ABOUT US
Randles are the oldest independent and one of the most respected Suzuki Dealers in the UK having held the Suzuki franchise since 1st July 1980, together with the acquisition of Randles Peugeot Stafford, Randles Peugeot Stoke and Randles Suzuki Stafford we are one of the biggest Motor Groups in Staffordshire.
Randles have seen through many changes in the 48 years of trading but the same ethos, values, beliefs and expectations continue to exist and grow since being developed by Managing Director, Philip Wade FIMI in 1980.
‘Caring for Customers’is a way of life at Randles and at the forefront of our business.
All staff that join our Randles Team go through our ‘Randlisation’ process. This means that all members of our team are working together and in line with our company processes and expectations in order to offer you better service and expertise.
Come and see for yourself why Randles has a long standing reputation for quality customer care and D!SCOVER A WORLD OF D!FFERENCE.
THE HISTORY
1952
Randles was founded on 3rd October 1952 by Jos Randles and traded in his name.
1974
Stoke-on-Trent County Council compulsory purchased the showroom and premises to make way for the Stoke-on-Trent ring road A500 (now known as the D road).
The business transferred to another company owned site in Campbell Road Stoke-on-Trent which was opposite the original StokeCityFootball Club, Victoria Ground. This became The Campbell Road Filling Station Company Ltd (CRFS Ltd) and was owned and operated by the daughter and son of Jos Randles, Zoe Walker and Tim Randles. The firm traded as Tim & Zoe Randles and specialized in sports and performance cars.
1976
Tim decided to leave the business to pursue his ambition as a musician, singer and performer. He joined Billy J Kramer as one of the New Dakotas and moved to St Moritz. Tim is now semi retired in a beautiful cliff top home overlooking Los Christianos in Tenerife but still performs several nights a week in many of the well known clubs and popular bars on the island.
1976
4th June 1976 Philip Wade joined Zoe to run the business as Sales Director, progressing very quickly to take on the franchises for Lotus, TVR and Maserati.
1979
Zoe and Phil were at The 1979 Motorshow where they first saw the potential for the Suzuki franchise, this being its inaugural launch into the UK. After discussions with Suzuki GB Managing Director, John Norman and Parts Director, Eric Alvey, the Suzuki franchise in North Staffordshire was agreed.
1980
Zoe retired from the business to spend time with her young family. Zoe’s husband Roger Walker was a successful estate agent with offices in Newcastle-under-Lyme trading as Talbot Walker.
1988
The Motor Trade business and Property business were combined to form Whitmore Holdings Plc (later Randles Plc) with Roger Walker as Chairman and heading the Property division and Philip Wade as Managing Director heading the Motor Division.
The same year saw the acquisition of Higherland Garage Ltd, a Vauxhall dealership in Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the next 11 years brand new premises were built to house the ever growing Vauxhall business and turnover was increased by £13,000,000.
1998
David Willott had joined the company in 1974 as an apprentice technician and had progressed through senior technician, workshop foreman, service manager and was then offered a directorship with the company. In 1998 David took over the day to day operations of the Suzuki division.
1999
The Vauxhall business was sold as part of the Manufacturers Market Area Approach (MAAP) concept. The Suzuki franchise was retained, the premises were fully refurbished to the latest Suzuki corporate standards and enlarged to accommodate over 120 used vehicles.
2001
Randles acquired 3 more Suzuki dealerships in Alcester, Worcester and Kidderminster from Percy and Dianne Tait who were taking retirement. Percy was a well known motorcycle race rider and rode many races with the likes of, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and later Barry Sheen.
2005
An opportunity to sell the three sites was taken and the business was consolidated back to its original Suzuki site in Newcastle-under-Lyme where Philip Wade remains as Managing Director and David Willott is Operations Director.
2008
On 22nd December 2008 Randles purchased the former Mike Thompson Peugeot dealership in Stafford after the business fell into receivership. The 30 plus staff finished for their Christmas break in the knowledge that their jobs were secure. The business now trades as Randles Peugeot on Newport Road, Stafford. During 2009 the staff has been increased further to cope with the increase in business. Randles have also secured the Suzuki franchise for Stafford and this dealership trades on the opposite side of the road to the Peugeot dealership.
2009
In August 2009 Randles acquired a further Peugeot site in Stoke-on-Trent from the Greenhous Group which means that Randles cover the majority of Staffordshire for Peugeot and Suzuki from the four sites.
TODAY
Zoe and Roger Walker have also taken semi retirement and live much of the year on the beautiful and sunny west coast of Tenerife overlooking the harbour village of Los Gigantes. Philip S Wade remains Managing Director with David Willott as Operations Director and Paul Lamare as Financial Director.
SO WHAT NEXT?
Philip S Wade FIMI says “We have had a very exciting 2011, further increasing our business despite the recession. We are constantly training the team in the Randles culture and explaining just how we like to run our business. Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of our business and our intense training programme, visual image and attitude to every detail is being scrutinised very closely, always to ensure we deliver only the best service to our long standing customers, new customers, many supporting business colleagues and suppliers. The size of our business allows us the scope to provide exceptional value for money whether in sales, service, parts or at our bodyshop & accident repair centre in Stoke. Although we have entered a difficult time as a result of the global recession, Randles has continued it's growth and success. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved in 2011 and are excited about what 2012 has to offer! Finally we have recently purchased new premises adjacent to our existing Peugeot dealership in