Carmart poised for higher growth

Recording a year-on-year sales volume growth of 400% in the current financial year and targeting a further 100% growth in the year ahead, Carmart, the sole distributor in Sri Lanka for Peugeot, has created a strong niche in the market and is poised for aggressive expansion in the coming year with an extremely diversified product portfolio, and major changes to its business strategies, processes, and infrastructure.

Having launched prestigious models last year such as the Peugeot 508 executive saloon, the 3008 crossover SUV, and the RCZ sports coupé, all of which have received very positive response from its clientele, Carmart is looking to broaden its target audience by offering more economical products. The 207 sedan was launched recently, soon to be followed by the Peugeot 408 in November.

CEO of Carmart Yasendra Amerasinghe stated: “Our growth so far has largely been product driven, with some fantastic vehicles models being introduced by Peugeot. We are now increasing our focus on our customer service and infrastructure to try to maintain this momentum, despite adverse and worsening market conditions.”

Amerasinghe pointed out that Carmart has created its own positioning in the market and noted that Peugeot’s brand strategy is to continually push upmarket with significant advances in style, quality, technology and innovation with each product iteration.

“Peugeot’s brand slogan of ‘Motion and Emotion’ holds very true with these models, which speak to their owners in very emotional terms. Simply, these are cars for passionate people. Not necessarily passionate about cars, but perhaps style, or gadgets, or even the environment, but passionate nonetheless,” he added.

“We feel that the increased quality and premium positioning of our products also needs to be reflected in our service. We must strive to deliver an exceptional experience for the customer from the very first time they come into contact with the brand, whether that be through pre-sales or after sales,” noted Amerasinghe. “A positive attitude and striving to improve internal processes on an ongoing basis are critical factors we are focusing on.”

Currently the company is conducting a market survey to better understand perceptions and desires of its customers. Carmart also engaged Ernst & Young this year to conduct a detailed business process review to aid in streamlining processes, as a precursor to implementing a state-of-the-art ERP system to give its employees the tools to provide class-leading customer service.

However, Amerasinghe pointed out that the company’s primary objective was to concentrate on its human resources to build the best team possible. “Great infrastructure can’t compensate for employees who aren’t great, and ultimately the burden and responsibility of satisfying customers falls onto our employees. That is why if we are to provide exceptional service, we must have an exceptional team to do it,” said Amerasinghe.

“We believe in building lifelong relationships with our customers, by providing high quality services that compliment the high quality brands that we market. We have developed our team of employees to be committed to excellence with the highest level of integrity through a customer oriented culture, that encourages them to constantly deliver the highest level of satisfaction to our customers and to not only meet their needs but to aim at exceeding them as much as possible. With this quality focused culture forming the backbone of our corporate philosophy, we plan to enhance and improve our service delivery this year in many aspects, including high availability of spare parts for all the latest models, and implementation of key customer convenience programs. We will also renovate our Peugeot showroom to comply with international standards, and in addition to this, we will also be upgrading our workshop in Ratmalana and constructing a new workshop in Colombo.”

Amerasinghe stated that while the biggest challenge to the automobile industry in Sri Lanka is the high import tax. As with most vehicle agents, Carmart has been making use of the permits available to maintain sales volumes.

“Fortunately for us the transferable income tax permits are applicable to our entire model range as they all have 1.6 litre engines. As these permits have an unlimited value, even our fully optioned 508 can be provided through this permit. We have also found that the corporate sector has begun to make use of this scheme as it saves a considerable amount on the purchase of a vehicle, whilst allowing immediate registration in the name of the company.”

While he sees hybrids as the vehicles for the future, he pointed out that Peugeot is the first and so far only brand in the world to produce diesel hybrids. These vehicles are further unique in that they are all 4 wheel-drive, with an impressive combination of power, economy, and off road capability. Unfortunately, as yet these models are only available for European markets.

Amerasinghe also mentioned that they are also planning to launch for the first time in Sri Lanka a range of Peugeot commercial vehicles, starting with a luxury passenger van for travel and tourism purposes. He concluded by intimating that 2013 will mark Carmart’s 60th anniversary (and partnership with Peugeot), as well as Automobiles Peugeot’s 203rd anniversary, and that there will be many surprises in store.