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20 • Focus on
Robey agrees: “You will always get the money shopper in the smaller
sizes, but we don’t believe the premium brands in the larger sizes such as
17, 18 and 19 inch are affected at this point in time.”
Whilst also acknowledging that car owners with motor/mobility plans
were sticking to the OE brands fitted, King said: “However, for vehicles
out of warranty, drivers are definitely buying down.”
Offers de Villiers: “Sales in the replacement market must be contextualised
since OE vehicle sales only realise replacement sales later – therefore the
impact is latent and the immediate impact is the character of the market,
as consumers become ever more vigilant in the manner in which they
apply their discretionary income.
In short, and to quote one of King’s earlier statements, for now, the
replacement market probably holds the key to survival and growth, but
success in this area will likely depend on each operator’s ability to think
out of the box, retail innovatively and provide unparalleled customer
service.