As part of the project to develop the new PSA Retail spare parts ecosystem in France, the six existing platforms will be enhanced in Bordeaux, Gonesse, Lille, Lyon, Morangis and Nantes, and six new ones will be created in Alsace, Marseille, Nice, Normandy, Rennes and Toulouse.
In the Alsace region, PSA Retail sought to partner with a company already boasting deep expertise in spare parts distribution, as well as a firmly established local presence.
A novel type of agreement
For the first time in its history, PSA Retail is forging an alliance with an external partner, through a balanced agreement, to ensure its expansion.
PSA Retail realised very quickly that the Bailly group, renamed CAR Avenue in 2014, would be an ideal partner. Apart from its on-the-ground familiarity with the region, in particular thanks to its dealer network in Alsace operated under the Oblinger banner, CAR Avenue already has a vast logistics network serving the Lorraine area.
This novel form of partnership, which was set up in record time, illustrates once again the agility of PSA Retail’s teams and their ability to create win-win agreements that improve sales prospects for the business.
A win-win agreement set for operational launch in June 2017
The agreement provides for the launch of a spare parts platform in Alsace, to be operated jointly by PSA Retail and CAR Avenue. The 8,000 sq.m facility should be up and running by June 2017.
Several locations have already been identified as available for the greenfield project.
The PSA Retail-CAR Avenue platform in Alsace is expected to generate annual revenue of €50 million at start-up, with a medium-term objective of €90 million. The project will lead to the creation of some 40 new jobs.
PSA Retail and CAR Avenue are setting up a 50-50 joint venture to manage the new spare parts platform.
Building loyalty and winning customers with two to three deliveries a day across Alsace
The Alsace spare parts platform will be able to deliver products to customers two to three times a day within a timeframe of 90 minutes.
The goal is to help car repair professionals build loyalty among their customers while also enabling PSA Retail and CAR Avenue to win a large number of new customers.
Jean-Philippe Imparato, Vice President of PSA Retail, said: “This new type of partnership illustrates PSA Retail’s determination to explore new avenues for developing its revenue stream. The partnership with CAR Avenue presented itself as an obvious solution given the highly complementary strengths of our two groups. Our future customers will benefit from the combined expertise of two seasoned market players with years of experience in the spare parts supply chain.”
Stéphane Bailly, Chairman of CAR Avenue, said: “We are proud and enthusiastic about starting this innovative partnership with PSA Retail. We share the same commitment to developing our spare parts business and have deep expertise in the market. The knowledge we have gained thanks to our spare parts platform in Lorraine and our presence in the Alsace region under the Oblinger banner, coupled with PSA Retail’s size and experience, will enable us to effectively meet our customers’ needs.”
