EXPO interviews
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RICHARD NICHOLAS, RICHARD NICHOLAS ATVs Tel 01437 532403 Richard Nicholas has been trading in Pembrokeshire for 24 years where, as an independent sales, service and repair operation, he majors on supplying Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki ATVs to sheep, dairy and beef farmers and a few equestrian types. He’s long since turned his back on the motocross trade he once supplied and has been largely unaffected by the recession. In fact, since 2008 annual profit has increased by five per cent per year. “I don’t go to work worrying about the recession,” he said. “Instead I’m
always wondering how we are going to get all the work done. I’m even turning work away!” Nicholas retails about 100 new and second-hand ATVs a year, costing up to £5000 each. “Last year sales were steady and repair business increased. Conditions were
very wet and the ATVs got a hammering, so the amount of servicing work – which can cost £300 to £400, and sometimes up to £800 – increased. About half of the ATVs come in largely empty of oil. I tell the farmers it’s good for business! “If I were in the motorcycle business, I’d be worried. But farmers are used
to spending £60,000 on a tractor, so a £5000 ATV is something they pay for outright. I offer finance but only about three per cent of customers take it up,” said Nicholas, who draws customers from a 100-mile radius. For 2013 he intends to launch a business website, largely to sell second-hand quads in the £1000- £2000 category, and he may embrace the growing market for farming-related utility vehicles. He cautioned: “The price of ATVs
has risen steadily, and some are now over £7000. If they increase in price too much, farmers will stop buying them and will get a UTV, which has a cab, instead.”
PHIL WILLINGHAM, PMW SCOOTERS AND BIKES Tel 01482 587522;
pmw@pmwcars.co.uk After 22 years in the car trade Phil and Moiya Willingham leapt into the motorcycle business 18 months ago and hit the ground running. While horrendous car insurance prices, particularly for the young, forced the couple to swap trades, the recession has had little effect on the new business. This specialises in retailing 50-125cc scooters and motorcycles from Peugeot, Kymco, Pulse, Lexmoto, WK, Lambretta, Quadzilla and Stomp, following a £100,000 investment, mainly funded by selling car stock and replacing it
ROBIN MILTON, RS WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT LTD Tel 01832 741007;
robin@rsworkshopequipment.co.uk
Robin Milton, one of the industry’s more considered thinkers, has entered 2013 in a postitive frame of mind despite recognising that dealers are having a tough time. “The dealers are suffering but our turnover and profit in 2012 remained the same as for the year before, and that’s not bad,” he said. “More companies are coming into the workshop equipment market. People
from the car trade are having a sniff, so for us it’s all about customer service. “If dealers aren’t buying new equipment, they are holding on to what they have for longer and having it repaired, so it’s up to us to stock the parts and make sure they can keep their workshops going. If we look after people now, they may come back to us when its time to renew,” added Milton, who launched two new products at EXPO. As passionate as ever about workshop equipment, Milton was particularly delighted to unveil a new lift, the lowest ever made, and an environmentally- friendly bio remediating parts cleaning station. The lift sells for £1495 and stands just 75mm high in its lowest position, making it ideal for servicing machines such as a 1098 Ducati, and some Harley-Davidsons and Buells whose fairings could be damaged when being wheeled on to a more conventional lift. The parts cleaning station retails at £1195 and uses water containing
microbes which, when heated to 40 degrees C by the station itself, remove grease and dirt. It’s non-toxic, non-flammable and there’s no smell. Once filtered by the machine, the ‘dirty’ water can be disposed of down a sink. “Motorcycling isn’t as green as it could be, but every dealer could do their bit for the industry and the environment by using one of these,” said Milton.
with two-wheelers. “To start with it was a question of having to diversify from the car business
just to survive,” said Willingham, “but it’s going very well. We started with two second-hand scooters 18 months ago and the business has really taken off. We registered 300 units in 2012 and in the first 20 days of January we sold another 15.” A trained mechanic and former general manager with the Pendragon
Group, Willingham operates from premises in central Hull where there was once space for 50 cars. The site now stocks up to 100 bikes and scooters and Phil and Moiya have entered 2013 in buoyant mood. They are planning to build ten showroom pods so that each franchise can be displayed separately, and to create display areas for the growing stock of clothing and accessories, which are important profit generators for the new business. It’s anticipated that bike stock should expand to 150 units this year. “We always wanted to do the job properly, selling product within a 50-
mile radius, and we’ve found that much of the internet negativity about Chinese machines is often nonsense. I may spend two or three times longer PDI-ing Chinese bikes, but if it’s done properly there are no problems,” said Willingham.
MARCH 2013 39
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