brembo and ensure demand.

For those reasons, we are closely involved with existing academies, run mainly by our key distributors. We offer specific training from our technical experts, who, in turn, are advised by our advanced product, as well as research and development, teams.

We also offer a specific programme called Brembo Expert to support dealer and garage education, in particular, and to build loyalty with them. In the end, our ultimate goal is to continue building Brembo ‘ambassadors’ throughout the chain.

On top of these initiatives, the Brembo brand has a strong recognition factor, especially in racing. If younger generations associate Brembo with motorsport and understand what we do, it can help to build brand awareness and product familiarity on top of an outstanding reputation. It’s a long-term approach, but these two elements – our brand passion and our garage support – are key for us.

Q. Specifically in the UK, your messaging goes through national distributors and independent motor factors – what is your approach for the British market?

A. The UK market is very important to us for two reasons: first, it’s one of the five largest car markets in Europe, which is strategically significant. Second, our market share in the UK isn’t where we want it to be, so there is real growth potential here. That makes the UK a top priority.

Q. Why do you think your market share in the UK has been below expectations?

A. As often happens, it’s historical. In the past, we focused on other local markets where we had a stronger presence. In some markets, our representation was small or indirect. But now, with our pan-European and global strategy, particularly with a strong focus on India, we’ve reassessed our priorities and identified the UK as a country with big potential. Now we’re ready to do a better job here!

Gaining market share in a competitive market, like the UK, doesn’t happen organically. We need to be proactive; leverage our brand, leverage our product quality. And we need to support our distributors in passing that message down to garages. That’s why we’re here at Automechanika Birmingham. We’re showing the same commitment we show in other key markets – whether it’s Italy, Spain, Turkey or the UK. Of course, Frankfurt is a different scale, but our presence here is just as important.

Q. The braking market is very competitive – arguably saturated – that must make things difficult?

A. Absolutely. If I look at the EMEA region, the UK and France are the most competitive markets. In countries, like Spain or Italy, the market developed with a very regional structure. Distribution is highly local, with many small wholesalers very close to the garages. That creates a kind of ecosystem that’s hard to penetrate.

In the UK, by contrast, you have a few very large players operating nationally. They are powerful, professional and committed. You immediately face the risk of market overlaps or internal competition. We have two phases in our approach: first, gain market share; second, work with distributors strategically – not just tactically or opportunistically. That’s not easy. Strategic cooperation means growing the market with a clear pricing policy, tailored programmes and alignment with the industry’s needs. It’s about long-term planning.

Q. So, are you targeting the big national distributors, or building your presence with strong independents?

A. That’s a great question. I used to work in industrial lubricants and learned that, to cover a surface well, you need different particle sizes in your product. I see the same logic here.

We want a mix of large distributors and smaller, highly committed local partners. The smaller ones bring deep roots and trust in the territory, and they align well with our premium value proposition. But Europe is what it is; we can’t ignore the large national players. Our strategy is to balance both, which is not simple. Larger customers are often driven by commercial conditions, while smaller ones are more relationship-driven.

The challenge is not just entering the market, but sustaining and stabilising growth. That means addressing potential overlaps, reshaping partnerships and thinking in multi-year cycles. It’s a real challenge, but one we’re eager to embrace because we believe Brembo has a strong message and can bring real value across the entire chain.