In order to adapt to the changes regarding the place of the automobile in the city and strengthen its business model, PSA Retail sets up a plan to redeploy its activities and teams in the Paris region. It is the promise of a more efficient distribution system, which reduces its carbon footprint and will welcome customers with enhanced service quality.
A shrinking Paris car market combined with high real estate costs
The private customers passenger car market, already limited with only 13,225 passenger car registrations in 2019 (all brands, all types) is expected to continue its decline with a cumulative average of more than 11% over the last 3 years.
At the same time, the cost of commercial real estate in Paris is amongst the highest in Europe and the world, and requires an overhaul of locations in order to meet the imperatives of a perennial economic equation.
Concentrate activity on high-potential sites and promote innovative services.
To guarantee sustainable economic performance, PSA Retail is therefore planning to redeploy activities to high-performance sites on the outskirts of Paris, with the gradual closure of 11 sites between 2020 and 2021:
– In 2020: sites of Citroën Nation, Peugeot Bobigny, Citroën République, Peugeot Neuilly, PSA Retail Saint Didier, Peugeot Garches and Citroën Boulogne République.
– In 2021: sites of Peugeot Gare de l’Est, Peugeot Italy, Peugeot Citroën Alesia and Citroën Bagneux.
Investments will continue to be made at the 25 PSA Retail sites in the Paris region that will carry out this commercial activity, in order to make them reference sites in terms of customer journey and quality of service. Multi-branding, a source of synergy will continue its development and by the end of 2021 will cover 80% of the PSA Retail network in the Paris region. The move will allow proposing the entire range of Groupe PSA brands and at the same time to reinforce back-office synergies.
At the same time, PSA Retail will continue and amplify its offensive in terms of innovative services by:
– Unfolding the “Pick-up and delivery” service: delivery at home or at the workplace, making these journeys transparent for the customer in terms of time.
– Continuing the deployment of “Video Check by PSA Retail”.
– Generalizing the “24/24 Self-Service After-Sales” reception service.
– Widening and adapting the opening hours of its sites to meet the expectations of new
urban customers, etc.
Lastly, PSA Retail will also invest heavily in the digital journey and experience of its customers by hiring new profiles, developing dedicated methodologies and tools and accompanying this transformation with an ambitious training plan.
Assuming HR and environmental responsibility
The implementation of this project, which was officially presented today to the unions, will have no impact on employment. The employees affected by these site closures will be reemployed at PSA Retail sites, with priority being given to each of the sites in the Paris region or in the provinces, for those who express the wish to do so. This guarantee of employment is driven by the need for skills and resources in NV/UC sales and after-sales service within PSA Retail.
Furthermore, the closing of 11 sites will contribute to decrease the physical footprint of the network in the Paris area (a gain of 45 600 sqm upon a total of 218 000 developed sqm), and to improve of the same magnitude the carbon footprint (-21 %), in parallel to the decrease of the carbon dioxide emissions of its vehicles, in which Groupe PSA belongs to the leaders of the industry.
Media contact:
PSA Retail, Marc Bocqué, +33 6 80 21 87 03, marc.bocque@mpsa.com