Pitstop (workshop chain)
| pitstop.de GmbH
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1970 |
| Seat | eat |
| management | Stefan Kulas |
| Number of employees | approx. 1,200 |
| Branch | Retail, service |
| Website | pitstop.de |
The pitstop.de GmbH ( Engl. Pit stop , pit stop ') is a Germany-wide company represented the automotive industry, the repairs, maintenance and repairs carried out on vehicles across brands according to manufacturer's instructions.
Companies
The Pitstop branch network consists of over 300 workshops with around 1200 employees.
According to the company, around one million customers visit one of the Pitstop workshops every year. Each of the branches has at least one employee who has a master craftsman's certificate. Since the takeover by PV Automotive GmbH in 2010, Pitstop has started to modernize the branches and equip them with new equipment. According to market research results, the Pitstop brand has a brand awareness of more than 90%.
Since a management buy-out in 2013, Stefan Kulas has been the sole shareholder of pitstop.de GmbH.
history
The Pitstop company was founded in 1970, making it one of the longest-running workshop chains in Germany. The first master workshop was opened in Berlin in 1971. Pitstop is known nationwide above all for the jingle "Jo, jo, jo!", Which has been used for decades . The company still uses the term "Jo!" In a modified form today.
In the more than 40-year history of the company, the company's owners have changed several times. So Pitstop u. a. to CVC, which ran around 2000 workshops in the Netherlands , Great Britain , France and Germany under the brand names Pitstop, Speedy and Kwik-Fit . PV Automotive GmbH is already the eighth corporate group to have taken over the workshop chain.
After the takeover by the Luxembourg subsidiary BluO (SICAV-SIF) from a Swiss company in July 2009, Pitstop renamed “Pit Autoteile GmbH” a month later. When the company was taken over by Essen-based PV Automotive GmbH in 2010, the company's name was again changed to Pit-Stop Systempartner GmbH and the company's headquarters and headquarters were relocated to Essen . On October 1, 2013, the operational business was transferred to pitstop.de GmbH.
In March 2012, an episode of the RTL series showed Undercover Boss Managing Director Stefan Kulas, who was looking around undercover in his own company. Analogous to the broadcast of the program, Pitstop started the “Undercover customer” campaign, in which customers can evaluate the workshop service.
In October 2013 the company was separated from the PV-Automotive group through a management buy-out ; since then, Stefan Kulas has been the sole shareholder of pitstop.de GmbH.
In 2015, a market study showed that Pitstop is seen as cheaper compared to the authorized workshops, but at the same time has lower customer loyalty.
After eight consecutive years of losses, 2016 was back in the black. The turnover was over 100 million euros.
Services
Started as a pure exhaust service, the Pitstop service portfolio for 20 years from 1973 comprised the three core areas of exhaust, brakes and shock absorbers. From 1993 the tire and oil change areas expanded the range of services. With a further expansion of the range of services and the change to a full-service provider for maintenance and repairs on cars of all brands in 2000, the company grew faster. Since the turn of the millennium, the number of branches has increased by two thirds. In the meantime, HU approvals (by officially recognized, external testing organizations) as well as the maintenance of air conditioning systems and the repair and replacement of car glass are carried out in all branches.
According to its own information, the company only uses branded spare parts and works with well-known manufacturers such as B. Bridgestone , Continental , Mann + Hummel , Walker, Sachs , Varta and Castrol together.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bulging registers , Focus.de, August 29, 2002
- ↑ Angela Maier: Pit-Stop goes to new financial investor. ( Memento of March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Report in Financial Times Germany of May 19, 2009
- ↑ Pit-Stop is now called Pit Auto Parts. Report at Autoflotte.de from August 4th, 2009.
- ↑ Imprint of the website accessed on October 1, 2013.
- ↑ "Undercover Boss": "Too tender for the workshop" , T-Online.de, March 6, 2012
- ↑ Press release from Pit-Stop Systempartner GmbH, March 5, 2012
- ↑ Authorized workshop or free: These workshop chains have the most fans. Focus , November 30, 2015, accessed November 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Pitstop back in profit. Automobilwoche , July 4, 2016, accessed on November 29, 2016 .