The awards ceremony honours exceptional performance within automotive dealerships and serves as the sole independent validation of dealership profitability in five categories – Commercial Vehicle Dealership, Independent Dealership, Unlisted Group, Listed Group and Luxury Group Dealership with an overall winner emerging from one of these category winners. In this instance, BB Ford Tzaneen, under die leadership of Paul Roets, the Dealer Principal (main photo).

“What a surprise. First of all to be nominated in a category for this competition is already an honour, and we were over the moon with joy when we won our category. But when the overall winner was announced, I could not believe my ears, and I was delighted to put it mildly,” Paul tells Dealerfloor.

Asked about what they did to clinch the top position, he says the team functions as a close-knit unit, everyone knows the goals and the correct path to achieve it, and they all made sure that the systems were in place to run and dealership cost effectively in every aspect of the business.

“The measurement of business growth during the last financial year compared to the previous one and how we measured up across all departments against the industry benchmark, were key to our success,” Paul says.

“An award like this is priceless in terms of marketing and building our reputation in Tzaneen and its surrounds. People took notice of this award, and the recognition and feedback from customers, prospective customers and the community were overwhelming. That alone made it worthwhile.

“Business conditions are tough, and you simply have to look at the monthly naamsa sales figures to get the picture in South Africa. In Tzaneen, with the agricultural sector an integral part of our customers base, prospective customers are holding on to their money.

“Although the current agricultural season was a good one, the after effects of the previous difficult seasons still made prospective customers reluctant to make large financial commitments. Despite this, our Ford Ranger bakkie range remains popular, especially the singe cab workhorse and the mid-spec double cabs. We are also looking forward to the new Territory, which will again give us traction in the passenger car segment,” he tells us.

Paul says they are excited about relocating from their current premises to a brand-new complex being built by the BB Group just as you enter the town. “This new dealership complex will have a positive effect on Tzaneen and will move our dealership from the older building to a state-of-the-art business-friendly location.”

The new complex, which will be completed by the middle of the year, will accommodate the different BB Group brands in Tzaneen. These include Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Suzuki, Mahindra, BAIC and UD.

Paul, currently the DP at Ford, Mazda and BAIC, has been the Dealer Principal for last nine months, but he has been with the BB Group for the last nine years. Before taking up the reins in Tzaneen, he was the General Manager for BB Nissan and Renault in Polokwane.

“I have been in the automotive industry for the last 22 years, and I know that today you have to put in a much greater effort to achieve the same results because of the current uncertainty in our economy. I am, however, positive that the future will be better. The struggle of our, and other industries, will in all probability continue during 2024, but I believe next year could be better,” Paul says.