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September of this year was not an easy time for the Independence multi-brand holding. In the press and even on television, everyone actively discussed the scandal, which flared up actively around the organization mentioned above. The problem was that this company, essentially car dealerships, simply stopped issuing vehicles to its customers, which, by the way, had already been prepaid as such. The largest dealer in Russia stopped responding to consumer questions and commenting on this situation in any way, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation would simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy.
How did events develop further?
Deceived buyers began to apply to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, whose dealers were the Independence No. car dealerships. Thus, manufacturers began to solve this issue by issuing paid vehicles to deceived buyers, and all this was reimbursed directly at the expense of the manufacturer. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the history of this business area, respectively.
They were the first to refuse cooperation with the WWII dealer, and then the Volvo Cars company also terminated all business relations with this company. Deceived buyers had to be saved by the manufacturers themselves, however, such a positive development of the situation did not affect everyone, and for many the question remains how to return their own money or still get a vehicle for which financial resources have long been paid, respectively.
What news is there about this?
It is worth noting the fact that the scandal has become of interest to a huge number of media representatives who actively keep abreast of the events around the company and the scandal itself. Thus, official sources report that both the BMW company and the car manufacturer Volvo Cars have already terminated the contract with the specified dealer and even held tenders regarding who will be the representative of the official type in Russia in the future. However, the companies have not yet reported the results and we can only wait for statements.
In addition, an investigation is underway into the situation due to which the scandal occurred. By the way, the owner of 50% of the company's shares, Roman Tchaikovsky, does not comment on his position and does not communicate with the press. Investigations showed that Nezavisimost's problems began quite a long time ago - several years ago the company took out its first loan. Now its amount has increased many times and directly amounts to at least seven billion rubles. Earlier it was said that the company is in a hurry to declare bankruptcy, but state-owned banks recently began to report that negotiations are currently underway regarding an immediate loan restructuring. The possibility of returning some part of the loans at the expense of the shares of this company is being considered. However, no official sources have provided more detailed information yet.
How are things going with the issue?
Deceived customers began to talk about the problem, and manufacturers, as has been repeatedly mentioned in this article of our official resource, independently took up the direct solution of the issue. To date, BMW reports that they have been able to completely eliminate the issue of their buyers who paid in full for the vehicle, but still did not receive their goods, respectively. Other car brands and their representatives report that this particular issue is in the active stage of its immediate solution, respectively.
However, it is worth noting the fact that in this barrel of honey there is a fairly large fly in the ointment. After all, a huge number of buyers made only a partial payment for their future vehicle, or the payment was an incomplete amount, but close to a full payment. With such clients, things are somewhat more complicated and it is worth noting that official representatives have not yet commented on this situation in any way and, accordingly, do not report on whether the issue of this formulation of this issue is being resolved or not.
But buyers do not give up and actively try to defend their rights, although no one can clearly answer these questions for them yet, as well as provide any guarantees in this regard in the same way. But we will further try to consider this issue in more detail and together find a way out of such an unpleasant situation, respectively.
Difficulties regarding the direct payment of the money spent and / or the return of vehicles will also be faced by those buyers who made their purchase not for an individual, but for a legal entity. According to sources, in this case, returning your money back or getting the promised car back will be quite difficult and not at all as simple as it might seem at first glance or as it was with those customers who were able to get the promised. We will talk about this in more detail later in this article of our official resource.
What to do if cheated at a car dealership?
It is worth noting the fact that not only buyers of the largest Independence dealer face the subject of deception directly in the car dealership, but also many others who use the direct services of car dealerships that are not as widely known to the public as already mentioned above. Needless to say, what are the thoughts of almost any potential buyer of such salons? Few people think about how carefully you should treat all the details of the transaction, and not everyone carefully checks such details. Most live in a dream that they are about to have the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of a new vehicle.
It is worth noting the fact that the issue of direct deception in car dealerships has become almost a "tradition" in almost any of the organizations of this type, and the worst thing is that the statistics are far from the most comforting, regardless of the region of the country and the financial situation of the potential consumer, respectively, that only speaks of the high need to take such issues seriously.
If you have no desire to simply fall for a large enough loan to get your vehicle, be deceived on the authenticity of the offered car, and avoid other unpleasant situations, then stay with us and continue reading this article.
Cheating option - too cheap car
Needless to say, it would be time for all of us to get used to the fact that in the realities of the modern world, in fact, free cheese is only in a mousetrap. And this applies not only to the transport industry of the domestic market directly. If you are strongly offered any product on the terms of an incredible benefit - a car many times lower than its immediate market value, then you should think very carefully about - where could there be a catch? Understand that there is no reason for anyone to work at a loss - there is no point in such a business.
Responsibility of fraudulent car dealerships before the law
It's no secret that any fraudulent activities in our state are illegal and, accordingly, are prosecuted in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation, respectively. It is worth noting the fact that, in a procedural manner, fraud directly in car dealerships can be qualified by the court in different ways:
- administrative offense;
- criminal offense of the law.
Thus, the very responsibility of fraudsters will also be quite different. In order to qualify a crime, it is worth referring to the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" and carefully studying the situation in order to find out which provisions of this law were directly violated in this particular case.
Fraudsters can be held criminally liable directly under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the event that there is a fact of almost direct deception of the client in the case, the presence of actions that imply such deception, respectively. This point may refer to any options that are offered by the specified organization: taking out insurance, fraudulent actions regarding the sale of low-quality goods to the buyer, fraudulent actions regarding the final amount of the cost of the vehicle, and so on.
For the rest, you should prove the presence of illegal actions of the car dealership regarding you specifically, and such a professional as a lawyer and / or a lawyer can help you in this process in the best possible way.
Help of a lawyer or independent solution of issues?
Each person accepts the answer to the question posed independently. However, if you fall into the hands of scammers (in "Independence" or any other car dealership), you should have only one solution - to fight for justice and, above all, for your own interests. You should not give up, and even more so that we are not talking about small amounts of money.
If you are well versed in the topic, have sufficient qualities of pressure, perseverance and penetration, then you can easily improve your own knowledge of jurisdiction and go to the expanses of self-protection of your own rights and your financial situation. You can also independently engage in the representation of your own interests in all state instances directly if you have sufficient knowledge and experience of a procedural nature directly.
In the event that you do not differ in such immediate qualities, then it is best, of course, to entrust the direct solution of this issue to the shoulders of a true professional in their field. At the first consultation, your lawyer (lawyer) will tell you about the prospects for your case and the realities with which you can continue to work accordingly. Thus, you will immediately determine the goals and you can always be sure of a positive guaranteed result from your lawyer directly.
What conclusions can be drawn from the current situation?
Needless to say, with regard to the article of our resource indicated above in this article, it is rather difficult to speak about any specific conclusions or decisions, respectively. Recall that the immediate problem was that this company - in fact, car dealerships, simply stopped issuing vehicles to their customers, which, by the way, had already been paid in advance as such.
The largest dealer in Russia stopped responding to consumer questions and commenting on this situation in any way, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation would simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy. Deceived buyers began to apply to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, the dealers of which were the Nezavisimost car dealerships. Thus, manufacturers began to solve this issue by issuing paid vehicles to deceived buyers, and all this was reimbursed directly at the expense of the manufacturer. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the history of this business area, respectively.
The main feature that can be summed up as a result of everything that was said above in this article - never give up and continue to use all the methods available to you in order to prove your rights and get what belongs to you by law. Needless to say, even if you still can’t get your vehicle or sue money from the largest dealer in Russia, Independence, then this is only a temporary phenomenon and when more precise decisions are made on this case and signed relevant documents, then your situation will improve significantly, and your issue will be resolved fairly quickly.
Important! For all questions when cheating at a car dealership, if you don’t know what to do and where to go:
Call 8-800-777-32-63.
Or you can ask a question in any pop-up window, so that a lawyer on your issue can answer and advise you as quickly as possible.
Consumer protection lawyers, and attorneys who are registered on Russian Legal Portal, will try to help you from a practical point of view in the current issue and advise you on all issues of interest.
Independence Group no longer sells new cars, all showrooms are closed in Moscow and in the regions, a company representative told Vedomosti. Until recently, the group has remained a full-fledged dealer for Mitsubishi, Ford, Audi, Volkswagen and Peugeot.
Mitsubishi, according to the representative of the brand in Russia, terminated the last dealer contract with Independence in mid-November - for a car center in Yekaterinburg. Ford dealer agreements with Nezavisimost centers in Yekaterinburg and Ufa cease to operate from December 1, 2017 by mutual agreement of the parties, the representative said Ford Sollers. Until that time, dealerships conclude contracts for the sale of Ford vehicles from their warehouses and fulfill service obligations, the representative of the automaker added.
Peugeot continues cooperation with the Nezavisimost group in Yekaterinburg, a representative of Peugeot Citroen Rus said, but the contract expires at the end of 2017. “The issue of continuing cooperation is under consideration,” he added. The representative of the VW Group stated that the status of the Nezavisimost Group as a VW and Audi dealer has not changed at the moment; she refrained from further comment. At the same time, there is no information about Independence as an official dealer of brands on the official websites of VW and Audi.
Previously, one of the main creditors of "Independence" - Gazprombank- Bankruptcy of a car dealer. Corresponding lawsuits were filed on November 24 against six companies of the group in the arbitration courts of Moscow and the Sverdlovsk region, according to the data in the file of arbitration cases. The total amount of claims for claims filed in the Sverdlovsk Region exceeds 2.2 billion rubles; for claims filed with the Moscow Arbitration Court, such information is not specified. " Gazprombank repeatedly restructured the company's debt, however, observing that it is under serious pressure from various creditors, I also considered it expedient to apply to the court for bankruptcy,” only a representative of Gazprombank noted.
The total debt of the Independence Group, according to its own data, to banks is about 6 billion rubles. The group's other major creditor is Sberbank, his representative has not yet commented.
Financial difficulties at the car dealer began several years ago due to the fall of the Russian car market, the company explained earlier: in 2012-2016. it halved to 1.43 million vehicles, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB). According to the industry publication Avtobiznesrevyu, since 2012, the revenue of the Nezavisimost Group has halved to 28.6 billion rubles. in 2016, car sales - by 4.6 times to 9100 units. In less than two months, Nezavisimost has lost dealerships for BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and stopped sales of new Mazda cars (its representative did not respond to a request).
"The situation is objectively difficult despite the significant financial support provided by the shareholders at the beginning of the year," states a representative of Independence. According to him, despite "a lot of joint work [of management, banks and other creditors] to find options for restructuring the group's debt", in the current conditions it is not possible to carry out such a restructuring. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, the processes of bankruptcy of the companies of the Independence Group of Companies will be initiated, its representative noted. The fact that the normalization of the situation did not occur was also confirmed by the representative of the financial investor of the group (49%) - company A1. It was not possible to get a comment from the controlling owner of Independence and its founder Roman Tchaikovsky.
In the course of the bankruptcy procedure, arbitration managers will carry out the measures provided for by law aimed at the formation of registers of creditors, inventory and sale of existing assets in order to subsequently settle the claims of creditors to the maximum extent possible, the representative of Nezavisimost noted. In the event of an ultra-rapid bankruptcy of a company, it takes at least eight months to liquidate it, in the case of the Nezavisimost Group, bankruptcy can drag on for up to two years, since the group combines a large number of legal entities, believes Mikhail Alexandrov, partner at A2 law firm. At the same time, he points out that, as a rule, creditors can expect at best a return of 30% of the nominal value of the debt.
In the fall of 2017, the Pyatnitsa TV channel launched the reality show "Heirs": the offspring of wealthy families had to live for four days in the Russian outback for 1,000 rubles. The hero of the second issue, 20-year-old Anton Nusinov, began the program with a presentation of his life: pictures from London and a huge family estate in Russia, holidays in the best resorts in the world, a flight on a business jet and moving around the city on a Rolls-Royce with a personal driver.
The voiceover said that Anton's dad is a real oligarch, but "either ruined or hiding." Alexey Nusinov, the father of a young man, in 2016 took 9th place in the Forbes rating of "15 main debtors of Russia." Nusinov Sr., one of the two founders of the Independence car dealer, was declared bankrupt in December 2015, the creditors' claims amounted to about 800 million rubles. He successfully sold his stake in Nezavisimost to Alfa Group structures in early 2008 before the global crisis, but got burned in real estate. And now he is watching with bitterness how his main brainchild, Independence itself, is living its last days, which ceased operations at the end of 2017.
Dive into darkness
Former CEO of the Nezavisimost group of companies, Elena Zhuravleva, still cannot believe that the company is dead. “I pass by the salon on Berezhkovskaya embankment, and it is all dark. The signs are off, people are not visible, there are no cars in the parking lot. It still seems to me that something can be done, ”Zhuravleva says sadly.
She joined the company in 2007 as chief financial officer, in the spring of 2014 she became chief managing director, and in February 2017 she was replaced by Nikita Shchegol, the former head of the Formula Kino cinema chain, then controlled by A1 investment company. It is part of the Alfa Group of Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev, and now A1 owns a little less than half of Independence (49.95%), the rest belongs to Roman Tchaikovsky, who, together with Alexei Nusinov, founded the company in early 1990 -X. A1 attracted Nikita Shchegol as an anti-crisis manager, but he did not cope with the task. “The main task was to understand the current situation, form an anti-crisis team and form an action plan that would help the group of companies restore stability,” says an A1 representative. “It was planned to restructure the debt, which was not done, and as a result, the group lost the opportunity to continue functioning.”
Automakers and dealers have known about the problems of Independence for a long time, but the rapid ending of this story came as a surprise to everyone.
In September 2017, Independence, the third largest BMW in Russia in terms of sales, suspended the sale of cars of this brand, the German manufacturer simply disconnected the dealer from the order system due to numerous customer complaints about delays in receiving paid cars. Then BMW deprived the company of dealership, almost immediately this example was followed by Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo. On November 24, Gazprombank filed lawsuits against six companies of the group demanding that they be declared bankrupt, on November 27, Nezavisimost announced that it had closed all shopping centers in Moscow and the regions and completely stopped selling new cars. The total debt of the company, according to its data, amounted to about 6 billion rubles. In December, calls to the company's central office at 71 Leningradskoe shosse were answered that the company's general director was no longer there, and instead of him a "liquidator was working as part of the curtailment of operating activities."
“This is the sad anniversary of the 10-year partnership between one of the leaders in the automotive market and the best investment company in Russia,” says Elena Zhuravleva. More than 10 years ago, she was invited to the position of CFO at Nezavisimost just to prepare a deal to sell a stake in the company's capital to Alfa Group and Goldman Sachs.
Arrival of Alpha
Nusinov, along with fellow student Roman Tchaikovsky, went into business in the early 1990s, almost immediately after graduating from the journalism department of Moscow State University. Novice entrepreneurs, Nusinov says, had a contact at the Volga Automobile Plant and could buy Zhiguli at “normal prices” and sell them in Moscow. From domestic cars, the partners quickly switched to foreign cars - at first they imported cars from Finland and Estonia, and in 1992 they acquired the Nezavisimost company, which had already signed a dealer contract with Volvo. In 1995, dealer contracts were signed with Hyundai and Audi.
Soon Tchaikovsky and Nusinov had a third partner - Arkady Briskin. He lived in Germany and was responsible for the supply of cars from the Audi and Volkswagen factories to the Moscow showrooms of Independence. Briskin received 30% in the company's business selling German foreign cars. The rapid transition to imported cars in many ways made the company attractive to investors.
“Western manufacturers came to Russia with their own methods and culture and taught us all the time,” recalls Aleksey Nusinov. “We took them abroad and showed how to do business, there were constant consultations in Russia, big conferences were held every six months, a specialist was attached to us from the representative office, who constantly helped us.”
By the mid-2000s, the company already had IFRS financial statements, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, Mazda added to the brand portfolio. Nezavisimost built Europe's largest center for sales and service of premium cars, and in 2006 began construction of the largest body repair center for cars of all brands in Eastern Europe. Alexey Nusinov says that the company did not attract debt financing and developed using its own funds. The company did not have a CEO - the shareholders themselves were in charge of management. The Russian automotive market almost doubled between 2005 and 2007, to 2.8 million passenger cars sold per year.
Nezavisimost followed the new trends and wanted to build an automobile “village” on the Kiev highway. The company leased 12.8 hectares of land for 49 years, the cost of the lease was $13 million. They expected to receive money for the construction of the "village" through an IPO, but in 2007 negotiations began with A1. According to Alexey Nusinov, initially the owners planned to sell 30%. "Investors wanted to enter a company in a growing market, package it up and take it to an IPO," he says. In 2006, Independence's revenue amounted to $680 million, in 2007 - more than $1 billion. And Independence itself was estimated at $340 million. Plans changed dramatically when Roman Tchaikovsky bought out the share of the third shareholder of Independence, Arkady Briskin. Nusinov found out about this after the fact, did not want to be a junior partner and sold his stake to Alfa and Goldman Sachs structures. Since then, Nusinov, according to him, has not communicated with Tchaikovsky.
However, it follows from the arbitration cases that Nusinov, Tchaikovsky and Briskin in 2010 took a loan from Promsvyazbank for the construction of an office and exhibition center on Berezhkovskaya Embankment, under personal guarantees - about $ 60 million. Nusinov failed to pay off in full, and on December 10, 2015 he was declared bankrupt.
“The creditors took away the already built facility, in which $100 million was invested, and also demanded money on guarantee. But a guarantee is not money, what should I return? - says Alexei Nusinov. “I had to go bankrupt.” It was not possible to bankrupt a German citizen Briskin in a Russian court. Tchaikovsky refused to communicate with Forbes.
Conquest of regions
Nusinov wonders why the story of Independence ended in failure. “There were no large construction projects, and Roman is a very attentive, cautious and not risky person,” says Nusinov. “Tchaikovsky is a strong manager, it is difficult to explain why one of the most successful and powerful companies in the car market went under,” says Vladimir Mozhenkov, one of the founders of the AvtoSpetsCentre group of companies.
Independence began its credit history in April 2008 by signing an agreement with Western banks for a $70 million syndicated loan. The company was proud of the loan agreement. “We showed the market that we learned how to borrow money,” recalls one of the former Independence employees. In the summer of 2008, negotiations began on the acquisition of Transtechservice, the largest car dealer in the Volga region. On its basis, the shareholders of Independence were going to build a federal dealer holding with a presence in all key regions.
Analysts then estimated Transtechservice at $400–500 million, and Nezavisimost at $800 million. The deal did not take place, but even the 2008 crisis did not correct plans for regional expansion. In the summer of 2008, the former head of the Mosmart retail chain, Eric Blondeau, became the managing director of Nezavisimost, his annual income was estimated at $ 1 million - twice the average compensation of managers of a comparable level.
At the end of 2009, it became known that Independence was negotiating the purchase of the Yekaterinburg holding Autoland, which owns salons in Yekaterinburg, Ufa and Magnitogorsk. At the end of 2008, Nezavisimost's revenue amounted to $1.3 billion, and Autoland's revenue was $558 million. This time everything went well, and Autoland became part of the Moscow company at the end of 2010. In February 2010, the company borrowed 1.1 billion rubles from Sberbank to refinance loans, and in the autumn the bank issued another 2 billion rubles to Independence. The company opened new stores in the regions, increased retail space in Moscow.
Despite the rapid growth of the business, in 2011, Eric Blondeau was replaced by the former head of the Audi representative office in Russia and Volkswagen Group Rus, Oscar Akhmedov (he, like Blondeau, left the company three years after his appointment). And on March 14, 2014, the financier Elena Zhuravleva was appointed the chief managing director of Nezavisimost, who was supposed to solve the main problem - to reduce the debt burden. By that time, Nezavisimost’s total debt was $260 million. After the annexation of Crimea and the imposition of sanctions, the ruble began to fall, and by the end of 2014, the company’s debt in rubles had almost doubled. But outwardly, nothing foreshadowed the collapse.
In May 2014, Nezavisimost opened a new Audi showroom with a showroom (1,000 sqm) on Berezhkovskaya Embankment. The gala evening was hosted by the popular TV presenter Timur Rodriguez, Cuban cigars were spun in the hall to the performance of trumpeter Vadim Eilenkrig with a jazz ensemble, an aerial acrobat girl flew under the roof, conversations were held on the second floor in the lounge area with hookahs and a view of Moscow City.
From the moment of opening, the car dealership brought only losses - rental payments exceeded income. Exactly the same situation has developed with another large car center of the company - for the sale of BMW in Kotelniki on the 15th km of the Moscow Ring Road. The trading floor occupied 7000 sq. m, the rent cost $ 2 million per year. The complexity of negotiations with tenants is evidenced by the example of Avilon, which in the fall of 2017 began selling BMWs at the site in Kotelniki that had been vacated after Independence. Having recalculated the rent, Avilon decided that it would be more profitable to buy the auto center from the owner, the Belaya Dacha company.
Elena Zhuravleva says that managerial mistakes were not fatal, but debts ruined the company. “It all started with a loan from Sberbank for $50 million, because of some dispute with Alfa, Sberbank did not renew it,” says Zhuravleva. According to her, in order to pay off, Independence cleared its accounts in two weeks and was left with practically no working capital. Why didn't Alfa-Bank help, because at the beginning of 2014 Alfa Group consolidated 49.95% of Independence? “The shareholders had a clear position: we do not lend to our companies,” says Zhuravleva. The representative of A1 adds that the share in the capital of Nezavisimost has always been considered as a portfolio investment and the company did not interfere in the operating activities of the car dealer.
In 2015, Independence began to sell off assets. Leroy Merlin bought a land plot from the company on Kievskoye Highway, the Khimki-Peugeot car dealership went to a Chinese car dealer, and a huge body shop was sold to the St. Petersburg company Evroavto. The staff of "Independence" was reduced from 4,000 to 1,600 people. According to Zhuravleva, in 2015 the savings amounted to 2 billion rubles. But there was still not enough working capital, and Zhuravleva went to ask the shareholders for money. “I wanted to prove to them that it is possible to work with money. Give, I say, for three months, we will return it on time and make a profit,” she says. - A1 and Tchaikovsky gave $5 million each, we returned it on time and showed the profit. Then we received funds again on the same conditions, but you can’t do business on short money.” In 2014, revenue amounted to 52.5 billion rubles (in 2013 - 57.1 billion rubles), in 2015 - 47.1 billion rubles, in 2016 - 28.6 billion rubles. Since 2012, the company has not shown a profit.
The top management of A1 was constantly looking for a replacement for Zhuravleva and did not hide this from her. According to a source in the investment company, they needed a person who would talk about the real state of affairs in Independence. “Everything that happens in the company cannot be understood by sitting on the board of directors. We were shown presentations, then all plans failed, distrust of the numbers they brought us reached its peak, ”explains the Forbes interlocutor. But Roman Tchaikovsky remained the head of the company all this time, and Zhuravleva was considered his man.
The problem was solved by Zhuravleva herself, announcing at the end of 2016 that she was leaving. Nikita Schegol became the new leader of Independence. Roman Tchaikovsky didn't mind. The Formula Kino cinema chain, which was previously managed by Shchegol, was sold by A1 to Alexander Mamut in April 2017.
Shareholders A1 and Tchaikovsky in equal shares sent 1 billion rubles to save the company. Zhuravleva also asked for this amount, according to her plan, the money would have saved the company in October 2016, but she received it only in January 2017. "Independence" got the last chance. They promised to show the result in six months, but the plan did not work. Already in May, it became obvious that the money would not help. The company continued to generate losses and was unable to service current loans. A1 decided not to put off the problem any longer and honestly told the banks about the unviability of the car dealer.
Lenders responded to honesty by demanding that the car dealer be declared bankrupt in the fall of 2017. The history of "Independence" is over. Shareholders of A1, according to Mikhail Fridman, lost $100 million on this project. Elena Zhuravleva is working on the creation of a children's school in Skolkovo and is engaged in crisis management. Alexey Nusinov is thinking about returning to the car market. “Business I know, why not? he says. “I communicate with Alfa, but so far, not very seriously.”
- With the participation of Elena Berezanskaya and Ekaterina Kravchenko
Mikhail Fridman:
“From time to time we lose something, it happens”
What can you say about the performance of your Russian company A1? After the bankruptcy of the Nezavisimost car dealer, A1 has no large assets left.
The purchase of "Independence" really turned out to be unsuccessful. After the crisis of 2008, a difficult situation developed in the industry, and the company, unfortunately, could not get out of this crisis, the market continued to fall. And the management also made various mistakes. I don't think this is a significant blow for A1, I'm sure that Independence's clients weren't hurt. From time to time we lose something, it happens. The company was heavily leveraged from the start. And in a falling market, this is usually an unbearable burden.
How much did A1 lose on investments in Independence?
Approximately $100 million
What are the shareholders' plans for A1 today?
We are in the process of rethinking and refining our business model. Knowing the realities in crisis situations, we can successfully engage in crisis management. For example, helping non-controlling shareholders fight infringement of the rights of minority shareholders, restructure bank debts on mutually acceptable terms, negotiate with honest authorities, etc. All this has been and, I am sure, will be in demand on the Russian market in the foreseeable future. And we are also thinking about the best way to build the A1 management compensation system.
A few days ago, a scandal suddenly broke out around one of the dealers of the BMW brand - the Nezavisimost company. Dozens of customers who paid for cars could not receive them, despite the fact that they were at the site of an authorized dealer. The noise began to grow, and representatives of the Russian office of BMW issued an official statement, where they confirmed the fact that the dealer had financial problems and assured that they were taking measures to solve the problem.
The scale of the problem became clear after the story of Muscovite Gleb Pimenov, who had been trying to pick up a paid BMW crossover for two months, was posted on Facebook. After unsuccessful negotiations with the dealer, Pimenov blocked the main entrance of the dealership with his car and, along with friends, guarded his new car in the parking lot to prevent it from being taken out. This case was published in a number of media, thanks to which the car was still given to the client. But, as it turned out, the Muscovite was not alone in his problem. There was a case, one of the clients who could not pick up his car from the dealer even with the help of a lawyer, out of desperation, almost began to destroy his purchase right in the parking lot, but his friends who were nearby stopped him in time. He still got the car, but disaster almost happened.
The official representative of the Russian office of the BMW Group Vasily Melnikov said:
BMW Group Russia confirms that the Nezavisimost dealership faced a number of complex problems that led to the dealer's failure to comply with the agreements and the subsequent stoppage of its work. Because of this, the deadlines for the transfer of purchased cars to customers were violated. At the moment, negotiations are underway with the dealer to get out of this situation, providing for various scenarios, up to the most cardinal ones.
In order to make a decision as soon as possible, taking into account the interests of customers, BMW Group Russia asks everyone who has encountered a delay in the transfer of a car to contact BMW customer support. In this case, you must have documents confirming the purchase and payment for the car.
Currently, simultaneously with the collection of information in order to ensure a sufficient level of safety of vehicles owned by BMW Group Russia, vehicles are being exported from the Nezavisimost DC. The importer's warehouse ensures complete safety and security of cars: cars assigned to the clients of Independence Group of Companies will not be transferred to anyone until the final investigation in the current situation.
The essence of the situation is that, having received money for the car from the client, Nezavisimost did not transfer it to BMW Group, as a result of which the cars were physically delivered to the dealer’s site, and the importer did not give the title without payment. Apparently, the financial situation of the company (which is not yet known for certain) is not in the best way, as a result of which there are actually no funds to buy cars.
At the same time, other dealerships of the Nezavisimost Group of Companies - Land Rover, Ford, Audi and others - do not have such problems, dealerships operate as usual, although the company itself is undergoing an optimization process, due to which several centers of different brands. However, they fulfilled their obligations to customers in full.
“We do not recommend buying cars and doing service work at Nezavisimost and refer customers to other dealerships. We deal with questions that arise from customers and try to minimize losses, ”said a representative of BMW
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“We do not recommend buying cars and doing service work at Nezavisimost and refer customers to other dealerships. We are looking into customer issues and trying to minimize losses,” said a BMW spokesperson.
Two automakers - BMW and Volvo - terminated their contracts with Independence. The company's customers claim that they can neither get their cars nor get their money back. There are already 70 people
Problematic "Independence": customers of one of the largest Russian car dealers claim that he does not give cars to buyers. The Nezavisimost dealer group has been operating on the market for more than twenty years, but in a week it lost contracts with two automakers at once - BMW and Volvo. What is happening and will buyers be able to get their cars for which they have already paid?
In mid-July, Gleb Pimenov and his family came to buy a car at the official BMW dealer, at the Independence salon. It was 50 thousand rubles cheaper than the others. As a result, we bought two cars: one more - mother-in-law, on credit. Moreover, she was able to pick up the car in five days, and they promised to give Pimenov his car in 15 days. But at first they were fed with promises that it would be literally “just about”. Then the salon reported that the selling manager had quit and would have to wait. And so on until September. As a result, Pimenov took decisive action: he arrived at the salon and blocked the main entrance so that he could no longer be ignored.
Gleb Pimenov buyer “I parked my car in front of the entrance, turned on the alarm. Half an hour later, the head of the security service immediately arrived at the scene. In my presence, he allegedly called the general director of Independence, he was assured that they would give me the car. I said that the action would continue until you give me back my car. We called the district police officer and the investigation began. As a result, information appears that our car was paid for by Independence. Everyone signed. And they give us the keys, we are like: “Lord, thank God!” We sat down and left. The next day, the first thing I read all the documents, it turned out that we had changed the term there. Instead of 15 days, they entered 37, so that we had no reason at all to present any penalties there.
About 70 people never received cars from Independence. Moreover, the VIN numbers are not indicated in the contracts, it is only in one agreement, and this car was found at another dealer in Samara, says Dmitry Zolotov, coordinator of the public project "Movement":
Dmitry Zolotov coordinator of the public project "Movement"“When we started communicating with the senior manager, and, as we were told from his words, they will not contact us, because they do not negotiate with terrorists. People turned to us, just Nikolai, the victim, who said that for more than six months he could not take away either the money or the car. It turns out that since March 9 it has been in limbo. He first waited three months for a car, his patience snapped, he wrote a termination agreement. Now three months can not get the money. We came with him, we wanted to talk to someone from the leadership, but things are still there: they threw him 50 thousand - and that's it.
I spoke with Business FM on condition of anonymity one of the employees of the "Independence". According to him, delays in the issuance of cars began a year ago, and this summer the situation became critical:
- At the end of the summer, cars were not issued at all for two, three months. In September, they proposed not to sell cars, because it is not clear what will happen next. This was the initiative of our leader directly, because he is also afraid for the sellers, some clients even managed to find the addresses where the employees are located, for example, they rented an apartment, that is, it is terribly elementary. One day we were asked not to go to work. They described the situation, that everything, we are closing, so we offer you to pay 20 thousand rubles for several months of your work, and we disperse.
- And how did the management explain to you why cars are not issued to customers on time?
— It was my first experience in selling a premium brand. I was told from the very beginning that it was normal that cars took so long to be issued, and I believed in it. The leaders didn't know much either. Everyone understood that some kind of tinny was happening, that we had some specific financial difficulties, and the whole team tried to somehow get out.
The shareholders of one of the largest Russian car dealers are the investment company A1, which is part of Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group, and its founder, Roman Tchaikovsky. It seems that Independence was crippled by the crisis and a sharp decline in sales last year - by almost a third. There were problems with debts - Independence has more than 6 billion rubles. Recently, Gazprombank announced that it intends to go to court "in connection with the presence of signs of bankruptcy." But in Nezavisimost itself, RBC was told that this was a technical procedure and that negotiations were underway with the bank. They also explained the loss of the contract with Volvo by a technical procedure, which, following BMW, announced the termination of the dealership agreement. But what about customers who never waited for their cars? Business FM asked PR Director of Volvo Car Russia Anton Svekolnikov:
— At the moment, Nezavisimost does not have the opportunity to buy cars from the importer, so we recommend that customers take the money from Nezavisimost and contact other Volvo dealers.
— That is, Volvo does not take a direct part in the fate of these customers?
- We are negotiating with the company "Independence" on the subject of their returning the money to customers. But the law does not provide us with legal mechanisms for influencing the Nezavisimost company regarding the return of these funds.
BMW has already issued cars at its own expense to 35 customers who made a full prepayment, and are still deciding how to help the rest. It was not possible to get a prompt comment from Business FM's Independence itself. Under the guise of a client who wants to buy a car, the producers of Business FM called the company's office, where they were assured that the salons were open:
— If I make a full prepayment, how long will I have to wait for the car?
— 14 working days waiting for TCP.
— I saw the news of your company, not very encouraging. Tell me, how are you there?
- Yes, everything seems to be in order, but there is a restructuring of the company. We sell cars, it's just that our discounts are not as big as they used to be.
- No, I saw that you have problems, people can't pick up cars.
- No, everything is fine, everything is in normal mode. If there is, then very small delays.
- Can you not worry about the fact that the company will close in the near future?
- Certainly.
The company says that they are now "in the process of restructuring the loan portfolio." And the deceived clients, who did not wait for the cars, are ready to sue, but, however, they are afraid that there will be nothing to return the money to them from Independence.