We had a chat with Rikus Blomerus, General Manager, Marketing & Human Resources at WeBuyCars, regarding the new branch that is opening in Polokwane, Limpopo. Blomerus and his colleagues are quite confident about the success of the new branch, that it will be sustainable and that it will boost the local economy.
How many branches does WeBuyCars have nationally now?
We currently have nine. With the new Polokwane branch it will be ten.
When will the new Polokwane branch open?
This branch will open on the 14th of February, which is a Monday. Yes that is Valentine’s Day, so we are hoping to get a lot of love from the people of Polokwane.
How different is it from the existing one?
We are buying in Polokwane. We have what we call a buying pod and it is doing exceptionally well. There is a full-time buying presence where we are buying cars. We feel like it is the logical next step to open a branch. With the WeBuyCars expansion you can see we are in all the big Metros, which makes sense then to come to Polokwane. There is huge market potential in the area. Another thing is that a lot of our customers from the area often have to drive all the way to Gauteng to purchase a car from one of the branches there. Therefore it will be more convenient for them to stay locally.
What is the greater area it will serve?
From what we have worked out, the new Polokwane branch will be serving quite a large area. I don’t want to say Limpopo, because you still have a place like Bela Bela for example, which is almost as close to Pretoria as it is to Polokwane. But places like Mokopane, Louis Trichardt, the Giyani area, all the way to Musina.
How big is the new Polokwane branch?
It will not be the biggest. We are starting relatively small. We can compare it perhaps to the branch we first opened in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). The branch will be just a little bit more than 4 000sqm. We think we can sell anything between 300 and 350 vehicles per month through it.
Around how many people are employed there?
We expect to employ from 35 to 45 people in the beginning. Our whole approach includes creating employment in all the areas that we operate. As an example, during hard lockdown in 2020 we had about 1 000 employees. Today we have around 2 000. So it is very much also about creating opportunities for employment.
Will you be making some noise for the opening of the branch?
We will have what we call a soft launch, in the same way that we did with the Dome launch (in Randburg, Johannesburg). A couple of months later we will then make some noise as you put it. That is generally our tactic. If COVID-19 restrictions allow us then we will do something bigger. Of course the Polokwane branch is also linked to our online systems via the www.webuycars.co.za website like all the others.
Where can the Polokwane branch be found?
It is at Danute street, N1 Industrial Park, Polokwane.
