8:38 am, June 28, 2024
Sytner has rebranded the Swindon branch of Carshop as it continues to restructure its used car supermarket brand.
Car Dealer reported last month that the Top 100 group was planning to axe the CarShop name following a strategic review of the business.
As part of the shake-up, at least one site – later confirmed as Carshop Doncaster – was earmarked for closure, with others set to be rebranded.
It is a process which is now well underway, with the site in Swindon seeing all its signage pulled down.
The Swindon Advertiser reports that the premises have been rebranded as ‘Sytner Select Approved Used Cars’ with a new corporate identity being implemented.
The paper says that scaffolding has been erected at the site throughout this week as the rebrand continues to take shape.
Work has included replacing all of the building’s signage and installing blue flags throughout the car park. A large digital screen at the site has also been changed to display Sytner’s branding, rather than CarShop’s.
Confirming the wider shake-up to Car Dealer back in May, a Sytner spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that after conducting a strategic review, including a successful pilot at one former CarShop location, the group is consulting with our CarShop team regarding the potential rebranding of the majority of our CarShop locations, to become Sytner Select Approved Used Cars superstores.
‘In addition, we can confirm that we are also in advanced negotiations with an interested party to sell a minority of the CarShop locations as a going concern, as well as potentially closing one location.
‘Our priority, as always, will be to protect as many jobs as possible whilst ensuring that the long-term future success of the business is secured.’
Sytner currently operates CarShop stores in Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Sheffield, Swindon, Warrington and Wolverhampton.
The firm’s Wakefield retail point was also recently rebranded as a Sytner Select site.
Sytner bought CarShop for more than £70m in 2017 and in 2021 rolled out the CarShop brand across the globe.
The dealer group is owned by the New York Stock Exchange-listed business Penske Automotive, which continues to use the CarShop brand in America.
Last year, Penske revenue topped £23bn and it made profits of £863.5m. The UK contributed 31.3% to Penske’s revenue in 2023 while the CarShop outlets in both the UK and US were static, adding 7% to the total.
