Customer story · Automotive
Launching 24 dealerships for a Korean carmaker with a plant in Pesquería, NL
A brand with a plant in Pesquería opened 24 new dealerships in 18 months across cities like Tijuana, Culiacán, León, Mérida and Cancún. Corp-Merch supported the retail team with opening kits, showroom and workshop apparel, and a plant familiarisation trip for 90 managers and owners. The goal: every dealership opening with the same brand quality, without the distance to Monterrey diluting the experience.
The project
- Client
- Korean carmaker with a plant in Pesquería, Nuevo León (composite case)
- Industry
- Automotive, dealer network in Mexico
- Dealerships launched
- 24 new dealerships over 18 months, in 18 states
- Plant-trip attendees
- 90 dealership managers and owners, in three cohorts
- Volume
- 6,800 pieces delivered across opening kits, apparel and the plant trip
- Period
- August 2024 to February 2026
Launching a new dealership requires coordination across three functions: retail, which decides merchandising; aftersales, which orders workshop apparel; and the plant team, which runs the familiarisation visit. Corp-Merch integrated into all three so each dealership opened with everything in place on day one.
What each dealership received
Every new dealership received an opening kit with three components. The first was showroom merchandising: an exterior flag, indoor banners, floor displays, brochures, business cards and a selection of showroom giveaways (keychains, lanyards, bottles). The second was showroom apparel: shirts and polos for sales advisors, the showroom manager and the receptionist, embroidered with the dealership logo and the corporate mark. The third was workshop apparel: overalls, technical T-shirts, caps and high-visibility vests for service technicians, with properties that complied with the manufacturer's brand manual.
Showroom merchandising and showroom apparel were delivered ten business days before opening. Workshop apparel was delivered directly to the service manager five business days before opening, with on-site fitting to adjust sizes.
The plant familiarisation trip
Every new dealership sent its general manager and its owner to the Pesquería plant for two days. Day one was a plant visit with a tour of the assembly lines, a session with the quality team and a product briefing. Day two was a brand workshop and the handover of the owner's kit: an embroidered technical backpack, a metal nameplate engraved with the dealership address, a premium jacket carrying the corporate logo and a letter signed by the brand's Mexico CEO.
Corp-Merch organised the trip in three cohorts of 30, with closed logistics: transport from the hotel, lunch at the plant, the owner's kit handed over at the closing dinner. The program invoice was issued per cohort under CFDI 4.0 and lodging was booked with the plant's preferred hotel, with no intermediary markup.
What the brand got out of it
The first result was consistency. All 24 dealerships opened with the same brand quality: showroom merch, apparel and giveaways came off the same catalogue. A customer walking into a Tijuana dealership and then into a Mérida dealership had the same visual and product experience, regardless of distance.
The second result was pride. The owners left the plant trip with a kit that was not for sale and that was only handed to those opening a new dealership. Three owners used the kit as the centrepiece of their own office and, according to the retail team, it showed in how they welcomed their first customers.
The third result was financial. The consolidated invoice per cohort and per dealership let the brand's accounting book the merchandising as dealership-startup expense and the trip as training, without opening a line per recipient. Corp-Merch delivered the dealership file with a copy of the CFDI, the attendee list and a description of the kit.
Program metrics
- Dealerships launched: 24 across 18 states.
- Pieces delivered: 6,800 over 18 months.
- Plant-trip attendees: 90 managers and owners.
- Size or out-of-place merch complaints: zero in the period.
- Openings delayed by merch: 0 of 24.
What we took from the experience
Lesson one was that opening a dealership is not an event — it is a 60-day program. Corp-Merch learned to work the countdown: 30 days out to lock catalogue and suppliers, 15 days out to produce, 10 days out to deliver, 7 days out to fly the cohort to the plant. That cadence held for 24 openings without a miss.
Lesson two was that the dealership owner wants to be seen. The most valued piece of the owner's kit was the metal nameplate engraved with the dealership address, because only he had one. Corp-Merch has kept producing that piece for every new opening added after the initial program.
Lesson three was about the plant relationship. After Corp-Merch supported the brand through 24 openings, the Pesquería plant team stopped treating merchandising as external and started coordinating it directly. That integration is what made it possible to scale the program without adding new suppliers.
Frequently asked questions
How long does dealership merchandising take?
The countdown is 60 days: 30 to lock catalogue and suppliers, 15 to produce, 10 to deliver. Workshop apparel is fitted on site five days out.
Can the plant trip be organised in cohorts?
Yes. Corp-Merch organises the trip cohort by cohort with closed logistics: transport, hotel, meals, owner's kit and handover at the closing dinner. The invoice is issued per cohort under CFDI 4.0.
How do you invoice a program of 24 dealerships?
With a consolidated invoice per dealership and per cohort, with description of the kit and the services. The dealership file includes the CFDI, the attendee list and the kit description for the accounting team.
Is Corp-Merch an authorised supplier for this brand?
No. Corp-Merch is an independent external supplier. This story is a representative composite drawn from aggregated experience with automotive-sector clients; the data, cities and figures are illustrative and do not describe a specific brand.
Corp-Merch is an independent external supplier. This customer story is a representative composite drawn from aggregated experience with automotive-sector clients in Mexico; it does not describe a specific brand or dealership and does not constitute a verifiable commercial reference. Any coincidence with real plants, cities or brands is unintentional.