Indeed, the Pinetown team worked very hard and carefully monitored their progress, setting the top spot in their sights well before the BMW Retailer of the Year Awards were held.

So says Rudolf Avallone, Dealer Principal at Supertech BMW Pinetown, who led the team to the top spot for medium-sized dealerships. Supertech is run by Shabir Tayob and his son, Ubaid, the Managing Director of the group, who are both passionate about cars and focused on the Supertech Group brand.

The Supertech Group consists of six BMW dealerships (five in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Eastern Cape) as well as three Approved Repair Centres located in KwaZulu-Natal, and a MINI dealership and a Motorrad dealership located at the Pinetown retailer.

BMW Pinetown was previously located on Old Main Road, Pinetown, and it opened the doors of its new state-of-the-art dealership in 2019. The Motorrad facility was also added at the same time.

MINI Pinetown opened its doors in 2021 and will be celebrating its first birthday this July in true MINI style. Rudolf was involved in the vision and establishment of the Pinetown retailer hub, which brings three brands together at one convenient location.

“The award means more to us than just bragging rights,” Rudolf tells Dealerfloor. “It shows that our business is on a solid foundation and that we conduct it in a proper fashion.

“We believe in our human capital, and to achieve this level of success, the team, which includes every member of our staff, must buy into the concept of what our vision is and how we go about getting there.

“We are customer centric, and the fact that the group focuses only on BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad under one owner, results in dedication, focus and effective management that benefits all our customers,” he says.

Rudolf says that having retailers in Pinetown and Durban South, a mere 17 kilometres apart, has benefitted both sites. “Looking at the sales figures both dealerships hold their own and it is two different types of clients we conduct business with.

“We do focused marketing in Pinetown and the surrounding areas to reach the right LSM groups and the effort proved to be fruitful. I would say around 70 to 75% of business is conducted in our immediate area; the remainder in the rest of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

“While new stock remains a challenge for everyone, we have adjusted our business plan around the current situation. Fortunately, BMW, as a manufacturer, is very agile in terms of production, ensuring that our customers are at the heart of everything we do.”

The Pinetown retailer has not only won 1^ST place as Retailer of the Year 2021 in the small to medium retailer category, but has also scooped several other awards. The retailer accolades include:

• BMW Pinetown – Aftersales retailer of the Year 2021 – 2^nd place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Pinetown – BMW M Award of the Year 2021 – 3^rd place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Pinetown – BMW M Award of the Year 2021 – 3^rd place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Pinetown – BMW Corporate Sales Retailer of the year 2021 – 2^nd place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Pinetown – BMW Financial Services Retailer of the Year 2021 – 1^st place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Pinetown – BMW Retailer of the Year 2021 – 1^st place

Medium and Small category

• BMW Motorrad Pinetown – Sales Retailer of the Year 2021 – 2^nd place

• BMW Pinetown – BMW Sales Retailer of the Year 2021 – 3^rd place

Medium and Small category

Being apart of an award-winning group, BMW Pinetown’s sister retailers also walked away with prestigious placements:

• BMW Durban South – BMW Corporate Retailer of the Year 2021 – 1^st place

Large category

• BMW Pietermaritzburg – BMW Corporate Retailer of the Year 2021 – 1^st place

Medium and Small category

Rudolf says he is optimistic about what the future holds and specifically about the brand and Supertech. “I strongly believe we must focus on what is important to run a business successfully, like the recent awards are testimony to and we know what path to follow,” he concluded.