Over the years, the business was expanded with the addition of other brands like Mazda in 1991, Mahindra during 2019 and the latest acquisition by the Eagle Corner Group, Suzuki Bramley. With the paint still wet so to speak and the rebranding nearly finished, Suzuki Bramley has just opened its showroom doors at Eagle Corner’s 25 000m² premises in north-eastern Johannesburg.

Just opposite the street of the new vehicle showrooms and the pre-owned vehicle dealership, is Eagle’s Accessory Fitment Centre as well as a panel and paint shop and the facility where all vehicles are prepared for sale and showroom display.

At the dealership, part of the premises where Ford, Mahindra and Mazda are accommodated, Suzuki will take its rightful place, says Craig Gillesen, one of the directors of the Eagle Corner Group.

“We have enough space and moved Mazda next to the Mahindra showroom, and the new Suzuki showroom now occupies the old Mazda showroom and offices. In total, just on the service side of the four brands there will now be 50 lifts for servicing, Eagle Wheel Alignment and tyre shop. This excludes the 10 lifts on the other side of the street used for the fitment and preparation of vehicles,” Craig says.

John Landey, one of the founders of the original Eagle Ford and also a director, tells Dealerfloor that the transfer of the sales, parts and service departments from Suzuki Bramley’s previous dealership will be completed soon and that the staff component has also been taken over. “This creates peace of mind for the existing customers, who know the personnel and from their side the staff know the brand, the business and the customers.”

“A large part of our success is the repeat business and referrals, whichis in all probability more than 50% of our customer base. The fact that we are a family business and that all the directors are hands-on at the dealerships, make a tremendous contribution in fast decision making, he says.

Craig says over the years the addition of brands like Mahindra and now Suzuki has played a vital part in the Eagle Corner Group providing customers with a wide selection of options. With Ford more focused on bakkies and the medium and larger SUVs, the addition of Suzuki offers more price conscious buyers affordable options and the same applies to Mahindra.

John tells Dealerfloor that with four popular brands as well as their fitment centre, panel and paint shop and a large selection of used vehicles, they are moving towards a ‘Motor City’ set up delivering a complete variety of services to automotive customers at one facility.

And how does the family business work, we asked John and Craig. “I founded the business with Craig’s late father, Henk, and one of the other directors, Ivan Reymond, is my son-in-law. Our fourth director is Pieter Steyn,” John says.

Eagle Ford was the runner-up in the recent Ford Dealer of the Year awards in category A having won it four times previously. They won the Parts Manager of the Year as well as the Guest Experience Manager of the Year awards and was the top Performer in Tyre Sales and runner-up in the Ford Protect Policy Sales category.

Looking ahead, both John and Craig reckon they are excited about the new brand with quality products and a well-run OEM, and at dealership level the Eagle Corner Group might have a surprise announcement for customers soon.