Hong Seh loses its lucrative horse

[Beachboys]

PI ferraris anyone? (still from Hong Seh)

 

 

extracted from Asiaone.com

 

 

S'pore company loses 25-year-old Ferrari dealership

 

By Christopher Tan

 

HONG Seh Motors is slated to relinquish its Ferrari franchise by the middle of this month, and will have to refund deposits it has collected for a new model.

 

The privately-owned company, run by businessman Alfred Tan and his son Edward, has represented the marque for 25 years. It has reportedly taken more than 120 bookings for Ferrari's California convertible.

 

 

Although prices have not been confirmed - as the California has not been officially launched here - Hong Seh is expected to return the $50,000 it collected as deposit for each car. "We have refunded those who asked for a refund," Mr Edward Tan said.

 

Ferrari Asia-Pacific spokesman Matteo Bonciani has disclosed that Hong Seh's replacement - to be revealed next week - will launch the California.

 

Mr Bonciani said customers can also look forward to the new F430, which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

 

Mr Bonciani said the race to represent Ferrari is now between Komoco and Premium Automobiles.

 

Komoco is owned by hotelier Ong Beng Seng, who also holds the Singapore F1 franchise; Premium Automobiles is owned by Indonesian entrepreneur Hadi Tanaga, who also has the Audi dealership for Singapore.

 

They were among eight parties pitching for Ferrari's franchise. These included Mr Andy Goh, brother of Lamborghini dealer Melvin Goh; Porsche dealer Karsono Kwee; and Mr Arthur Tay, who runs leisure group SUTL.

 

On why Ferrari has not yet decided after months of deliberation, Mr Bonciani said: "We're taking a long time to consider every possible proposal carefully.

 

"As you can imagine, Ferrari is very special. If you want to work with us, you have to be a solid partner."

 

He revealed that Hong Seh had tried to hold on to the franchise and only fell out of the race "very recently".

 

Hong Seh, which has since secured brands such as Spyker and Artega, did not want to talk about losing Ferrari.

 

Industry observers said its relationship with the Maranello manufacturer had been strained in recent years, with Ferrari wanting its representatives to invest more in the brand.

 

 

This has led some to give up the Prancing Horse. London-based Inchcape stopped representing Ferrari and sister brand Maserati in the UK in 2007.

 

And over the past two years, Asia has seen a slew of agency changes. These include South Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Changes are in the pipeline in Thailand and the Philippines as well.

 

Insiders claim this signals Ferrari's ambition to stay ahead in the sports car segment in the face of intensifying competition from the likes of Lamborghini and Porsche. Lamborghini outsold Ferrari in Singapore for the first time in 2006 and again last year.

 

Ferrari, which once said it would not make more than 3,000 cars a year, ended last year with record sales of nearly 6,600 cars. Mr Bonciani said it will now turn out no more than 7,000 cars a year.

 

News of the impending change of Ferrari franchisee in Singapore has prompted several customers to write to The Straits Times requesting updates. One, a prominent lawyer, quipped: "I am a Ferrari owner dying for change."

 

Hong Seh, meanwhile, may still continue to source Ferraris for loyal customers by parallel-importing them.

 

 

 

[Silver_blade]

They probably have worked out their sum, that they will be better off to not invest in improving the brand and give up the dealership.

[Kyojin]

old news. prob also due to the fact that Lamborghini, Ferrari's fiercest competitor, managed to outsell in Singapore 2 times in the last 3 years. it doesn't happen anywhere else in the world...

[Silver_blade]

I am sure they already know what they have to do in order to keep their dealership. But, really, I find some smaller ADs have nicer showroom than Ferrari's and Maserati's.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Silver_blade

[Maffie]

What do you mean by 'smaller'?

[Silver_blade]

ADs selling lesser and cheaper brands.

[Moonwalker84]

Komoco? It will be interesting to see Ferrari models parked alongside those Hyundai models at their showroom at Alexandra. LOL. (Of coz I dun think they will put it at same place lah, so juz kidding)

[Maffie]

ADs selling lesser and cheaper brands.

 

Hong Seh sell ferrari, maserati and spyker.

 

lesser brand and cheaper brands like e.g. Champion (suzuki)? komoco (hyundai)? borneo (toyota and lexus)? they may be 'smaller' in your own terms but their market share is much, much bigger.

 

 

[Carcraze]

HS still got one unit F430 spider (yellow) for sale. Last one! Price is really really good. They just sold a red unit last night ;)

Edited July 3, 2009 by Carcraze

[Shemmy]

Buy it. Then grant me a taxi ride. Don't know my whole life whether can sit inside a horsie or not. For me, it's always the f430 over any lambo.

[Drive_carcar]

The whole problem seems to be that Ferrari is not making enough cars to be sold worldwide. There's a certain optimal price point vs number of cars sold.

 

If the dealers don't get enough Ferraris to sell, then no matter how high the margin may be, the dealership may not be sustainable.

[Observer]

so u judge market share as the bigger and more expensive brands? toyota and honda bigger? i politely disagree

[Watwheels]

It's all about face value. If you look at the current showroom, you will feel that this brand of car deserves much much better.

[Rtth84]

If the dealers don't get enough Ferraris to sell, then no matter how high the margin may be, the dealership may not be sustainable.

 

yup I agree. what for sell like 50 ferrari's per year, making probably 100k for each, compared to selling 1000 toyotas making 10k each

[Fcar]

HS still got one unit F430 spider (yellow) for sale. Last one! Price is really really good. They just sold a red unit last night ;)

 

Really? How much did they sell the red car for, and wats the asking for the yellow? If below 600k can hoot!!

[Felipe]

yup I agree. what for sell like 50 ferrari's per year, making probably 100k for each, compared to selling 1000 toyotas making 10k each

 

 

i think they make much more than 100k per car.

[Maffie]

so u judge market share as the bigger and more expensive brands? toyota and honda bigger? i politely disagree

 

bigger and more expensive do not necessarily go together. toyota is bigger but ferrari is a more expensive brand.

 

which company is richer? toyota/honda or ferrari? As one person has said, 'what for sell like 50 ferrari's per year, making probably 100k for each, compared to selling 1000 toyotas making 10k each'

 

As such, I think Borneo motors is bigger than Hong Seh.

 

Ferrari is more prestigious, but toyota/honda make more money.

 

To accountants, saying ferrari is a 'lesser' company is justified if you judge company but their wealth/worth

 

To normal people, saying toyota is a 'lesser' company is justified if you judge them but their prestige.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Maffie

[inlinesix]

The whole problem seems to be that Ferrari is not making enough cars to be sold worldwide. There's a certain optimal price point vs number of cars sold.

 

If the dealers don't get enough Ferraris to sell, then no matter how high the margin may be, the dealership may not be sustainable.

This is not the 1st dealership HS lost. In 2007, due to dispute with local partner in Malaysia, they have lost the dealership.

 

For car dealership, it is not always about how many car they sell. The profit margin is also coming from aftersales service.

 

Based on my understanding, aftersales service of HS is always short-handed. Maybe Ferrari ask HS to invest more in aftersales service. But HS is reluctant.