Fast growing car supermarket group, The Trade Centre Wales, is to open its second new superstore within nine months, crossing the border for the first time with the opening of a 12 acre site in the West Midlands.
Due to open in early 2017, it will be located on the site of a vacant car supermarket facility in Wednesbury, and will stock 1,200 used cars, creating 200 new full-time jobs across sales, administration and vehicle preparation.
The Trade Centre Wales will invest in upgrading the existing facility to ensure that it is reconfigured to the company’s high standard. There will be a rebrand in England, with a new consumer-facing name, with the firm investing significantly in marketing both its car retail and CanCan Car Finance brands across the region with heavyweight TV, radio, outdoor, print and digital campaigns.
The group, which has three existing retail sites at Neath, Merthyr Tydfil and newly opened Abercynon, aims to replicate the successful ‘hub and spoke’ strategy that it operates in South Wales, with the superstore in Wednesbury acting as both the retail operation and central preparation facility for additional stores in the region.
Andy Coulthurst, chief executive of The Trade Centre Wales, explained: “This is an exciting step for The Trade Centre Wales as we expand our geographical footprint into England for the first time.
“The premises in the West Midlands need total reconfiguration to suit our concept and customer-centric process, as we invest heavily in creating facilities that optimise the customer experience.
“Our financial services division, including CanCan Car Finance, will relocate to our brand new facility at Abercynon in December, doubling the capacity ahead of the new site launch. Meanwhile, our Training Academy, also based in Abercynon, is busy preparing for a new round of recruitment and inductions. We recruited 85 staff for our Abercynon store opening, with only a handful of the team having any prior motor trade experience, and their performance has been exceptional.
“At the same time, we are investing £900,000 in retro-fitting Neath and Merthyr ahead of year end.
“We are confident that our first store in the West Midlands will be well received by value-driven car shoppers, and we look forward to the journey of establishing the brands as household names in the region, as we have done so successfully in Wales.”
Established in 1999, The Trade Centre Wales, located at Neath, Merthyr and Abercynon, is privately owned by Chairman, Mark Bailey, with a turnover forecast at more than £100m in 2016.