Market reports – Suzuki La Defense interview: our customers have been extremely loyal – Used SUZUKI

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Suzuki La Defense interview: our customers have been extremely loyal

Market reports - Suzuki La Defense interview: our customers have been extremely loyal - Used SUZUKI

In addition to the 2020 market figures and for its fourth dealer interview, Site asks Suzuki La Defense. Henri Farcigny explains how the dealership founded by his father (in 1974!) Survives in the face of Covid-19 and the lack of new Suzuki products, thanks to its customers and to electricity. !

Yamaha 4-in-1, Kawasaki Grande Armee, Harley-Davidson RoadStar 92 … The 2020 dealer tour continues on Site with the small but valiant Suzuki La Defense dealership which has exclusively sold Hamamatsu motorcycles and scooters since 1974 !

Located from its origin in Courbevoie in the Hauts-de-Seine, the family company founded by Pierre and Nadia Farcigny – today managed by their son Henri – settled in 1980 and definitively at 6, boulevard de la Mission Marchand, i.e. "3 minutes from the CNIT on foot and 5 minutes from Porte Maillot by motorbike".

  • MNC special file :
  • MNC special file :
  • Interview 1st semester (Suzuki) :

Ideally placed to sell Burgman 125s to "scootomobilists" or Burgman 650 to "commuters" who go every day to Europe’s leading business district, Suzuki La Defense also sold whole containers of GSR750 or V-Strom 650 XT…

The other side of the coin, the confinement of this spring 2020 – in full and beautiful season! – and telework – extended – emptied the towers of their employees, reducing to nothing or almost nothing the activity of the concession: only 5 (five) new machines of Hamamatsu left the concession in 11 months, against 49 in 2019 … and more than 300 ten years ago, in the best scores of Suzuki sellers in Ile-de-France !

Rare breath of fresh air in this difficult year 2020: the one provided by a second brand incorporated this summer … And it’s a first in 46 years! Complementary to Suzuki, Super Soco offers electric motorcycles and scooters, equivalent to 50 or 125 cc. Interview.

Site: First of all, how your Suzuki La Defense dealership went through the first containment ?
Henri Farcigny, manager of the concession: The first containment was the most difficult because it took place in March-April-May, when we traditionally receive the new models. This was the case for the GSR750, GSX-S750, GSX-S1000. Winter stops, spring arrives, people sell their used vehicle for a better price than in winter and buy a new or used vehicle … It’s high season, when we work on it. more.

The first confinement was the most difficult

Site: And this year, the coronavirus is forcing you to close…
H. F .: Yes. We had the right to open, but we did not know until very late that motorcycle dealerships were part of the so-called "essential" stores (in the automobile, workshops and garages could open, unlike showrooms, Editor’s note). When in doubt, we preferred to close. In addition, all our workshop appointments were canceled. Customers who could not reach us by phone notified us by email or via Facebook.

MNC: Your workshop has been closed all this spring as well ?
H. F .: Yes because people were not driving at all. They therefore no longer consumed tires or pads, no longer needed to have their machine serviced, no longer had accidents, no longer had any breakdowns … Well, at Suzuki breakdowns are rare! But it can still happen. So we preferred to close everything.

MNC: Did you receive emergency aid from the government? ?
H. F .: So yes, reimbursements are provided for partial or full unemployment. Some of our mechanics took advantage of a "childcare" module because their companions had to continue working, while the schools were closed … But at the end of November, the reimbursement had still not been made.

MNC: The concession continued to pay salaries, settle charges ?
H. F .: It’s always like that: we pay, we are reimbursed later. It’s tricky, especially since we don’t know when the refund will be made, we have no information. It could be in two months or in three years. We would have preferred that the state freeze the charges.

We would have preferred that the state freeze the charges

MNC: This is an unprecedented situation. Have you ever closed the store so long ?
H. F .: Never. Apart from the August holidays and the end of year celebrations, we never closed. Even ten years ago, we didn’t even close during the summer holidays. The motorcycle market was going so well that we stayed open all summer! In recent years, however, we close between two and three weeks in August.

MNC: You took a vacation this summer 2020 ?
H. F .: Yes, but only a short week, that of August 15 which fell on a Wednesday this year. Otherwise, we stayed open and we had a lot of people, especially in the workshop.

MNC: What support do you receive from the builder and props ?
H. F .: Suzuki suggested to dealerships that had stock to postpone deadlines. On our side, we didn’t have any stock so we weren’t concerned. Some providers, like Bihr for example, offered to stagger payments, in 3 or 4 installments at no cost. However, we did not ask to benefit from it because we were closed, so we were not selling anything, but we were not buying anything either..

Our President of the Republic is a banker

MNC: What about banks and insurance ?
H. F .: No help from them, no. The banks first protected themselves. They are helped for once: our President of the Republic is a banker. Be careful, this is not necessarily a bad thing or a bad strategy! It’s just a bias. We must recognize that if tomorrow the banks collapse … what do we do? It just takes a little more humanism, dignity.

MNC: The French new home market picked up strongly in May. For you too ?
H. F .: Ah yes it started again very, very quickly, and in two ways. First of all, people had a hard time restarting their motorcycles because of dead batteries, like at the end of winter. The tire pressure had to be redone, it was an opportunity to check their condition and wear, inspect the chain kits that could have a hard point, etc. We spent a lot of consumables. In fact, we had a second winter comeback! Then, in terms of new sales – but that had nothing to do with Suzuki anymore – demand changed a lot. Especially in Paris where Anne Hidalgo was reelected for six years, and the suburbs.

MNC: Ah, you are going to tell us about electrics and your second brand, Super Soco ?
H. F .: Absolutely. Since 1974 and until this year 2020, we only sold Suzuki. But we have chosen to market vehicles that our favorite brand does not offer: electric motorcycles and scooters that do not compete with Suzuki models. Because demand has exploded. Our sales started very strong, that reassured us.

Electric powertrain intimidates people less

MNC: What pleases about electricity? ?
H. F .: It is a motorization that intimidates people less. Many buy an electric scooter as if they bought a big scooter or a bicycle without crankset, more comfortable and practical. In addition, state aid is boosting sales, the green sticker allows you to drive everywhere and park for free in Paris, the absence or low maintenance required (tires, pads) also seduces and reassures … his people do not imagine that motorcycles need to be overhauled! Even our biker customers are less and less aware of what is being done on their machine: chain kit, belt, air filter, spark plug, injection adjustment or synchro … Many do not care and simply want to ride.

MNC: The Covid-19 also plays a role in the electric two-wheeler boom ?
H. F .: Absolutely, the fact of isolating yourself in your own vehicle, under your helmet, calms a lot. But conversely, the announcement of the second confinement once again weighed on sales.

MNC: Lack of distance in public transport, fear of traffic jams: do you see returning former customers for the overhaul of their old two-wheelers ?
H. F .: We had some, but it’s not exceptional. In recent years, strikes in transport and yellow vests had already pushed some people to take back the handlebars. And this can be seen in every strike, in every social or economic crisis: the motorbike is the best solution for getting around. But it’s true that just recently, for example, one of my clients brought out his Gladius with which he was usually content to do 1000 km a year, to go for a walk on sunny days. He now uses it daily, rather than taking transport. But the phenomenon has not been increased tenfold this year.

300 annual sales ten years ago, 5 (five!) In 2020…

MNC: The strong recovery during deconfinement was not too hard to manage ?
H. F .: No, it’s never too much. Especially now: FYI, we sold 49 motorcycles and scooters last year, whereas ten years ago, we made 300 (three hundred). And in eleven months of this year 2020, we have only sold 5 Suzuki. So we are not at all overwhelmed, in the dealership as in the workshop because in 2010 when we were selling 300 machines, we very quickly had 300 revisions of the 1000 km! Without counting the top boxes to be assembled, the aprons, etc..

MNC: The maintenance of your new electrical products should not overwhelm your workshop either….
H. F .: No because there are no engine revisions. But we noticed that there were many accidents, especially on the 50 cc, well their "equivalents". It is a clientele who masters their two-wheelers, but not in the middle of traffic. It is believed that there is a cruel lack of training: the BSR or AM permit is really ineffective. Unlike the A license, which is very difficult to access, too difficult. Beyond 14-16 year olds, adults who are sold electric have sometimes never ridden motorized two-wheelers in their lives. This was still the case with our 43 year old client this morning !

MNC: You don’t let go like that, in the street ?
H. F .: No, we try at our level to give them advice, those we have received from our driving school instructors. Or those that I personally received during days on the circuit, supervised by pilots who also have a lot to teach us. However, customers are very fond of this, and very grateful. In this job, you have to show kindness. And then a healthy client is a returning client !

Touched and moved by the recognition of customers

MNC: (Laughs) Not wrong! In this regard, have you received messages of support from some customers? Or invoice settlements in advance, like your colleague Harley-Davidson Roadstar92 ?
H. F .: His clients are really cool! No checks with us. But we have a very loyal customer base: during the first lockdown, while other stores were open, our customers waited for us. When it reopened in May, we didn’t even need to call our customers back: we were immediately invaded by a message, "Ah Henri, I saw that you had reopened … I have a few extra kilometers and I have to do the revision ". So I reassured them: with Japanese women in general, we can exceed the appointments of 2000 km without fear! We never panic them, there is nothing worse than driving under stress. So we didn’t have a cash advance, it’s too good and the time can be tough for them too, but our customers have been extremely loyal. It was touching, moving to see this recognition. Sometimes we don’t do 50 hours of attendance a week for nothing !

MNC: These testimonies of loyalty and trust are a "positive" aspect of this crisis ?
H. F .: Yes, I have the feeling that people have been more united, paradoxically. Although we can regret that shopping on the Internet has really hurt local businesses. We see it around us.

MNC: Do clients comply with all applicable sanitary measures ?
H. F .: So, from day one, I dotted the "i’s". From the Sunday before the reopening, I was there to put tape everywhere on the ground to indicate the different zones and directions of movement, put up the posters, bring the masks and hydro alcoholic gel … From this point of view, we were ready. In terms of communication, I have been very firm. I am a trader but not very commercial! I am always very frank with clients, sometimes too much, which can be a double-edged sword. People knew that "I" – because everyone knows that it is I, Henri, who manages these questions at Suzuki La Defense! -, I would not tolerate any reproach vis-à-vis the health protocol, or aggressive behavior. I recalled that the mask was supposed to protect them, but also my team and me. I was uncompromising and there was no problem.

The second confinement goes better … less badly !

MNC: You are currently open ?
H. F .: Yes, besides this second confinement seems less hard to us because people do not respect it too much. It was easier for us too because we knew from the start that we could stay open. We were able to announce it on our website, relay it on social networks. Suddenly things are going better, well, less badly, especially because at this time of year, the motorcycle market is drastically declining. It’s the end of autumn, as soon as it rains, people stop driving. Not in the Paris region anyway.

MNC: Is the economic and social crisis due to the Coronavirus changing your business, the type of Suzuki vehicles sold ?
H. F .: No, not from Suzuki Japan at this time. "We" – within the network of Suzuki dealers in France – are very numerous to believe that the company is completely abandoning Europe. For several reasons … There are anti-pollution standards, including the short-lived "5a" which arrives on January 1, 2021 but will go to "5b" from 2023, and whose investment may seem unnecessary. This is the observation made by Suzuki on its GSX-R1000 for example, which is temporarily disappearing from the catalog on our continent. Another concern is the shrinking sales volume. Suzuki has not renewed its range much, considering that its models are functional and reliable.

MNC: Making products that last is not good for the business !?
H. F .: It is, but differently, for the workshop. Last January we did a 105,000 km overhaul on a 2015 Burgman 125. This owner made us more money than if he had bought three scooters and traveled 33,000 km with each. But as far as the new home market is concerned, this is indeed not a good calculation. Suzuki France and Japan can see that we are maintaining increasingly older vehicles: a V-Strom with 135,000 km on the clock, a Bandit 1200 with 95,000, a GSR 750 with 106,000 last June. Our vehicles are not only reliable, but they don’t get stolen either. Unfortunately for us, these selling points are less and less valid. When I tell customers that they can drive 100,000 km without worry with an SV or V-Strom 650, they don’t care: they average 3,500 km per year! They are already wary of opportunities over 30,000 km…

Do 100,000 km without worry? Customers are no longer interested

MNC: Bikers consume differently today. They rent, want new under warranty every two or three years ?
H. F .: Which is great for a brand that offers new products! At Yamaha for example, the Tmax changes every two or three years precisely. With us, Suzuki, the Burgman 650 has been the same since 2013. And again, it had changed in look and electronics, but the engine and CVT are those of 2002.

MNC: There is still an excellent maxiscooter !
H. F .: Certainly, but after two years the customers want to change. So they renew for the first time, because they love this vehicle. But after two more years, they want another scooter. In the automobile industry, for example, the owner of the Clio 1 switches to the Clio 2 then to the 3 because he likes the Renault brand and the model, but is looking for changes. This is what Suzuki is missing right now !

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE

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