It seems absurd, counterintuitive, too good to be true and somewhat akin to asking a real estate agent what they think a house will sell for and them giving you a genuine price. But it’s really happening. Mercedes-Benz has decided to do away with the entire process of haggling when you buy a car at a dealership, and indeed dismantle the way dealerships currently work, as it moves to an ‘agency model’ instead.
The Australian arm of the German giant will set a national price for each of its cars, and that is the price you will pay, even if you go into a dealership and let some oleaginous gent in a shiny suit try his schmooze moves on you.
A Mercedes-Benz ‘dealer’ will no longer be able to offer you a deal at all; they can only answer your questions, smile obsequiously and arrange your test drive. If you’re picturing a Gordon Gekko-style salesman – who lives for the hard sell and craves his commission – weeping quietly, you’re not the only one.
And you’re not wrong, according to Mercedes-Benz Australia’s CEO Horst von Sanden. As the company continues to negotiate with its dealers over this huge shift, scheduled to begin in 2022, there has been some resistance.
“There are three camps: those who love it, who are looking forward to it; there are the undecideds, who think, ‘This is pretty new, I’m not sure’; and there are also some who don’t like it for various reasons, one being the magnitude of the change, and the fact that they’re good in the current retail game, which hasn’t changed for 70 years,” von Sanden says, treading carefully.
この記事は The CEO Magazine - ANZ の November/December 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The CEO Magazine - ANZ の November/December 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
There Were No Unknowns For Us
Putting discipline at the core of figurehead construction helped it survive both the global financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, says managing director Joe Grasso.
The Future Is Digital
We are watching a lot more television as a result of the pandemic, but as the senior vice president, head of streaming for 10 viacomcbs Liz Baldwin explains, the way we view it has totally changed.
The Ultimate Investments
With the global economic recovery from the pandemic underway, many analysts are suggesting now is the time to invest – but will whisky, soybeans or bitcoin find a way into your portfolio?
Once in a LIFETIME
CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INTEGRITI PROJECTS ANDREW STENOS IS BUILDING MORE THAN BESPOKE HOMES. HE’S ALSO BUILDING DREAMS FOR CLIENTS WHO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT.
PUTTING FAMILY FIRST
COUNTRY LIVING HOMES MANAGING DIRECTOR MARK RAVENSCROFT HAS OVERSEEN IMPRESSIVE GROWTH, BUT NEVER LOST SIGHT OF WHAT MAKES THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS SUCH A SUCCESS.
“A SAFER COMMUNITY IS MY MAIN PRIORITY”
ULTIMATE SECURITY CEO NASSIM SAID HAS BUILT A HIGH-TECH SECURITY ORGANISATION FROM THE GROUND UP, ALWAYS WITH COMMUNITY SAFETY IN MIND AND AN INSISTENCE ON FAMILY VALUES.
We Did It Our Way.
WHEN STEVEN SIMEONI FOUNDED TAS CITY BUILDING, HE KNEW HE WANTED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
FROM PRECISION TO PREZZEE
A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY BARON AT 24, PRECISION GROUP BILLIONAIRE SHAUN BONÉTT HAS BUILT HIS CAREER ON UNDERSTANDING THE RETAIL MARKET. NOW HE’S INTRODUCING PREZZEE, THE DIGITAL GIFT CARD PLATFORM THAT’S CHANGING THE WAY WE GIVE.
HIGHWAY STAR
IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA, WHERE TRUCKS ROUTINELY NAVIGATE VAST STRETCHES OF HIGHWAY, THE ROAD BETWEEN AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMUNITY IS SHORT. DENILIQUIN FREIGHTERS IS AN OLD HAND AT THAT ROUTE, WHICH CEO VICKI MEYER SAYS IS ITS MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
BENEATH THE SHEETS
A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP GOES A LONG WAY TOWARDS MENTAL WELLNESS, AND AH BEARD CEO TONY PEARSON BELIEVES THE OFT OVERLOOKED MATTRESS IS THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT.
