A hard worker since his days at the Mzabi’s in the “Artes”, so much so that even on his last day of work he was in office at 7 a.m., despite his resignation, which Moncef Mzabi reluctantly accepted. An early riser’s habit, which he perpetuated, by being in the office at 6.30 a.m. and not leaving until 6 p.m.
He shuttled between the reception and the workshops to meet customers’ expectations, as he did at Ennakl, where his presence was more than noticed by all the dealership’s customers.
The Kia dealership in Tunisia, which he built from scratch, ensured its growth despite the chaos of 2011 and the theft of 714 cars by the “revolutionaries”, and provided it with new premises worth 25 MDT according to experts. Those premises suit the South Korean brand, which owes its reputation in Tunisia to the work of this mechanical engineer (Bac +6 of ENIT), son of a CPG manager who adored the work, before selling it to Bouchammaoui. He will do the same for the Suzuki dealership, which started out as a simple confiscated card, to be resold by the Tunisian state after Mahjoub’s evaluation.
The outstanding career of a competing dealer
And it is all this unique dynamism, this highly developed sense of salesmanship, that later led Mehdi Mahjoub to work for the three families of Hyundai dealers in Tunisia (the Driss, Milad & Sellami groups). A dealership that is now successful beyond the expectations of its owners.
This success has even attracted the attention of the manufacturer’s headquarters in Seoul, which has decided to award it a special medal. He was supposed to receive it last year in Seoul, but the COVID pandemic prevented it. But no matter! The parent company sent it to him via the South Korean ambassador in Tunisia, who presented it to him at a special party.
Under the direction of the spokesperson for the Chamber of Dealers’ Unions, the second brand of the same South Korean manufacturer in Tunisia was the absolute leader on the passenger car market in 2022, with 100 units sold, ahead of its half-brother and direct competitor, Kia.
The road was long and full of pitfalls for Mehdi Mahjoub, who had to fight on all fronts. But Hyundai sales in Tunisia are growing fast, and so are its profits.
The dealer remains discreet about his turnover, but it is not hard to imagine. With an average price of 35 thousand in the product mix, the turnover would be 94 MDT in 2019. However, other sources in the sector tell us that before privatization (it was one of the companies seized by Alpha Ford), its turnover was 99 MTD in 2018.
The scaling up, also financially
As the average price in the product mix has largely increased, the turnover of “Alpha-Hyundai Motor”, Hyundai’s dealer in Tunisia, would be 340 MTD in 2021. For the same year 2021, Kia, which theoretically sold less, had a turnover of 332.2 MTD. However, our sources assure us that AMH’s turnover was less than this, and explain it by the fact that Hyundai sells more popular cars than its direct competitor.
Driss, Milad & Sellami’s company is profitable, but its managers are more than discreet about it. The only way to extrapolate is to compare it with its rival, Kia. The net profit of its dealer ‘City Cars’ was more than 32.7 MTD of NR on a turnover of more than 332.5 MTD.
With Hyundai topping the sales podium this year, one can imagine a large turnover and a large profit. And all this thanks to AHM’s great recruit, this “devil” of Mehdi Mahjoub!
