Let the campaign begin!  On Monday, the campaign period officially started, leading to election day on May 29th.  The race will be close and it will be key for everyone involved to ensure the voters get out on election day.  Early polls have the two parties in a dead heat, which will be sure to keep everyone engaged throughout the race.

I had the opportunity last month to travel to Ottawa, along with CADA Board Members Paul Williams (Calgary) and Chad Zender (Spruce Grove & Hinton) to attend the CADA Board Meeting as well as our first Parliament Hill Day in over 5 years.  CADA's "Hill Day" is an opportunity to meet with MP's from all parties and give our members the opportunity to provide what I would refer to as "real life" perspectives for our representatives in government.  The key pillars of our conversations revolved around the ZEV Mandate, Vehicle Theft (including catalytic converters), Skilled Labour Shortages and Right to Repair legislation.  All reports indicate that the conversations were successful as we continue the fight to ensure our industry is as strong as possible.

Last week I was able to visit several stores in Edmonton and north to deliver scholarship cheques to deserving service apprentices.  It is quickly becoming my favorite time of year and it gives me a very high level of confidence in the future of our industry.

We are working hard to get ready for the upcoming AGM and Board Meeting in Calgary on May 11th.  If you are able to join us, please drop Denise a note so we can plan for lunch appropriately.  If you can't make it, please submit your Proxy Document so that your vote can be counted.  I'm excited about our Board and Executive Line up for 2023-24, thank you to everyone who has agreed to commit the time to make sure we have a great organization that represents you well.

Gerald.

AMVIC recently conducted a major inspection project focused primarily on all-in pricing; the Advertised Price Compliance Inspection and Enforcement project inspected 44 franchise dealers, representing about 10 per cent of the franchise dealers.

Inspection results:

• Six businesses were found to be fully compliant, with no vehicles sold over the advertised price.
• Thirty-seven businesses were found to have sold vehicles over the advertised price, up to $6,854.25. In many cases, an administrative review by the Director of Fair Trading (as delegated) has been initiated.
• Of the 767 vehicles sold by these dealers, 200 vehicles were sold over the advertised price.

There is no question that pricing of vehicles has been difficult over the past couple years.  Supply challenges, coupled with manufacturers' price increased have caused havoc in communications with consumers.  That said, the Automotive Business Regulation and All-In Pricing is the law in Alberta and we must commit to doing a better job in this space.

If you have questions or comments on this topic, please contact the MDA Office.

Harnessing Emerging Technologies and Navigating the Changes in Digital Marketing for 2023

As we approach the halfway mark of 2023, the online space has experienced an unprecedented acceleration in the last 8 to 12 months. The rise of emerging technologies such as ChatGPT, Google's BARD, Jasper A.I. and others are impacting the marketing strategies and tactics of your dealership. Join us for the MDA unWorkshops, a collaborative opportunity for dealership leaders and marketing teams to identify game-changing strategies for business growth. With hands-on and ready-to-implement sessions, you'll hit the ground running and take your dealership's success to the next level. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity!

This session was Inspired by the best selling book “Who Moved my Cheese” by Spencer Johnson…change is inevitable and can be positive if we learn to anticipate it, adapt to it, and even embrace it. 

Our moderator Jay Radke has a great lineup of presenters focused on the following topics:

1. This rise of ChatGPT - what GPT is/isn’t, how to start using it and where GPT is going in the future.
2. The digital advertising game is changing. Major advertising platforms such as Google, Bing, and Meta are utilizing advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver more personalized and data-driven advertising campaigns, resulting in a shift away from traditional keyword-based advertising. Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in advertising technology is crucial for all dealerships
3.  Localization is here to stay.   If you’re not dominating local search results, you’re not going to be able to grow your business. 

Bonus sessions include: An unWorkshop favorite - roundtable marketing challenges and solutions session and a surprise product showcase of a tool for service departments that we think is pretty awesome

In typical unWorkshop style, you'll leave with deeper knowledge and ideas that you can implement immediately at your store.

Click the link below for more information and to register.

Register Now

Please join the MDA in welcoming the following new members.                            

Dealer Members

Calgary Hyundai

West Edmonton Volkswagen

Associate Members

LGM Financial Services Inc.

Lubrico Warranty Inc.

You own a small- to mid-sized dealership, your name hangs over the door, and you’re starting to think about retirement. Your transition out of the dealership could be smooth or rocky, depending on the decisions you make now, and how early you started the process of succession planning. Consider, for example, how you would handle an unsolicited approach from a third party buyer — would you know what the right number would be, how you would explain and discuss it with family, how it would impact you personally long term?

Your succession plan will play a significant role in determining what becomes of the dealership — in some cases your life’s work. You have the option to pass the dealership to your children, your employees, or a third-party buyer, and each path has its own pros and cons. If your goal is to transition it within your family, the most important thing to keep in mind is balancing financial issues with non-financial issues.

Financial considerations

Like any family business, transitioning your dealership to family members (usually your children) will almost always mean you are getting bought out over time. While a third-party purchaser would just cut you a large cheque for the full price tag of your business, your kids would likely acquire it over the course of a decade or more.

The most common means of passing a dealership to children is through a share freeze or estate freeze. As the dealership owner, you can freeze your ownership shares tax-free at their current value, allowing your family members to accrue any future growth in value while they slowly buy you out.

While a third-party buyer will almost always pay more for your dealership than your next-generation family members, your cash flow needs and preferences in retirement are sometimes just as important as the price tag of the business. Do you prefer to receive a large one-time payment and then stretch it out over many years, or do you prefer to get a regular flow of cash through progressive redemption of the shares?

Also worth noting is the risk of not being bought out in full when being bought out over time. Whether through mismanagement or because of external factors like a recession, if the valuation of your dealership declines after your share freeze, you could face a scenario of not being fully paid.

Finally, keep in mind that under the rules of the lifetime capital gains exemption, you could gain certain tax advantages by passing the dealership within your family or leveraging a family trust.

Non-financial issues

The emotional and relationship side of the transition can be even more important than the financial side. As an over-arching principle, the best way to avoid family conflicts resulting from the family business is to have conversations about succession early, build consensus, and put agreements in writing where needed.

Legacy versus money: Passing your dealership to your kids should ideally be a very proud moment. If the dealership bears your last name, that legacy will continue with you into your retirement. Ask yourself if you trust your children to carry that legacy, and to what degree you want to be involved in decision making after you retire. As important as it is to keep your legacy intact, also acknowledge the dealership industry is evolving, and even if they could, your kids may not run it exactly as you did.

Multiple roles for multiple children: If your children already work in the dealership prior to your exit, they likely have different roles. Not everyone can hold the title of Dealer Principal or president, both logistically and based on their skillsets. Will you create resentment by giving the role of Dealer Principal or president to one child, while the other(s) have different roles? Do all your children have the management prowess to run the business? Do they even want to inherit it? Taking these questions seriously is crucial; answering them will require honest and transparent conversations, possibly with the help of a third-party facilitator.

Dividing assets fairly: In a hypothetical situation where you have three children, but only one works in the dealership, you need to consider whether it’s fair that each receive a third of ownership after you exit the business. Should the child who has put more into the dealership inherit more of it? What would that do to family dynamics? Is “equalizing” through other assets (cash, vacation property, etc.) a possibility? It’s possible the child who has worked there is more invested in the success of the dealership and would therefore want to pour more money back into it, while the other two would prefer to pocket the money themselves. All are issues that need to be managed early via succession planning.

Succession is a family matter

Because succession impacts both you and your loved ones, many of the decisions about your future should be made as a family. A family office practitioner brings the skills and experience you need to have informed and productive discussions with your family about the future of your dealership.

To learn more, contact

Chris Schaufele, CPA, CA | National Leader, Dealerships | Chris.Schaufele@mnp.ca | 604.542.6768

Kerry Smith, CPA, CA, TEP, National Leader, Family Office Services, at 778.374.2189 or kerry.smith@mnp.ca

We often hear about people who say they are suffering from “Cabin Fever”,” The Winter Blues” and other phrases for feeling low or explaining seasonal depression. However, there are several people who also struggle with mental health as we head into a new season.

We often lose our focus on well-being heading into Spring as our own views can be more optimistic at this time of year. Take time to pay particular attention to those that may not seem as excited about the Spring renewal, or that you are aware of a history of mental health, have experienced trauma or loss at this time of year, or are exhibiting changes in performance and socialization.

Mental Health in the workplace is becoming an increasingly significant issue, and results in several operational challenges from absenteeism to benefits ratings.

One way to ensure that the impact of mental health is minimized is by ensuring that you have a Psychologically Safe workplace. In addition to the obvious element of H&S compliance, ensuring psychological safety goes beyond your safety program.

To assist staff, a psychologically safe workplace includes a culture that embraces the following elements:

• Inclusion Safety- This isn’t just about DEI; it is also about feeling like you are part of the team and applies to everyone.
• Learner Safety- Are people free to make mistakes (and learn from them), are they free from harsh criticism and judgment and feel comfortable trying to stretch to the next level of performance?
• Contributor Safety- Are all staff heard when ideas are suggested? When input or feedback is given to management, is it actioned or is the inaction explained? If people do not feel valued as contributors, you are losing out on a great resource and are also reducing the psychological safety that you provide.
• Challenger Safety- Does your dealership place a greater value on the employees that unquestioningly follow the status quo, or do you also value those that challenge traditional ways of doing things to seek improvement, gain efficiency and help you grow? If challengers don’t feel safe, they won’t contribute, and problems are not revealed. Additionally, over time these people will feel less like they matter, and this decreases their own sense of safety.

Would you like to learn more about Psychological Safety or managing mental health in the workplace? We assist our subscribers in navigating these challenges and more. Let’s Talk!

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the MDA’s Monthly E-Newsletter.

We appreciate your comments, concerns or feedback.

If you would like to sign-up additional staff from your store to receive this publication, please provide their names, positions and email addresses to info@mdaalberta.com.