To give some insight into business operations and strategy, we quizzed Auto Air Gloucester’s Managing Director, Guy Mather:
Q. Hi Guy, thank you for taking the time to talk to PMF – firstly, can you summarise how your 2023 has unfolded so far?
A. “It was a slow start due to poor weather. In the previous three years, spring started late March; this year the weather only turned in late May, so we were approximately six weeks behind. This in itself can cause backlogs of containers that will not fit into the warehouse due to low initial sales, the knock-on effect being that we have to delay containers, possibly affecting sales should we have a heatwave.
“The positive position is that we offered pre-season deals on stock orders, which some customers took advantage of, meaning customers had their stock ready for the season. This is something that we will be offering each year moving forward. It not only helps our stock levels but also ensures customers have that initial stock availability.”
Q. Typically, we’re in the ‘heart’ of A/C season, but is the A/C season concept a myth or is it truly hands-on-deck this time of year?
A. “We have team members that have been in this industry since 1986 and each year the same issues exist! When the sun comes out, it is only then people consider A/C. We have tried to change the seasonality by offering other products, like blowers and resisters; however, the mainstream products only really sell in bulk when the sun finally arrives.
“Our research suggests that drivers will withstand temperatures up to 25°C; however, past that magical figure, people that would not have had repairs suddenly have the urge for an air conditioned driving environment. The main difference is that more cars come with standard A/C, so there are many more opportunities for service and repairs. This runs in-line with how we are seeing increased sales per product group.”
Q. Did the record-breaking temperatures of last year, for example, cause a significant spike in enquiries/sales?
A. “Hot weather really will focus the mind when people have children complaining in the car that they are too hot and stuck in traffic with just hot polluted air to breath! News focused on surging temperatures, advising that the heatwave will continue, so yes this certainly changed the mindset of people previously reluctant to repair their A/C because of costs.
“It goes without saying hotter the weather the more A/C repairs will happen. When systems are put under more load, this results in more failures. As we are a family-run business, we have the ability to see shortfalls in stock and work with our manufacturers to ensure stock replenishment is as good as can be expected. This is always going to be a difficult task; however, we do monitor trends and check sales daily. Our manufacturers generally require three months from order to delivery, but our close working relationship with those companies means we do receive preferential treatment. This is mainly because we work to ensure our manufacturer can make money to invest in new products allowing Auto Air first to market with many items.”
Q. Auto Air Gloucester only supplies motor factors – what support does the company offer them in terms of after-sales?
A. “If you ask any of our customers, they will tell you we care very much about what we do, always innovating where possible to improve our services and products. Our warranty terms have been extended to three years, all items are monitored within ISO9001:2015, to ensure all parts can be drilled down to percentage of failures, so we can improve our product with manufacturers.
“Each year we commit to more consignment stock on customers’ shelves, so they can provide a JIT service. In 2022 the parts were opened up on TecCom, allowing customers a better reorder service and stock checking capability.
“We have a mobile sales team that offer on-site product awareness training, supported with consumables catalogues, which are designed for the garages, and they have a technical helpline and access to our own repair workshops.
“Assessing customers’ comments, we have made it a company commitment to ensure all returns are dealt with within 48 hours. This helps a factor complete the paper trail, and any warranties can be confirmed very quickly.”
Q. What challenges have Auto Air Gloucester had to adapt to in recent years?
A. “Pre 2010 Auto Air Gloucester supplied mainly radiator repair shops and A/C specialists; however, we analysed the market and noted that motor factors were selling automatic equipment into garages that would result in the garages needing to purchase replacement parts. Garages would then, generally, use several factors to fulfil their needs and at no point would that necessarily be Auto Air Gloucester.
“At this point, we moved away from any garages (that we had been dealing with) to support the factors direct. The decision was taken that we could only sell it once, so we had to decide which marketplace this would be. Upon deciding that factors were the future, the brand Coolzone was created and trademarked to allow the factor a brand for their customers whilst we maintained the Auto Air brand direct to the factors.
“With the introduction of more garage customers, this inevitably comes more fitment issues. Taking shortcuts can result in premature failure of components; for example, when a compressor is changed a technician should flush the whole system, change the receiver drier, maybe expansion valve and condenser to ensure a clean debris free system.
“This can give the end-user a false impression of A/C being troublesome when, in fact, if proper service and repair procedures take place, there is no reason why an A/C system should not last its lifetime. This is why the product awareness training is so important, so that correct techniques can be passed to the fitter.”
Q. How does Auto Air Gloucester assess its position in the marketplace?
A. “We consider ourselves as a good fit for motor factors by our commitment to serve minimal customer markets. We will continue to try and be motor factors’ choice of A/C partner, striving to be the number one, but we will never be number one; otherwise, we have nothing to strive for!”
Q. What can factors expect from Auto Air Gloucester over the coming months?
A. “The investment in stock and availability will continue with new part numbers and a new consumables catalogue. We are attending more trade shows and have invested in many product awareness training events, with many more to go. The consignment stocks allocation will be increased again to support those customers with space and ambition to sell A/C parts direct from stock.”
