Esprit discusses its acquisition of Rejel Automotive

Esprit Windscreen Repair Equipment has been a manufacturer of windscreen repair equipment for over 40 years. With its recent acquisition of Rejel Automotive, its director is confident the company can “continue to consolidate its position as the go-to supplier”. Here is part one of its discussion with PMF.

Esprit Director, Victoria Evans, explained how the acquisition came about: “Rejel had been a customer of Esprit for many years, and we had a great relationship with John Reeds, the owner of Rejel. Esprit were looking at how we could expand our product range and also increase our customer base and when Rejel came up for sale we felt that it was the perfect fit.”

What does Rejel do?

Rejel sells to a variety of customer groups across various platforms, and Victoria said that was a real appeal of the business: “We also have a wide range of customers, from windscreen repairers, garages, fleets, bus and coach companies, and we sell direct to market and also through distributors worldwide, and we felt that many of our existing customers would benefit from the products that Rejel sells.

“We knew that customers who bought windscreen repair kits would probably also need items, like windscreen removal products, windscreen clips and trims, polyurethane etc. With the acquisition of Rejel, we can increase the products that are available to our customers, and they can benefit from knowing that the great service that they’re used to from Esprit will continue with any products that they buy from Rejel.”

Market strategy

Victoria went on to talk about the strategy for the two companies over the coming months and years: “Our initial focus is simply on consolidating the two product ranges; we have moved the operations site of Rejel to our Esprit base in Staffordshire and have taken on new staff to deal with the increased workload.

“We’ve rebranded Rejel, updating the original design, and are in the process of updating the website, talking to all our customers about the new products that we stock and getting to grips with the huge new product range that we now have! It’s been a very busy but rewarding time, and we’re really looking forward to integrating these businesses further. In the future, we’ll look at expanding the product range, exploring new markets all whilst continuing to provide great personal service to our customers.”

When asked how she thought the new acquisition would benefit its distributors, Victoria replied: “Our distributors are such important customers for us. We have always sold Esprit through distributors, as they know their customers so well and can provide the full menu of products to suit each business. With the acquisition, they know that we can continue to grow Esprit to be able to continue to invest in marketing, training and product development in Esprit as well.”

Stay tuned for part two of this conversation!