Lots to celebrate as Lookers stages its general managers conference

9:33 am, February 28, 2018

LOOKERS provided plenty of reasons to celebrate at its annual general managers’ conference, outlining its ‘recipe for success’ amid uncertain market conditions.

The national motor retailer, which is set to announce its annual results on March 7, hosted more than 600 colleagues from right across the group at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, where its upbeat message aimed to inspire its people to continue achieving ‘operational excellence’.

Lookers, which operates 153 franchised dealerships across the UK, has implemented a successful growth strategy over recent years, with CEO Andy Bruce highlighting its formula of having ‘the right brands in the right locations’ as a key reason for its year-on-year growth over the last five years.

Rory Bremner on stage

The day-long programme also saw chief operating officer Nigel McMinn ask his colleagues to ‘focus on the details’ and strive to be ‘best in brand’.

McMinn said: ‘It is vital that we maintain consistency right across our retail network by firstly getting the basics right every time.

‘This will allow us to achieve operational excellence and consistently achieve top-quartile status at both a national and regional level.’

To emphasise the importance of having the right ingredients in place, guests were treated to a cookery masterclass by British-Jamaican celebrity chef and musician Levi Roots, who also inspired the audience with the story of his upbringing and breakthrough on BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.

Following the conference, guests were treated to a gala dinner, which included entertainment from comic and impersonator Rory Bremner, who took aim at political figures including Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

During the dinner Nigel McMinn also announced the 2018 finalists of the Lookers Excellence Awards, which will see 100 Lookers colleagues and their guests treated to a trip to Monaco in May, where the winners will be announced.

Andy Bruce addresses Lookers managers

Andy Bruce said: ‘The Lookers annual conference is one of my favourite days of the year as it brings together the wealth of talent we have in the group, while giving us a chance to discuss ways in which we can all improve our respective businesses.

‘Having the right brands in the right locations is still paramount to everything we do, but this has to be complemented by having the right ingredients within the dealerships themselves, whether that’s having the right levels of stock, being smarter about the way we work, or the experience our customers have when they walk through our doors.

‘This is what this year’s conference was all about.’