BELLS Motor Group has been at the heart of Northampton’s business community for decades.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the dealership’s partnership with Volvo but the Bell family’s entrepreneurial spirit has ensured a string of landmark anniversaries dating back to the early 1960s.
Even one of the Northampton’s gateways, Norman-D Gate is named after Norman D Bell (Keith’s late grandfather) who had a family home on the current site.
Now the management team, headed up by Managing Director Clive Bell, the third generation to take on the role, is ensuring the dealership continues to build on its strengths. His sisters Emma, a fellow director, and Katherine, Corporate Sales Administrator, are also playing their part in the company’s success.
There are long-standing customers who can recall Bells Motor Group in the early 1960s when the dealership’s first cars arrived on the forecourt. Other significant landmarks included Kia joining ‘the family’ in October, 2010 and a 30-year relationship with Total Oil dating from 1967.
Clive’s move to the Managing Director position was not a foregone conclusion.
His parents Keith and Ginny Bell, who took on the challenge from the founder, Dennis, now take a back seat after years working at the dealerships which has sites not only in Northampton but also in Bedford.
The couple insisted that their three children each got first-hand experience and Clive recalls hours spent as a teenager ‘shredding and filing’. The same expectations meant the sisters serving their time in a wide range of roles.
Clive said: “It makes sense. It is a real honour to be in this position and we are all very proud to be involved in the business which our family, including our parents, have been able to build but we had to work hard and prove our worth.
“Our parents knew it was important for us to earn the respect of other people working for Bells and the only way to do that was to learn and demonstrate that we were able to do the job. The best way to do this was to work in each department and fully understand each role.”
This experience has enabled Clive and the management team, which also includes Simon Linnell, Group General Manager, who personally celebrates 42 years with Bells Motor Group this year, to pursue a clear strategy to ensure the company can meet the demands and expectations of today’s customers.
“It might be an old cliche but customer satisfaction is our priority. If the customer isn’t happy then we are not happy.”
Emma’s responsibilities include assisting the management team to handle any issues raised by customers and this one-to-one approach is a crucial part of the company’s success and longevity.
Emma said “We have a wonderful partnership with both of the manufacturers we represent and will work together to ensure our customers are happy and any concerns are resolved quickly. This has resulted in all our dealerships being in the top ten of the dealer network for customer satisfaction and special mention must go to our Kia team in Northampton who were awarded the Kia Customer Experience award in 2016.
“Other recent awards have included: Auto Express Driver Power & Statista who recognised Bells Motor Group in Bedford as one of the ‘Best Car dealers 2017’.
Through the years, a loyal and committed workforce have made the difference. Ongoing training including a successful apprenticeship scheme have helped the company to recruit and retain staff.
Clive said: “We really value our workforce and we have a real responsibility for these people. Our decisions will affect their lives and so it is important that we all share one goal and this is to have a successful company.”
Recognition from The London Stock Exchange is testament to the team’s commitment when it named Bells Motor Group in the 1,000 companies to inspire Britain 2016. This award celebrates some of fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.
Clive said: “We take pride in being Northamptonshire’s longest running family motor dealership and that is thanks to our people and above all our customers.”
So many individuals have played their part in making Bells Motor Group what it is today.
Keith and Ginny Bell still retain an interest in the company which is now headed up by their children.
Keith said: “It fills us with enormous pride to see Bells Motor Group continue to thrive. This would not have been possible without a loyal workforce who share our vision and customers who have been so loyal through the years. We would like to thank you all and look forward to the future when Bells Motor Group will continue to be a name to be respected in the motor industry.”