Page 30 - Australasian Paint & Panel July-August 2019

Industry Insights
30
PAINT&PANEL JULY / AUGUST 2019
S
IBIS GLOBAL
INCE THE 2018 IBIS GLOBAL RE-
port the Australian economy has
slowed down, car sales are down by eight percent and yet repairers, for a number of reasons, have en- joyed a reasonably busy year. While the marketplace has remained relatively stable, there is a tsunami of change roll- ing in terms of major repair players re- shaping the landscape, adapting to the proliferation in ADAS technology and insurers battling for an edge in a highly
competitive market.
MAIN CHALLENGES/
OPPORTUNITIES
Paint & Panel runs an annual bodyshop survey which over 10% of the industry responds to. According to last year's survey the two biggest worries are in- surer relationships and skilled labour shortages. Next was unsustainable prof- it margins followed by being affected by consolidating entities.
ADAS is having an impact on the in- dustry and will potentially offer opportu- nities as well. The proliferation of equip- ment that needs recalibrating impacts on cycle times and is pushing repair costs up. Currently repairers send cars in need of recalibration to dealerships. As the number of ADAS cars in the car parc in- creases this will become unsustainable.
Consolidation has been slow to take off in Australia but the market is set to mature quickly over the next 12 months. There is an increasing interest from pri- vate equity and other financial institu- tions in the body repair industry. There is much opportunity for those who wish to consolidate with many shop owners looking to sell their businesses.
WHAT TRENDS ARE EVIDENT ?
The largest consolidator AMA Group had a year of solidifying its position with less acquisitions and new sites compared with previous stellar growth. It has now attracted some significant blue chip investors and has over 120 sites. Since this report was written de- tails of recent purchases has been an- nounced (see page 22) including four heavy vehicle repair businesses which will give it truck repair facilities in Western Australia, Melbourne, South Australia, Sydney and two locations in
FOCUS REPORT
AUSTRALIA
PAINT & PANEL IS THE MEDIA PARTNER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BODYSHOP INDUSTRY SYMPOSIUM (IBIS) AND EACH YEAR PRODUCES A REPORT ON THE AUSTRALIAN REPAIR MARKET FOR THE IBIS GLOBAL FOCUS. BY SAM STREET.