VW Melrose Arch: Turning challenges into opportunities

Dealerfloor asked Ryan Brews, Dealer Principal (DP) at Hatfield Volkswagen Melrose Arch, about this accomplishment, bringing the most prestigious silverware from the VW Grand Prix Dealer Awards home for the first time.

As another feather in Hatfield’s cap; the motoring group received the Macro Dealer Group of the Year award for the eighth consecutive year at the awards ceremony.

“Winning the Dealer of the Year title is not of my making alone, but rather a team effort from every single employee at the dealership. I joined two years ago, and we have a new and young management team, consisting of Jenna Kaftel, Rolf Oelofse, Llewelyn Britts and Fanie Parmiter, who drove our turnaround strategy.

“The younger generation brings a different energy to the business with fresh ideas and an easiness around technology in this digital age we operate in. They are not set in their ways, but can adapt to the latest circumstances and challenges, and I am honoured to lead them,” Ryan says.

He adds that two of his team members were awarded the top accolades in their respective categories. Jenna Kaftel received the award as the Best New Vehicles Sales Manager while Rolf Oelofse took home the title for Best Used Vehicle Sales Manager. Ryan himself is no stranger when it comes to winning with, amongst others, a Dealer of the Year title under his belt during his stint as DP at Hatfield Audi Centre Rivonia.

“I spent about ten years at Audi and moved to Hatfield VW Melrose Arch during the first quarter of 2023. I am extremely happy at VW Melrose Arch as our dealership is a state-of-the-art facility in a very trendy business and retail environment. We are also the closest VW dealership to Sandton with good access to the major highways,” he tells us.

Ryan describes the Internet as their market place because of the location of the dealership. As mentioned, it’s in a business setting rather than close to large neighbourhoods. “The industry, including us, is facing a number of economic challenges and we have to go and look everywhere for new customers.

“In short – you have to box clever these days. We don’t work towards awards, but they are a validation of the effort we put in. Everyone at the dealership has to share the same vision and have the same goals to make a dealership a viable business.

“I am thankful that we could achieve this in the face of fierce competition from imports, especially China, and we have been able to stand our ground as the Volkswagen brand is an established and valuable nameplate.

“With the top luxury brands’ declining monthly sales owing to economic pressures in the country, we sure are attracting customers from that segment. On the other end of the scale, more affordable Volkswagen products on the entry side could hugely benefit our dealer network,” he says.

Ryan concludes by saying with his management team and all the employees with him as well as with leadership support from the likes of Hatfield’s Franchise Director, Micheal Kaftel, they focus squarely on delivering a first-class service to their customers from buying to after-sales.