Selling BMW's in London, must be up there as one of life's less challenging jobs right? They are all over the place after all. Well apparently not.
Back in 2003 HR Owen acquired a number of BMW dealerships, giving it coverage of the whole of West London and a good coverage across the rest of the city. Fast forward a few years and it turns out this purchase wasn't such a great idea.
Over recent years they have struggled to make the dealerships profitable, with one dealer in North- West London being opened in 2005 and then forced to close after only one year due to poor sales. Chief Executive Nick Lancaster said that 'margins were continually squeezed in a fiercely competitive environment' meaning it was no longer viable to carry on.
Despite no takers currently making themselves know for the BMW sites the group managed to offload their Jeep, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Smart and Land Rover dealerships last year. They now plan to concentrate on specialist brands such as Bentley, Ferrari and Rolls Royce.
Can't sell these for toffee in London
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