First off, a happy new year to all our readers. I do hope you managed to enjoy a relaxing and well-deserved break.
Talking to a few dealers this week, I do get the impression that much of the industry had some proper time off these past couple of weeks. If this applies to you, hopefully you're well-rested and prepared for the inevitable challenges that 2022 will have in store!
Clearly the first hurdle we'll all have to navigate is this current wave of Omicron that's sweeping the nation (and the world!). I suppose the best we can hope for is that it will prove to be a sharp peak and will decline almost as quick as it arrived.
No doubt many of you reading this today, dealer and manufacturer alike, will be suffering from staff shortages, with colleagues currently in isolation. I myself had a bout of it over Christmas, finally being allowed out of the house on Wednesday this week. Whilst inconvenient, it did of course mean I didn't miss any work. There will however, be huge swathes of the population who will be starting their 7-10 days indoors at any point over the coming weeks, placing businesses under further pressures.
In a better place?
All that being said, as an industry might we be in a better position in terms of direct effects of the pandemic than this time last year? Looking back to the first edition of this Weekly Update from 2021, we were just at the beginning of another strict lockdown, with confusion reigning for dealers once again. It was back to studying the wording on government websites to ascertain which category of retailer different types of dealer could be classed as, in order to make a judgement whether doors could remain open. It was a time of great uncertainty, with the prospect of many months of not knowing where this whole thing was heading lying in front of us.
Whilst I may of course be wrong, it does feel like at least that threat of another lengthy lockdown is not hanging over us this January. It seems to me like we've moved beyond the time when the government might impose such strict restrictions on businesses and individuals again.
These next few months will be tough for all, but being thankful for small mercies, I'd like to hope that we are in a better place now. With everything dealers have learnt and coped with since March 2020, it will be inevitable that companies will be armed with an extra strength and resilience. Making it this far is surely evidence of that?
Once again this January we are deprived of the opportunity to meet up as an industry at a couple of major trade shows. Both LAMMA and BTME postponed their scheduled events before Christmas, which felt both unavoidable and the right thing to do. Organisers of both have each put new dates in the diary that aren't a million miles away. LAMMA is set for 4th-5th of May and BTME even sooner on 22nd-24th of March.
I sincerely hope these dates are achievable. It would be great to think that if they are staged as planned, both will experience the same kind of buzz that was felt at SALTEX back in November. That show seemed to benefit from visitors' enthusiasm for a trade exhibition following such a long absence. People were keen to be there and get on with real business, which meant for a productive couple of days. Maybe these delays will do the same for LAMMA and BTME?
So all the best for 2022. Obviously there shall be difficulties to overcome ahead - especially around stocking and recruitment - but hopefully lessons learned over these extraordinary 24 months will count for something?
Service Dealer will be here in all its formats every step of the way, offering news, opinion and support throughout the year once again. Please remember this is your journal, so do get in touch via any channel if you have a point you'd like to express or an issue to discuss.
Feedback and input from you, our dealer readers, is the magazine's lifeblood.
