A marriage made in Chester

As a retailer, keeping one manufacturer happy is not an easy task. But Mark Mitchell, managing director of Mitchell Group, has nurtured successful long-term relationships with three – all spanning between 20 and 25 years. The most recent milestone was the 20-year anniversary with Mazda, the brand that sits alongside Lexus and Skoda on the company’s five-acre complex in Cheshire that Mark purchased in 2001. Prior to establishing itself in the current location, the business traded for a number of years at more modest locations – a move that came about after Mark had earned his stripes.

“I joined the motor industry as a graduate trainee and worked for Rover and Ford before jumping ship to the retail side to join Inchcape and then Dixon Motor Group,” he explains. “When I was 28, I started on my own, with £100 and a £10,000 loan from Barclays.” Starting out with a Lexus retailer, it wasn’t long before Mark was planning to expand, which meant moving to a brownfield site and building three dedicated showrooms, a road network, electrical substation and everything else that was required to make the development operational. Today, the Mitchell Group has partnered with Mazda for 20 years, Skoda for 23 years and Lexus for 25 years. Mark refers to the relationships as ‘long-term automotive marriages’ and likens them to a traditional marriage. “One has to put as much effort into one’s automotive marriage as one’s own marriage,” he says, speaking fondly of his wife, Anita, who has been instrumental in the retailer’s success. “We need to understand each other’s objectives – both short- and longterm – be committed (both ways) and, with our three brands, have a first rate understanding of each other and our respective personalities.”

People pleaser

The success of the business, Mark explains, comes down to a focus on his 102 colleagues. “For example, I know whose birthday it is today and last week I went to visit a colleague who’s got a newborn baby – something my wife and I always do,” he says. “If I can develop, among my colleagues, an appreciation of what our specific objectives are – pastorally, emotionally, interpersonally and, ultimately, commercially – we’ll have a successful business.

“Our colleague retention rate is first rate and we only tend to lose seven or eight colleagues in a given year out of 102. That means a seven or 8% attrition rate against an industry average of between 30 and 40%. It’s my job to lead and care for my people. We’ve got some fairly rigorous objectives, but it’s all in the context of caring for colleagues.”

Before people actually join the business, Mark takes a hands-on approach. “Essentially, I don’t have an HR person, which is unusual for 102 people,” he admits. “We have an induction week for everyone who joins us where the colleague spends half a day in each different part of the business and by the end of the week they know everyone here. Most people say it is refreshing that, at the end their first week, rather than going straight into doing a service at 9am on their first day, they’ve met 102 colleagues and probably know at least half of their names names within a week.”

Staying close

With roughly 30 colleagues in each of the Lexus, Mazda and Skoda operations, Mark makes sure he stays close to each of the brands. “I walk the business three or four times a day, meeting customers and hopefully showing good leadership,” he explains. “We don’t really have a hierarchy and speak on an even level – something that was evidenced four years ago when we removed ties from our uniform. None of our customers come in wearing suits these days and while we don’t have a casual dress code, it’s still a smart business attire, just slightly less formal.”

Beyond sartorial changes, Mark also ensures that all his colleagues are made to feel welcome and comfortable in the Mitchell Group environment. “We have a restaurant where we all have lunch together and when the temperature gets above 25°C, the ice cream man arrives. Then, during registration months, we have a vintage pizza wagon that comes to us and serves 100-plus pizzas. Finally, we’ve bought a five-star luxury lodge in Snowdonia, Wales – the weeks are split into two and everyone gets either a free midweek or weekend stay of three or four nights. That’s just a little thank you to our colleagues for all the exceptional work they do during the year.”

Cheery Cheshire customers

It’s probably not surprising to hear that, as well as his colleagues, Mark likes to look after his customers, too. “It struck me that the cars we sell are so reliable that it can be at least a year – or sometimes two years – between purchase and first service,” he says. “I thought to myself, how can we see our customers more frequently? I got an idea from Lexus in Los Angeles to offer them a free car wash and we launched our Wash and Go programme more than 20 years ago.

“We now wash between 100 and 130 cars every Saturday morning, free of charge. If you think there are two occupants per car, that’s potentially 260 people coming in during a four-hour window on a Saturday, who are benefiting from a complimentary car wash, coffee and pastries – and it’s worked a treat for us. Service customers also have the option of a bacon sandwich Monday to Friday and we get through about 20 to 30 most mornings.”

This attention to detail is paying dividends, with the growth of the Mitchell Group being driven by a healthy aftersales department. “Every year, we’re pushing 2,500 new and nearly new cars out into our local marketplace – around 1,000 of which are new cars,” explains Mark. “Our profitability has been very solid the past 10 years and we’re making about 5% return on sales.”

Meanwhile, Mitchell Group donates 10% of its profits to various community projects and local, national and overseas charities – an initiative that is described by Mark as ‘distinctly biblical’.

“There’s an underlying theme all through the Bible that talks about living generously. It’s a challenging concept, yet the penny dropped with me in my early 20s. Since then, we’ve always set aside 10% of ther business’ bottom line each year.

“I’ve been obedient to that and it’s worked well for us – the business continues to prosper.”

Faith foundations

As a committed Christian, Mark made a stand against Sunday trading and to this day, the Mitchell Group remains closed on Sunday.

“I want my colleagues to be successful at home as well as at work – and for them to be the best husbands, wives, mothers or fathers they can be,” he reasons.

“Working on Sunday and having a Tuesday off when your better half is at work and the children are at school is not conducive to a successful home life. Not working Sundays has caused some problems with certain car manufacturers and meant we couldn’t partner with them, but I like to think I’m more accountable to my ‘ultimate manufacturer’ than my motor manufacturer.”