Point S tackles the succession gap facing independent garage businesses
• Young professionals from nine countries took part in Point S’s second Next Generation Campus in Provence, France. • 40% of family businesses are currently undergoing or expect to face leadership succession within the next decade. • Only 37% of family businesses are highly confident in the preparedness of their next generation of leaders.
www.point-s-group.com
13 October 2026 - Four in ten family businesses expect a change of leader within the next decade, yet fewer than half are highly confident the next generation is ready to take over. Point S is working to close that gap across its global independent tyre retail and garage network, sending young professionals from nine countries home from its Next Generation Campus in Provence with a growth plan they built themselves.
Over a week of coaching, market analysis and practical challenges, participants were pushed to test their own business thinking, work as a team and turn ambition into measurable action. One summed up the impact simply: "The Campus demonstrated that I actually can manage on my own."
The figures come from Deloitte Private's 2026 Family Business Succession Planning and the Next Generation report1 , which also found that 37% of respondents see building leadership and management capability as one of the biggest challenges facing their next-generation leaders. The Campus is designed to tackle exactly that, giving emerging leaders practical tools they can apply directly to their businesses.
Continuing on from the structure of the inaugural 2025 programme, this year's Campus focused on four areas: growing the individual, the team, the business and the wider Point S community. Working with a team of coaches, participants looked at how to find new growth opportunities, win and keep customers, and think beyond their own physical sites towards a wider network vision. Daily collaborative exercises and workshops built towards the structured growth plan each participant took home.
Participants pointed to how practical the challenges were. One said: "This challenge highlighted my weaknesses; I gained real insights that I will put into practice with my team." Another valued the format: "I understood the value of a structured exchange versus an informal conversation."
Fabien Bouquet, CEO of Point S International, said: "The feedback from this year's Campus shows exactly why investing in the next generation is so important. We shouldn't define growth simply as increasing sales or expanding a business. It's about developing people who can lead teams, understand their customers, make informed commercial decisions and turn ambition into action.
"What has been particularly encouraging this year is seeing participants move from ideas to practical plans. They have challenged themselves to identify opportunities and think about how they can create lasting value for their teams, their customers and their businesses.
"As the automotive sector continues to change, the next generation of independent business leaders will face challenges that previous generations could not have anticipated. Our role is to give them the confidence and skills they need to respond to those challenges and build successful businesses for the future."
Point S's Next Generation Campus combines practical business development with leadership training and an international peer network. The annual programme is helping a new generation of independent automotive leaders prepare for change and grow their businesses across the Point S network.
1 https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/about/press-room/global-report-reveals-succession-preparedness-gaps.html
