Here we stand in the middle of the toughest credit crunch in modern history, and on the one hand, we are informed that the worst of the financial part of the crisis is over. Unfortunately we are informed that unemployment is nowhere near its peak, and in the UK is expected to grow from the already historic high of 2.2 million, right up to 3 million.

In the current climate car owners are significantly reducing the mileage they do in their cars, therefore they require less and less servicing and wear parts, and as the credit crunch continues to take effect, especially when unemployment adds to it, there will be many people giving up their cars completely.

Therefore, if you’re an automotive retailer, which goods should you stocking in order to protect your profit, and so overcome the negative effect of the credit crunch on your income?

You’ll probably already know that, universal wear-parts and consumables are constantly excellent sellers, and as the credit crunch deepens, more and more people change over to doing their own simple maintenance tasks. This means that bulbs are a good item to stock. There aren’t too many different SKUs to fit the entire range of cars on the market. Wiper Blades are the same. Not too many sizes cover the whole market, they’re easy to fit, and frequently need replacing. It’s the same situation with items such as Oil and Air Filters, Spark Plugs etc., as drivers begin to do their own simple maintenance.

As a retailer, you’ll also see that sales of car care products such as quality car shampoo and Car Care Wax will increase as drivers move away from using car washes as they try to reduce costs, and take steps to better maintain the condition and value of their car.

Other items to stock in a credit crunch are upgrade or luxury items like in-car entertainment and Sat Nav Systems, as well as items for customising your car, like sports steering wheels, seats etc. These items cover a wide range of prices with the cheapest items starting at less than £10, being things like Gear Stick Knobs, performance Car Wipers or even retrofit Flat Wiper Blades. At the top of this range of products people will spend thousands on a customised interior, sports suspension, performance brakes etc , etc.

The paradoxical thing about a credit crunch is that sales of this type of product will hold up, or even increase. That’s because those people who are still in work often find that they have more money to spend. Interest rates tumble, reducing their mortgage payments, and many commodity prices also drop. However, because of uncertainty about their job security, these same people are unwilling to commit to major capital expenditure such as buying a new car. They therefore end up holding onto their car longer, and so they start to indulge themselves by spending their increasing disposable income on upgrading, updating or personalising their car.

In my speciality of Automotive after-market for example, every time an automotive manufacturer feels he’s produced a car with consumables that are locked into him, the prices for those parts go through the roof. In a normal financial situation, this tendency is tempered by the smaller suppliers bringing in alternatives at much more sensible prices. This time around, however, the boot is well and truly on the foot of the Multi-Nationals, and from what I’ve seen and heard, they are, to put it very mildly, taking full advantage of the situation.

This has largely come about because so much of our manufacturing has moved from relatively local production to China and other areas of the Far East. These long distances to the consumer, mean that any-one trying to compete against the big companies has to buy relatively large quantities per order. Moreover, it’s always been the case that orders placed in that part of the world have to be paid for at the time of ordering. In the new straitened economic situation, fewer small to medium firms are prepared or able to do that. This is seriously reducing the competition

A friend of mine owns a people carrier made by one of the leading car makers. He needed new Wiper Blades, and the Car Wiper Blades on his car were 2 different lengths.

He went to the main dealer who offered him an outrageous price for classic metal-framed Car Wiper Blades with rubber blades, however the outrageous price was not the end of the abuse. They then told him that they only sold Car Wiper Blades in packs of two of the same length. He got the same story at the Big Brand Original Equipment Wiper Blade Manufacturer, and most unexpectedly from one of the UK’s leading Wiper Blade retailers.

So, to get a pair of original Car Wiper Blades for his car, he would be forced to buy two pairs! That looks bad enough already, but remember, rubber Car Wiper Blades degrade without even being used. That’s why the makers warn you that you will need to replace them within six to twelve months. So it’s quite probable that the “extra” Car Wiper Blades would be little better than the first set when they wore out.

I managed to sort out my friend with a set of Silicone Retrofit Flat Wiper Blades for much less than he would have paid for the dealers old fashioned metal framed rubber bladed Car Wiper Blades. Typically, Silicone Car Wiper Blades come with a 12 month warranty and in reality they last three to five times longer than rubber Car Wiper Blades. Silicone Car Wiper Blades are the Top Rated Wiper Blades for performance and longlife, but they often cost less than the OEM items. On top of all that, the supplier was more than ready to sell one wiper blade of each size. In fact that’s the only way he sold them.

So the lesson is: Shop around the Recession is squeezing out smaller competitors and the big multi-nationals are already Recessiontaking advantage.