Ravi Kotecha – Autowave
It seems like only yesterday when the UK entered its first lockdown, all the worry and panic, no toilet rolls, pasta or baked beans; the whole world was grinding to a halt. But fast forward eight months and it seems our industry has only gotten stronger. As I look back at the mixture of feelings we experienced, the uncertainty, how long will it last, how many people are going to die, what does the future hold, it was quite frightening; put simply, it was chaos.
As a distributor, our success depends on our customers, if our customers are busy then we see sales, if they are not, we are sat twiddling our thumbs. We have seen so many industries in turmoil during this era; hospitality, tourism, aviation, beauty and many more.
However, one set of people who have remained in business are auto locksmiths. There are going to be a few exceptions due to local lockdowns, but I speak to customers every day, both locksmiths and our resellers and they are still busy enough to earn a handsome living. Ultimately people still need keys and our industry has remained strong throughout this pandemic. The question is, will it continue? I am most certainly sure it will.
So many factors which we are hearing daily are creating a bigger need for auto locksmiths, many people no longer have company cars, so they are buying used cars with only one key. Used car sales have been at a record high for the past six months and that usually indicates more keys are needed.
There are also so many people avoiding public transport which in turn leads to more car use, and as a result they either lose keys or need more keys. The list of reasons goes on, and we are set to benefit hugely. With that in mind and money still coming in, we have been offered super cheap borrowing in the form of bounce back loans (thanks Rishi) so not only are locksmiths busy, they can invest in more equipment and by the time you need to actually start repaying the loan the equipment would have more than likely paid for itself. It’s a win/win situation for auto locksmiths. I think we should take advantage of the surge in business and the options on the table as we are very lucky to be in this position.
So, what’s the downside? As usual, there is at least one. The industry is so attractive that we’re seeing a lot of new start-ups. We also see more of the weekend part timers and one-tool wonders popping up on Facebook, as it seems like easy money. It is an ongoing learning process being an auto locksmith and it looks a lot easier (and cheaper) than it actually is from the outside. The internet and social media offer so much knowledge and information about key programming, tools are getting cheaper and more powerful so we can only expect the market to become more populated. I think it’s a consequence of being in a lucrative industry, we can’t fight it, we just have to get on with it. As with any business, offer good service at a good price and success will prevail.
So, as I sign off, I have to be grateful that as a distributor our customers have been busy and given us the best year on record. We don’t know what the future holds in terms of the pandemic, but what we can be sure of, is there will be a need for our highly skilled services.
Oh, and check out our new website www.AutoWave.co.uk