Ford Dumps RJV

[RPO83]

Ford Motor Company will divest its ownership of Sydney RJV Pty Ltd as of March 31 2005.

Ownership of nine dealerships that currently form a part of the Sydney RJV will be transferred to Imperial Holdings Group of South Africa, a diversified multi-national mobility group with extensive motor retailing interests.

Prior to this sale, Sydney RJV will sell seven additional dealerships to independent purchasers associated with shareholders currently involved in the business.

"Imperial Holdings currently owns the largest network of motor dealerships in South Africa. It is committed to investing in the Sydney RJV and growing Ford's market share in Sydney," said Ford Investment Enterprises Corporation Australia Director, Keith Williamson.

"Ford will work closely with Imperial Holdings and the independent dealerships to ensure a smooth transition to the new ownership structure. All dealerships will continue to operate under the same trading names, ensure continuity for customers, and honour all warranty and contractual obligations," said Mr Williamson.

Imperial Holdings will operate nine Ford dealerships under the Sydney RJV banner, including:


City Ford, Sydney
City Ford, Rockdale
Dale Ford, Bankstown
Jubilee Ford, Five Dock
Brad Garlick Ford, Ryde
Power Ford, Baulkham Hills
Cumberland Ford, Blacktown
Alto Ford, Artarmon
Titan Ford, Brookvale

Ownership of the remaining seven dealerships will be transferred to current independent shareholders. These dealerships include:


Thomson Ford, Parramatta
Sinclair Ford, Penrith
Phil McCarroll Ford, Camden
Rod Lawrence Ford, Campbelltown
Dominelli Ford, Sutherland
Harrigan Ford, Yallah
Keira Ford, Wollongong

So is it fair to say that the experiment failed?

[big_pete]

whats RJV?

Originally Posted by big_pete

whats RJV?

Retail Joint Venture.

[russellw]

RJV = The Grand Experiment now to be known as The Grand Failure.

There was nothing wrong with the theory of the RJV but it was the execution that brought it undone. Firstly the assumption that FoA could do a better job than some very canny operators; secondly the numerous litigations over retail price maintenance and thirdly the remaining dealers.

Given the fairly large sums that were thrown around in the acquisition phase of this project and the very small sums being mentioned now for the buy backs I expect there will be some VERY happy Sydney based DP's.

Cheers
Russ

[wulos]

I don't know whether or not people will be jumping with joy at this news.
A few years ago they were busily closing down a lot of the smaller dealerships that flew the ford banner(along with the associated spare parts dealerships / service departments) & forming these larger 'super dealerships'. What resulted was a situation that made it harder to buy ford.
Case in point. Take a drive from the harbour bridge to the sydney newcastle freeway(F3) you won't pass 1 ford dealership (granted that alto isn't much of a detour - but alto is in an out of the way location also)- I can point you to areas in sydney's north where there is NO ford dealer within a 20minute drive - part of the more affluent areas, with dense population, along with more middle working class resident areas. And with only 1 parts dealership serving this same area, obtaining genuine parts is a task left to the dedicated, with either a timeconsuming journey or courier fees.
The question is whether FoA are going to allow new dealerships to refranchise these area's, or leave them to the competition, which seems to be the current strategy.

[russellw]

Originally Posted by wulos

.....the current strategy.

You are WAY too kind.

Russ

[zoomzoom]

I would like to say a few words before any one gets on their high horse and sugests anything Firstly to blurters and to rusellw comments the experiment DID NOT fail and i dont think it was an experiment.Ford are into building and designing cars not selling themm you guys have no idea

[russellw]

Originally Posted by zoomzoom

I would like to say a few words before any one gets on their high horse and sugests anything Firstly to blurters and to rusellw comments the experiment DID NOT fail and i dont think it was an experiment.Ford are into building and designing cars not selling themm you guys have no idea

Obviously we don't and neither do the facts - perhaps you'd care to enlighten us?

It clearly was an experiment as the original plan called for it to be implemented in all the major metro centres - it wasn't until 2002 that a review called that whole idea off.

During the period of the RJV in both Perth and Sydney, Ford lost more market share in those two markets than it did in the rest of the country.

To be more specific. In the period from 1997 to 2000 (the first 3 years of the Perth RJV) the Ford market share nationally fell a little over 21% in the metro areas of Australia compared with a little over 30% in Perth.

Similarly in the period from 2000 to 2004 the Ford national market share in metro areas slipped another 17% but that was a blessing compared to the Sydney figure of 24%.

During the same period the Sydney RJV venture found itself the target of several law suits and tribunal hearings on the topic of retail price maintenance which is hardly surprising given the stated aims of the RJV.

Whatever you may think, the purpose of the RJV was to sell cars and to maintain some degree of control over the retail margin. That it managed to do neither would suggest that it failed however I am happy to be otherwise enlightened.

Regards
Russ

[zetec]

Anything good for the consumer can't be a bad thing (duh) so it should be interesting to watch the developments over the next 9 months of this year.

Russ makes a good point regarding market share. Every month I am also privy to info regarding market share of all national regions. The Eastern region, which includes Sydney, is lagging behind most other market regions. To me that's enough proof that the whole venture was doomed to begin with.

[Aussie Falcon]

I noticed a few huge for lease signs outside Jubilee Ford, Five Dock. Is it closing down?

[Aussie Falcon]

Originally Posted by Aussie Falcon

I noticed a few huge for lease signs outside Jubilee Ford, Five Dock. Is it closing down?

and here is the ad http://propertylook.com.au/listing/d...35842&pageNo=1

[Stav]

The effect of RJV on smaller more experienced bussiness has been one out to destroy the little bloke.They set up sentry as part of the group and were doing window tinting,alarms ,etc etc.

This essentially reduced demand for guys like myself who have been installing for many years.

The other thing that i had noticed is that the more informed consumer went to country regions to get better pricing. Dont shoot the messenger ..but thats how I see it.

I wonder what those signs do for staff morale.

Esp with the following info

Lease term: 3 years
Options: 6 months
Rent reviews: annually
Date available: 01 May 2005
Lease type: Direct lease

[cArSiK]

SRJV started business at the worst possible time , during the early days of the AU falcon. No one expected ford sales to take a dive like they did and the RJV felt it hard. AFAIK it was fords decision to call it quits and sell their share...

James

[Mits]

A Friend of mine Bought at Jubilee Recently, they are moving up the road to Homebush. In the shadows of the old Ford Factory.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Is Denmac Ford in QLD owned by RJV?

Its apparently the biggest Ford dealership in Australia, yet its probarly the worse run down one... This is according to their marketing in Saturdays paper.

[cArSiK]

Originally Posted by ShockWaveXR6na

Is Denmac Ford in QLD owned by RJV?

Its apparently the biggest Ford dealership in Australia, yet its probarly the worse run down one... This is according to their marketing in Saturdays paper.

Nope , the 'S' in SRJV stands for sydney....they only own sydney ford dealerships (bar afew) and Rockdale mazda.

James

[Aussie Falcon]

Originally Posted by Mits

A Friend of mine Bought at Jubilee Recently, they are moving up the road to Homebush. In the shadows of the old Ford Factory.

ahh that explains it. thanks.

last time I drove past the old factory there was a big Kia sign outside.