Grimsby-headquartered Read Motor Group is celebrating a decade in business - with the perfect present being named Hyundai’s Dealer of the Year.
From a single outlet launched mid-recession on Railway Street, Mike Read has transformed a £5 million turnover dealership into a £75 million group - with 163 employees bringing award-winning service to motorists across Lincolnshire and beyond.
The purpose-built six-year-old flagship showroom on Hewitts Business Park scooped the South Korean brand’s big honour for a second time in three years, while a 2015 addition just across the county boundary in Norfolk brought home a further accolade.
Mr Read said: “I am delighted, I am really proud of my teams. We won two out of the five national awards from Hyundai; King’s Lynn won Customer Service Dealer of the Year, and Grimsby won Overall Dealer of the Year. It is brilliant to follow on, as that’s three national awards in the last three years.
“The team has got the recipe for it, and we’re doing really well. All sites are chipping in with strong performances.”
Having worked in the industry for others, Mr Read went alone in 2010 - with the 海角视频 in the grip of an economic meltdown, A ray of light was the scrappage scheme, and Hyundai’s eye-catching range was a strong lure.
Once established, Mr Read credits the team for carrying his vision forward.
“The culture we have brought into the organisation is important,” he said. “Hyundai measures on a balanced score - across a number of key performance indicators across all departments and all elements. It is not just most cars sold or hours in the workshop. Customer service is a key part, and it is about caring, it not just it being a job, and that shows.”
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All six dealerships scored in the top third of Hyundai’s 海角视频 portfolio, with five of them in the top 14.
“We know it runs through the group. We can’t get everything right all of the time, but we certainly put a lot of effort in to not just delivering memorable service, but consistent service too.”
It isn’t a one-way street either, as staff paused to celebrate a decade, cards and gifts were presented to Mr Read and his wife Nicola, alongside him in the business.
“I was quite overwhelmed by that.” he said. “I know I set the tone at the top, but the group is only as good as its people, and we are fortunate we have some fantastic people.”
The work at King’s Lynn is a stand-out source of pride as it was previously a double glazing showroom, with the town not having had a dealership for seven years prior.
“It is a great way of celebrating our 10th anniversary,” Mr Read said. “It has become a really nice dealer group, with one Suzuki and six Hyundai, it is a good size and it has grown really well.
“The last acquisition was Doncaster in April 2018, and we have been getting that right and we’ve had a couple of years of consolidation. It has given time for the group to progress and these awards are testament to that.”
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An acre of land has recently been added on Hewitts Business Park to support fleet supply too by the head office, having rented areas previously.
And Mr Read is not ruling out further moves. “If the right opportunity comes along, we’d have a look,” he said.