Pic-O-De-Crop Monarch Ian Webster (right) accepts the keys to his Ford Focus from MQI’s Margaret Hoyte and Johnny Tudor.
McEnearney Quality Inc. handed over three vehicles to the winners of the Pic-O-De-Crop, Sweet Soca and Party Monarch competitions this morning, with indications that they could return as sponsors for Crop-Over 2014.
Marketing Manager Margaret Hoyte acknowledged that even in the tough economic times, the Wildey-based company had taken the time to support the major competitions of the festival again for the fourth year.
She said their sponsorship had also done well for the brands involved.
“For the Kia brand it has done very well. We started four years ago and at the time we started Kia was number seven or six in the market and now it is number two. So it has done very, very well for Kia; you are seeing Kia everywhere.
“This year we did it with the Ford Focus because we just reintroduced the Ford brand. We have the Ford Ranger and the Focus, so we thought it would be a good idea to use Crop-Over again to launch that new model.”
Pic-O-De-Crop Monarch Ian Webster was presented the key to his new fully-loaded Ford Focus, while Sweet Soca king Blood got the key to a black Kia Rio and Party Monarch duo Soka Kartel likewise got a key for their silver Kia Rio at MQI’s Wildey, St. Michael headquarters.
As to whether this trend would continue next year, Hoyte said: “Well, we’ve been doing it for four years and as I said we have been enjoying the benefits from it and we have seen our brands growing and so on, so I believe we will be part of it next year.”
While Crop-Over has helped improve the image of the brand Hoyte acknowledged though that times were still tough when it came to sales.
“It is doing pretty okay, but remember we are going through a recession, so sales are still not as it should be. We are still holding market share as we can, we have the competition and it is very tight out there, but we are holding so you would see a little reflection there, but it is a complete unit, parts and sales and service and it has been a trying time.”
She said too that the 2013 Budget had added taxes that they would have to pass on to the customers with the new batch of vehicles coming in.
“It’s going to impact obviously because it is 15 per cent increase and you are going to see prices increasing from the Kia Picanto, from about $5,000 and going up to the big cars like the BMWs and so on, probably up to $18,000. So there’s going to be an increase.
“But we at MQI, working with Consolidated and Brydens, we always try to find a way to make it easy and cushion these things. These are things that will happen and from time to time we have to face with them, but we have put in place finance packages…,” she said, adding that the public will soon see requisite advertising on this.
“We are trying to make it easier by giving things like reduced interest rates and so on to cushion it for everyone,” Hoyte stated. (LB)