One on One with Bill Bosley, Vice President – General Manager of Nissan
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By Marty
Bernstein
AIADA Contributing
Editor
Sports terms are widely used business metaphors
for business in
After a two-year stint in the
The first few minutes in our conversation, when
we met for an early breakfast at his hotel in
First, it is the team: in soccer, it’s 11
skillful players in specific positions against other teams in the league,
some with better players, some less effective. Both teams have carefully
conceived game plans but not all game plans work. In the car business,
every brand has a team – albeit much larger, with hundreds, often
thousands of players – designers, engineers, marketers, factory
workers and others – striving to build the best vehicle possible to
sell against other car companies. All have defined strategies and
tactics… some teams are just better than others. Period.
Obviously, the second link is keeping score.
That’s how one knows who won. In soccer, usually single digits
separate the two teams. In the car biz, results are counted in the
thousands of vehicles sold, and, of course, profits – hopefully in
millions.
The last, and to my mind, most important
relationship is love. Love of the game and the industry. In soccer, a small, yet very
skillful and well prepared player can beat and will beat a bigger player
who is not prepared and lacks skills. The smaller, agile brand with new
products can often beat the bigger, lumbering company as well. So, with a
rapport established we began our conversation.
MB: Did your tenure in the
BB: They are two very different
markets and business models. There are some similarities, but in the
MB: It’s a little early in
the year to predict sales, but what atmosphere do you think is going to
exist in the retail marketplace?
BB: It’s a tough market. A
very tough market.
MB: It seems to me it’s
going to be a tough business year too, do you agree?
BB: Yes, I’d agree with
that. We see the year at about 16 [million] in sales, but there are numbers
floating around all over the place. Some as high as 17 million, and a few
at 16.5. But I don’t think it’s going to be that
good.
MB: In talking to a few of your
dealers here at NADA, they seem upbeat and optimistic about this
year…
BB: I’m looking forward to
our Make Meeting this morning … to hear what our dealers have to say.
The ones I’ve met with and spoken to are just as you described:
optimistic, positive and excited about the New Year. We do know it is going
to be a challenging year.
MB: How have the dealers been
reacting to all your new products?
BB: They are excited. We talked
about their optimism and that’s what fuels it. We just had all the
sedans come out; we’ve got the three trucks that are being refreshed;
the Versa sedan; the Altima coupe; and, the Rouge crossover this fall. So,
they’re pleased.
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| A side view of the 2008 Altima Coupe |
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| The all new Nissan Rogue crossover |
MB: What impact will the Altima
hybrid have on regular Altima sales?
BB: We brought it out at the end
of January and sold it only the last couple of days of the month. So,
it’s out there. I think it can do nothing but help round out the
Altima lineup. [Note: Sales for the Altima through February were reported
at 22,114, up 10.1 over 2006.]
MB: Which now consists of
…?
BB: We have the sedan which is
doing very well and the hybrid will help round that out. And we have the
coupe coming in the spring. We are very pleased with the results of the
Altima.
MB: What improvements have been
made to Nissan’s truck lineup?
BB: There’s the new Titan
with a long bed, the Armada has be refreshed with a new interior, and the
big news is the Pathfinder now has a V8.
MB: How do you think Nissan will
do against increased activity and marketing in the full-size truck
category? Do you believe the “new” improvements will help
generate added sales?
BB: Yes, I do. The Titan is a
wonderful truck. I’m a truck person and drive a Titan everyday and
really enjoy driving it. The truck market is an extremely competitive
market against the Big 3 and
MB: How?
BB: We’ve been blazing the
full-size pickup trail alone as a Japanese import. I think
MB: They are going to spend a ton
of money on the Tundra, over $100 million. Will Nissan be doing more
advertising for the Titan?
BB: Yes, we will have more
advertising on the Titan and will capitalize on the truck market being
stirred up by
MB: As an ex-ad guy and sometime
ad critic – like everyone else – I have been impressed by how
Nissan has had innovative, stylish vehicles combined with innovative
advertising. It’s rare when that happens. What makes it
possible?
BB: It’s the DNA of Nissan.
Our bold and thoughtful concept goes all the way back to that. You can see
it in our vehicles. And you can see it in our advertising. For example, the
Titan advertising you’ve been seeing is communicating that Titan is a
very serious contender in the pickup market with its pay-load, towing
capacity and standard power. We think the products we bring to the market
strike a cord with the consumer … they offer things in our models
that cannot be obtained from the competitors.
MB: You are fortunate to have
advertising that embellishes the styling and perceptions of the vehicles
– even augments them – but is there anyway anyone can stop or
impede the growth of you-know-who?
BB: As I look at our product line
today and look at the products I know we have coming, Nissan is going to
focus on Nissan! We are going to bring the cars to market that we think the
customers want and focus on meeting the unmet needs of the market. There is
not a focus on
MB: Will you add a smaller truck
to the Nissan lineup?
BB: We have the Frontier which
has gained both share and volume in a declining market for small trucks.
So, we are happy with what Frontier is doing right now.
MB: Everyone is talking about
crossovers. Do you believe the crossover is the next
SUV?
BB: (chuckles) There was a lot of
growth in the full-size crossover like the Murano, which has done very
well. Both share and volume were gained last year with that model. And the
new opportunity is in that smaller crossover market segment which is
growing quite big and quite fast.
MB: What about the small Nissan
crossover. When will it come to market?
BB: We have the Rogue which was
introduced in
MB: Versa sales seem to be doing
rather well. Is the vehicle meeting expectations?
BB: Versa has done well since it
entered the market. Our business plan on that particular model has already
been exceeded. [Note: Versa sales through February 2007 amounted to 5,125
units.]
MB: I drove a Versa recently and
know what I liked. What have consumers liked about the
Versa?
BB: (turning the tables) What did
you like Marty?
MB: The agility, the headroom and
the interior cabin space.
BB: That’s pretty much the
big three. That’s what everybody says.
MB: Use of the Internet by
manufacturers has grown exponentially. What has Nissan done to help its
dealers use the Internet more effectively and efficiently? For service
– CSI out the back door…
BB: There’s a group of
dealers we work with as an advisory sub-committee to help us work with
other dealers to make the Internet a powerful tool. The consumers’
initial steps in putting together their automotive shopping list begin on
the Internet. That is where people are raising their hands and asking for
information. We must respond quickly to those requests and make certain we
are getting the information to them.
MB: How many Nissan dealers are
there and what percentage are exclusives?
BB: In 2006, there were1,069
dealers and 70 percent to 73 percent of them are exclusive. At the end of
the 90’s, only 45 percent to 50 percent were exclusives. We want
exclusivity for any retailer with a planned volume of over 400 vehicles.
And we’re pretty close to getting that done.
MB: Recently, I learned about a
new Nissan service procedure and process – more factory focused. What
is it all about?
BB: We are just now piloting it
in the
MB: The service department is
vital in building and maintaining high CSI numbers, but is often diminished
in importance to the dealership. What’s your view of the service
business?
BB: The service experience is
what keeps the customer coming back to the dealers and to the brand.
Loyalty is vital. It is very important.
Bosley knows the car business from just about
every perspective. Since joining Nissan North America in 1981 as a district
service manager, he’s worked in a variety of areas. In 2000, Bosley
was named vice president of parts and service overseeing five operational
areas, including: parts and accessory sales, parts and service operations,
retail service and parts, parts logistics and consumer affairs. Then, he
moved to the