That is right, I am headed to Spain. I’ll be presenting at the IBIS 2016 conference May 23rd to the 25th in Barcelona, Spain. I will be talking about consolidation trends in the industry – not just collision, but the entire automotive aftermarket. Across the entire industry every segment is facing pressure from consolidation. Parts distributors, paint distributors, mechanical service, LKQ and used parts, collision repair and even automotive dealerships and insurance companies are facing the same pressures. Billionaire investors, private equity backed companies, and Wall Street (and Bay Street for my Canadian readers) in general all want a piece of the $300 billion automotive aftermarket industry.
IBIS attracts the global “who’s who” of the collision industry. IBIS has always focused on increasing quality of delegate rather than quantity of delegate. IBIS fosters innovation, debate and high level networking. In an industry that is rapidly evolving that is critically important. It is also not cheap with delegate fees starting at £1,795, or about US$2600. But if you have both the time and the capital, it would be great if you would join me in Spain.
A little over a week ago IBIS formally announced my participation in the event in an article titled Global Influencers Join IBIS Agenda. “The line-up for the IBIS Global Summit 2016 is almost complete with some major global names joining the list of impressive speakers. US based, Bradley Mewes – a self-confessed business geek and corporate finance expert – will provide an update on the latest consolidation moves within the collision repair market. One of the hottest topics within the sector globally at present, and one of the highest rated session topics of IBIS 2015, Bradley’s session is sure to provide an engaging insight into the continued trend in consolidation.”
I’m very honored, and frankly, very excited to present to such a prestigious group. IBIS is just one of many different organizations that I’ll be presenting to this year. In April I will be in the Twin Cities in Minneapolis for a presentation with the AASP. In May I’ll be in St. Louis for a presentation with RDA, the Refinish Distributors Alliance. In fact at present, I will be presenting at NINE different venues this year, with more to be announced in the coming weeks and months (if you’re interested in having me speak at one of your events please use my contact page to sign me up).
That is all for this week. Short and to the point. Next week we will talk about how to determine the right time to grow and the right time to sell, and the process we use with our clients when mapping out growth and exit plans. We’ll actually take a few weeks to explore those topics, because the answer is not as simple as it appears at first glance.
And by the way, check out my recent interview with Canadian based Collision Repair Magazine.
Until next week!