Eddie Hawthorne on making Arnold Clark a modern retailing machine

The late Sir Arnold Clark built a group that has variously been described as “a used car machine” and “a money-making machine” over the years. It is fast becoming “a modern retailing machine”.

The UK’s largest privately owned motor retailer, Arnold Clark has a large digital department – almost 100 software and website developers – as car buyers do more on the internet, but the cars still sit at showrooms. In a changing industry, Hawthorne (pictured) knows there is resilience for the business in how Arnold Clark’s teams transition a strong digital experience into a comfortable physical experience.

The group, fourth in the AM100, has put lots of resources into digital platforms and front-end systems to allow staff to deal with customers in a personal way, he said. Doing this in-house, rather than contracting out, means the company is the master of its own destiny and can react quickly, he said. But this policy required Arnold Clark’s headquarters, based alongside its Hillington Renault dealership, to move ahead of typical motor retail working conditions, of ‘suited and booted’ staff and ordinary office space.