An eye on INDUSTRY
Texas distributor Bob Flynn navigates looming
steel tariffs and overcomes industry changes.
by Vesna Brajkovic, Assistant Editor
For the past 10 years, independent
mobile tool distributor
Bob Flynn has seen his fair share
of industry shake-ups.
From the Cash for Clunkers government
incentive in mid-2009 to get
older cars off the road, which in turn
kept them out of repair shops, to the
current steel tariffs which are driving
up some tool prices in the U.S., Flynn
has paid attention to the bigger picture
and adjusted his business accordingly.
When Professional Distributor first
met up with Flynn in 2014, his clientelle
had been transitioning from almost
exclusively dealerships to independent
shops in the wake of the Cash for Clunkers
incentive. Cash for Clunkers was a
government effort starting in the summer
of 2009 which encouraged drivers
to trade in their older vehicles for newer
models with better emission levels. In
turn, Flynn says he noticed a big shift in
the automotive industry that has never
“bounced back completely.”
With fewer aging vehicles to repair,
dealerships shifted largely to warranty
work, which meant less money for
technicians and therefore a transient
customer base that wasn't healthy for a
business providing financing.
But Flynn noticed, and he followed
suit. Today, his 50-shop route is made
up of almost exclusively independent
repair shops, with only three dealerships
on his weekly route.
With that adjustment made, Flynn
is now seeing the effects of the steel
tariffs imposed by the Trump administration
on the industry and his tool
business. Flynn says he speaks directly
14 Professional Distributor I October 2018 I VehicleServicePros.com
When Professional Distributor
first met up with Flynn in
2014, his business had been
transitioning from almost
exclusively dealerships to
independent shops.
SPECIAL FEATURE
/VehicleServicePros.com