Page 26 - Australaasian Paint & Panel Jan-Feb 2022

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MARKET INTELLIGENCE
26
PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022
26 MSOS • 36 BUSINESS MATTERS • 38 DIGITAL MARKETING
HITTING THE BIG TIME
THERE’S BEEN AN INCREASE IN SUBSTANTIAL MUTLI-SITE OPERATIONS (MSOS) IN THE COLLISION MARKET. SAM STREET TALKED TO SOME OF THE MAJOR PLAYERS.
providers or diversity their services, as many have already done.
Talking to business leaders at the MSOs a number of themes emerged. Number one of course is the battle for talent which has inflated wages to an unsustainable level. Parts availability and inflation is also a challenge. Gener- ally there’s a feeling that insurers have become less dictatorial and more willing to negotiate and partner with repairers.
We asked each of our featured MSOs about their growth strategies, core values, how they planned to tackle talent short- ages as well as what they saw as the major challenges and opportunities ahead.
AMA GROUP
SITES: 180
EMPLOYEES 3700
TYPE OF WORK: All collision, parts supply ESTABLISHED: 2006
NO OF APPRENTICES: 300
FUNDING: Publicly funded
SITES IN: Nationwide
AMA GROUP IS THE BIGGEST MSO IN THE
industry by a few country miles and has had a turbulent ride over the last couple of years. Wholesale changes in management and the biggest challenge for a volume re- pairer – long lockdowns – in the major markets. We caught up with Mathew Cooper, chief operating officer to find out what’s in the pipeline. Cooper's last role was with Bapcor (which includes the Bur- sons brand) and he has plenty of experi- ence with multi-site outlets and large sup- ply chains. In response to the core values of AMA Cooper said: “We’re still going through a development process and we’re seeking feedback from our people. Our fo- cus is really on our people and doing things right – that’s at our core.”
In terms of network development Cooper said the AMA Group is still plan-
HERE’S BEEN A HUGE SHAKE
up in the market place in
terms of MSOs. Given the amount of talent that has left AMA Group over the last couple of years, we can expect to see even more groups starting up. We know there is a trend for smaller operators to have more than one site, it makes sense insurers prefer to deal with larger entities to cut
down on admin and logistical costs. Are MSOs good for the industry? Abso- lutely. The entire industry is suffering from
a skills shortage. MSOs are major employ- ers of apprentices because bringing on
the next generation is vital to their sustainability. Not only can they often provide enhanced training opportuni- ties, afford to pay apprentices above their award scale and have the resources to en- gage with local schools, but they can also offer a career path that smaller repair busi- nesses aren’t in a position to do. When those apprentices are fully qualified it cre- ates a larger talent pool for the whole indus- try as it’s unlikely these MSOs will retain all of them indefinitely.
MSOs can invest in training and not just technical training – management, personal development and a range of other up-skilling paths. Some of these highly trained people may filter back into the industry at large and they could start up their own businesses and bring those skills into the independent sector.
MSOs can also offer an appealing exit strategy for those repair business owners who are looking at retirement and don’t have anyone to pass the business on to.
There has also been a huge investment in new, purpose-built shops on a scale that hasn’t been seen for more than a decade. AMA and Repairhub in particu- lar, are the Coles and Woolies of the mar-
ket place that the independent ‘corner shops’ wisely don’t try to compete with.
All of the MSOs interviewed have eight or more sites (or will do very shortly), and there are some others out in the market place who we haven’t included this time. Smart Repair Australia is an MSO. It start- ed out as a hail repair outfit and has diver- sified into conventional repairs and ADAS recalibrations. Sheen Panel Service is a sig- nificant market force in Melbourne but is a franchise and we’ll be talking to them along with Car Craft and Fix Auto next is-
There has also been a
huge investment in new, purpose-built shops on a
scale that hasn’t been seen for more than a decade.”
sue. There are some up and coming MSOs, also in Melbourne, such as Carllision Body Works which has an ambitious growth strategy. Then there is of course Royans in the heavy vehicle repair space as well.
A new entrant to the market is CARe which is just opening its first shop and has some of the former Capital S.M.A.R.T team behind it. As we went to print Tamms was opening Melbourne, we’ll be reporting on the launch and business strategy online and in the next issue.
Continued consolidation is inevita- ble and it’s what’s happened in the major markets internationally. There will always be a place for great inde- pendents in the collision space. Inde- pendents can be nimble and alter their business direction by offering a new service that is out of the local MSO’s scope. They can court different work