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“I really thought it would take a few more years before I was given the Dealer Principal position. It’s not something I really anticipated – an Indian girl from Durban being in a small little town in the Eastern Cape,” Yoshika Naidoo explains.

 

South Africa (27 February 2023) – When Yoshika Naidoo set out in the early 2000s to study at Rhodes University in Makhanda, she could not possibly have imagined what the move would mean for her… from student receptionist To Dealer Principal of a car dealership!

Like many students in the town, she worked part-time to earn extra cash. As it so happened, one of these jobs was as a receptionist at the then Kenrich Motors, a car dealership known to generations of families in the Makana district.

In January this year, Naidoo, 39, became dealer principal (DP) at the business that is now Kelston Isuzu Grahamstown – some 16 years after she first set foot in the building as an industry greenhorn.

“I really thought it would take a few more years before I was given this position. It’s not something I really anticipated – an Indian girl from Durban being in a small little town in the Eastern Cape,” she quipped.

If Naidoo seems surprised at her success and where she has found it, it’s because she is.

The industrial relations graduate was convinced she would go on to a career in human resources. But destiny had other plans for her.

“After I finished my degree, I stayed on and worked my way through the dealership.

“I did a bit of service advising when the gentleman in that position was on leave. I also did a bit of work in the parts department and was given the opportunity to do sales,” she explained.

“I then tried to leave. I went to my boss at the time and said, ‘You know I’ve studied industrial relations and it’s more in the HR field that I need to work’. But then he wanted to give me the HR function as well!”

Such was his faith in Naidoo that she was even made general manager.

“Unfortunately, my mother passed away from cancer and I had to move back to Durban to be with my family. That’s where I was for the next six years.

“But in all those years the DP kept asking me, ‘When are you coming back?’”

While she was in KwaZulu-Natal, General Motors pulled out of South Africa, necessitating him to downsize the business and move premises. From that point on, its focus would be Isuzu alone. Finally, her former boss’s pleas for Naidoo’s return worked and she rejoined the business in October 2019 as operations manager.

From Student Receptionist To Dealer Principal of Car Dealership!
Photo Cred: Kelston Motor Group | Supplied

What she did not know was that he was in negotiations to sell to the Kelston Motor Group.

“They took over on March 1, 2020. We were so lucky because [Covid-19] lockdown started on March 26. They literally saved our bacon.”

At the time, Naidoo was a sales admin manager, later becoming sales manager running the parts and service department for the Isuzu dealership. That portfolio was expanded to include the dealership next door, which suddenly meant Naidoo was managing parts and services for multiple brands. It would also prove to be the springboard to greater things.

“In October or November last year Mr [Mike] McNaughton (Kelston MD) called me in to say that I had been earmarked for the DP job at Isuzu. So on the 1st of January this year I became dealer principal.”

Naidoo said the Kelston takeover had been wonderful for the dealership. Not only was there a more structured environment, but more stability and support were offered.

“I was sent on a management course, and that has really done so much for my career. I’ve got a sales manager who started off as an apprentice mechanic, while my service adviser started off as a driver. Everyone has a great story to tell.”

Because Naidoo came up through the ranks herself, she is able to understand what staff members do, as well as their challenges.

“Everybody has conversations about what’s going on in their day and because of that we can handle any issues immediately.

“I’ve had such incredible support from each and every staff member. It boils down to the fact that each person has respect for the other.”

She loves the fact that Makhanda is a place where “everybody knows everybody” and the bonds between her 15 staff members and the community are as strong as ever. But she is also excited that, under Kelston, the dealership can start reaching other areas outside its traditional farmer, game reserve and student markets.


Sources: Yoshika Naidoo 
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Brent Lindeque is the founder and editor in charge at Good Things Guy.

Recognised as one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South African’s as well as a Primedia LeadSA Hero, Brent is a change maker, thought leader, radio host, foodie, vlogger, writer and all round good guy.

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