Jaguar has admitted that it plans to open a “small number” of its own stores in an attempt to reposition the brand ahead of its re-launch in 2025.
Jaguar dealers have expressed concern after a job announcement by the carmaker suggested it could plan its own global dealer network.
According to the news post on Wapcar.my, The position of “Global Head of Retail Operations” has been posted by Jaguar Land Rover with the deadline to receive applications is September 13.
It looks like there were 123 applications for this position via LinkedIn.
The British carmaker has now admitted to Car Dealer that it plans to open a small number of dealerships that it will run itself.
A Jaguar spokesperson said that Jaguar will open a relatively small number of its branded stores globally as we begin to reposition the brand ahead of its launch in 2025. Such stories of these brands will be located in their targeted areas in a strategic way. And in terms of luxury retail environments, they are designed to provide customers with experiences they cannot afford or customers cannot obtain through digital channels.
By developing the Jaguar brand, all dealers will benefit.
Customers will be able to experience the brand in-store, in a centrally located brand store, or online as they prefer.
It is yet to be confirmed whether any of them will be coming to the UK.
The admission took place after rumors began to spread after the recruitment news appeared online.
The description states that the candidate is responsible for “supporting the consistent deployment, operation, and high performance of a global network of owned stores”.
He added that it’s part of the “multi-channel luxury customer experience” and that his goal is to “totally transform… the car buying/owning experience”.
A number of existing Jaguar dealers have contacted Auto Dealers to express concerns about this move.
One said: if that’s what it looks like – Jaguar setting up its own dealerships to compete with us – it’s disgusting.
They’ve been asked to invest millions in Arch Concept dealers. And it looks like they’ll do it on their own.
The first time the network heard about this was the job posting to do these rounds. Many dealers I spoke to were concerned about this.
The ad says applicants must have “retail operations expertise” and “store floor” experience.
It also requires the successful candidate to have “knowledge/awareness of the key legal requirements relevant to the operation of stores”.
And it says that the role will see the new team member “support new store openings by mentoring and training high-end retail teams in the market so that they can assist their team in bringing retail vision”.
Jaguar has told its dealers that it intends to switch to car dealerships in the future. These show that sales are made on the manufacturer’s website and that dealers have paid a fee to facilitate the transfer. Nevertheless, they did not learn anything, from the shcemed network of manufacturer-owned dealers, said the Jaguar dealer, who desired to hide his/her name.
Jim Holder, added that he had observed dealers were more and more frustrated, which was completely unreasonable. And, especially those who served as representatives and invested in brands like Jaguar, which promised a lot, but offered very little than what they said before.
But the direction of the industry is clear – agency models of all kinds, which give manufacturers more control over the sales process and the revenue from there, are inevitable.
What is inevitable is the success of these models. Here, dealers must keep their cool; if they really deliver the best sales process that can’t be copied, they’ll win in the end.
