Armstrong's still have an IPO on the agenda
For those who like cars could be a goer
Now have 21 dealerships and still expanding. Really excited about what new Chinese models will do for NZ car market
They've had a very good year. Boss says
Interesting comment -
Everything I'm reading and hearing about economically is pretty average at the moment, and I was like, this is actually kind of irritating, because we're doing okay. We've had a really good year.
"We've managed to have a significant increase on last year and we've grown the business, we've grown our volume of sales, we've grown the revenue, we've opened new dealerships."
Businessdesk piece here ...prob paywalled
https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/retail/more-for-less-armstrongs-reveals-how-it-has-bucked-tough-market
I think they tried to do an IPO a few years ago and there was insufficient interest.
FWIW I bought a new vehicle last year through an Armstrong dealership and have found their customer service very good.
Quote from: Basil on Dec 29, 2025, 09:56 AMI think they tried to do an IPO a few years ago and there was insufficient interest.
FWIW I bought a new vehicle last year through an Armstrong dealeership and have found their customer service very good.
IPO was going to be 2022 but then Russia invaded Ukraine and markets became a bit shy of IPOs ...but that could have been an excuse
Interesting the boss doesn't believe all he reads in the media about bad economic times ....but that's media hype for you
Colonial Motor CMO hasn't been a bad investment over many years
If I recall correctly their IPO was partially scuttled by sentiment as many dealers in Australia selling the same brands were effectively forced to back into brand ownership/or effective control for very little consideration, and got litigious. Not sure what happened but understand people became wary of the same thing happening here.
Quote from: winner (n) on Dec 29, 2025, 10:09 AMInteresting the boss doesn't believe all he reads in the media about bad economic times ....but that's media hype for you
Yep, and car dealers always tell the truth!
Quote from: Fiordland Moose on Dec 29, 2025, 03:08 PMIf I recall correctly their IPO was partially scuttled by sentiment as many dealers in Australia selling the same brands were effectively forced to back into brand ownership/or effective control for very little consideration, and got litigious. Not sure what happened but understand people became wary of the same thing happening here.
That definitely rings a bell. Mercedes-Benz for one took over ownership of all new cars and demonstrators and recreated the distribution model such that dealers who had invested millions, (in some cases tens of millions) in infrastructure were only agents selling the cars on MB's behalf at much reduced margins. Litigation was rampant in Australia. Not sure what the outcome was ? MB now use the same agency model here.
P.S. Here's the answer https://autoexpert.com.au/posts/mercedes-benz-dealers-lose-650-million-lawsuit-how-it-affects-car-buyers
P.P.S. and lost again under appeal https://www.kwm.com/au/en/insights/latest-thinking/mercedes-case-reinforces-judicial-approach-to-statutory-unconscionability.html
Turners a few years ago looked at getting into new cars.
Seem to remember they thought the car manufacturers terms were very hard, and they would lose a lot of control of how they did business.