Point S Urges Members to Have ‘Courage for the Future’

At the end of January point S, Germany’s largest cooperative, held its second annual meeting since it merged with competing buying group, VRG. Although more than two years have passed since the merger, the meeting revealed that the dust hasn’t settled yet, and, following a number of management changes, there is still plenty of strong feeling on the subject. Nevertheless, nearly 750 participants travelled to Leipzig’s Congress Center for the two-day meeting and heard about the organisation’s “courage for the future.”

The meeting’s slogan could not have been more apt, as 2004 was a difficult year for Germany in general. While unemployment has now reached five million (its highest level since the 1930s), consumer confidence is at an all-time low. This economic uncertainty has meant consumers have not been spending as much on tyres as they have done in the past and this has in turn put pressure on the group’s prices.

Last year also saw the appointment of two new managing directors from outside the tyre trade. Their age and lack of specific industry experience was a cause for concern for some members. These concerns led to a fair amount of member dissatisfaction and resulted in a handful of dealers demonstrating their unhappiness by leaving point S in order to form their own cooperative, ARS.

However, in spite of these teething troubles, the new management is focused on looking forward. The aim is for point S members to be seen to stand together more closely, while rallying support for the new management. The management’s pragmatic mindset centres around two points: achieving a better deal for its members and improving the awareness of the coop’s brand.

During the meeting, the management demonstrated why its brand recognition needs improvement by comparing point S awareness levels with automotive retailer ATU. While the two companies have comparable turnovers, 800 and 1200 million euros respectively, ATU’s 82 per cent awareness level dwarfs point S’ 17 per cent. In spite of this, the point S management team remains upbeat. “This enormous number of participants shows that we are going in the right direction,” commented point S’ Wolfgang Wenzel.