R E T U R N   T O   P R O F I T A B I L I T Y

Strengthening Domestic Sales &
Product Competitiveness


INTERVIEW



A full model change of the Bluebird helped keep this automobile at the forefront of Japan's family sedan market. Enhanced safety, including standard dual airbag SRS for the driver and front passenger, refined driving performance and a reasonable price highlighted this tenth generation of the Bluebird series.


A more effective domestic sales structure and products that delight customers are critical to Nissan's ability to raise earnings. To strengthen the profitability of domestic sales, we continue to lower the break-even point at dealerships through cost-reduction programs and increase the number of sales people by shifting people to front-line sales positions from administrative posts. We are also raising the quality of our sales force through an extensive program of training in which sales people pass through several levels on their way to becoming sales professionals. In keeping our products competitive in the market, we are making timely and cost-efficient model changes that add features such as airbag SRS.

Nissan has made its model lineup one of the strongest in the Company's history by carefully balancing full and minor model changes. The new Cedric/Gloria, introduced in June 1995, exemplified our success at making the right decisions. Following the full model change, sales rose by more than 30,000 units year-on-year. In Japan, the steadily growing recreational vehicle (RV) segment includes SUVs, station wagons and vans. The Terrano, fully remodeled in September 1995 and crucial to raising our profile in the RV segment, won the Jury's Special Prize of Japan's Car of the Year 95-96. Moreover, sales of both the Prairie and the Avenir Wagon rose by 17,000 units year-on-year. Further improving safety, we have completed equipping all domestic passenger vehicles with a driver-side airbag SRS and are now adding dual airbag SRS to passenger cars and RVs.


Demonstrating its commitment to safety, Nissan made a driver-side airbag SRS standard on all domestic passenger vehicles and the majority of RVs ahead of other Japanese automobile manufacturers. Nissan is now steadily expanding installation of passenger-side airbag SRS as well.



More sales people and the dealership cost-reduction program resulted in about 70 percent of our 203 domestic dealerships earning a profit in the past fiscal year. Part of this effort is the implementation of a standardized system for dealership management that is supporting profitability at each sales outlet. Moreover, our recent program of merging dealerships in large cities has contributed greatly to reduced overhead and higher sales.

We plan to increase the number of sales people at dealerships from 27,000 in the past fiscal year to 30,000 in three years. Full implementation of the Nissan Way program of 23 operating standards that guide dealers in finding solutions to problems and raising efficiency will help make all dealerships more profitable and competitive. These moves will be complemented by an emphasis on timely, cost-effective model changes, particularly for several new RV models that we will place on the market.
Satoru Kamakura, general manager of the division that developed the new Terrano, accepted the Jury's Special Prize of Japan's Car of the Year 95-96 award for this model on behalf of Nissan. Popular with customers, the new vehicle generated strong sales growth.





"When we strengthen customer relationships,
dealers sell more cars."


Shinsuke Okuno
Director (former Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Sales Division of East Japan)


The basic premise of our division is that when we strengthen customer relationships, dealers sell more cars. So our division's primary goal is consulting with dealers to help them build strong, long-term relationships with customers and make selling as easy as possible. We've increased our effectiveness by recognizing each dealership has unique attributes, by taking the time to understand each dealership's strengths and weaknesses, and tailoring our consulting accordingly. At the same time, we've also set priorities by determining why some dealerships do better. That way, we can go to other dealers and say, 'This is how a good dealership operates,' to teach by example.



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