I have to ask out loud: on what grounds was the used car business placed at the strategic core if the market challenges were already clearly visible back then?
Now we hear that the market situation came as a surprise. But what exactly was the surprise? The problems in the used car market didn’t emerge in three months – they already existed when the strategic guidelines were established. The effects of VAT speculation on market prices are no secret, yet the move was made without a clear answer as to how Wetteri specifically differentiates itself in this arena.
The used car business is a demanding discipline. It requires deep pricing expertise, rapid inventory management, and years of experience with the specific dynamics of this market. These aren’t things that are built with a strategy document – they are built by the people and their expertise.
The results obtained so far do not provide very strong evidence that this expertise is already in-house. Of course, implementing a strategy takes time, but the direction and execution should still be visible at an early stage.
Hopefully, management can demonstrate concretely in the coming months that there is more to this than just a good idea on paper.