Heard on the grapevine that Lind BMW Norwich will be closing soon, both BMW and HD.
Lind Norwich
- Thread starter GB.
- Start date
99% sure it’s true, I don’t really use dealers much apart from parts and coffee! Will be Reiten if I do need to go to one. Emails will start to go out to customers next week.
Yep, Has been confirmed by a mate...
That branch hasn’t made a profit in over 9 years, but there is more to it than that behind the seasons, will be turned into flats.
You’re not the first person to say that
Never had an issue in the last two years of using them.
Just called the shop to ask directly and they have been told, but no timeframes yet.
Just called the shop to ask directly and they have been told, but no timeframes yet.
After many years and lots of bikes from Lind Norwich, I moved to Reiten a couple of years back, this following some particularly bad aftersales support issues from Lind. In my opinion, they lost some key members of staff from which they never recovered.
Reiten are not doing the sharpest of deals on new bikes, but in my opinion hugely offset by their outstanding service levels.
Reiten are not doing the sharpest of deals on new bikes, but in my opinion hugely offset by their outstanding service levels.
Sadly, the latest Reiten Accounts at Companies House (Gov.UK), admittedly abbreviated, provide a picture of substantial mounting losses.
It's tough out there & likely to get even more challenging as the sales model changes & what we think of as dealers, become little more than service agents.
It's tough out there & likely to get even more challenging as the sales model changes & what we think of as dealers, become little more than service agents.
That's a pity, they were the BMW dealer of choice for me too, rather than the nearest, Linds.
????
I'm not quite clear what you are questioning.
Reitens latest Accounts are here ............... https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/...e22da1e155d712ce96963cda0800f80571d87b3aca8fa
BMW annouced a while back that it intends to switch to the direct agency sales model across all it's brands, However they decided to delay whilst they watched what happened elsewhere in the market, significantly at Mercedes-Benz (currently on a 6.5% commission). That being deemed successful, they are rolling out the new sales model at Mini from January 2024 & plan to include all facets of the group by the end of 2026.
I believe Lind will close at the end of this month.
Expect to see ever more dealerships of all manufacturers closing. A shrinking market.
Abbreviated, unaudited accounts, don't tell you much - for example: there's no profit and loss statements, no figure on what profit (if any) was made before interest/tax. No figure on turnover.
It would seem fair to surmise that there was no net profit - that's why the P&L deficit is growing.
The directors have invested £100k core capital & £100k directors loans IIRC, but further injections will be required, along with a plan to turn profitability around. Assuming service/workshop should be priced to at least wash it's face? that means selling a whole shedload of bikes at RRP in short order ............. not impossible if others shrink their representation, but quite some challenge in the current climate, where so many are having to pull in the purse strings.
Looking forward, the introduction of the agency model by BMW Motorrad, likely in the UK in the next couple of years but not decided absolutely it seems, will change the way dealers function at a stroke. Then they will receive somewhere between 5-7% for each bike handover - in the car world, the model works along these lines: -
https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/news/risks-and-rewards-agency-model-for-new-car-sales/
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