Meet King Karel, the super(market) salesman; Belgian entrepreneur promotes simple, deep-discount deals.(Karel Cardoen)

Automotive News Europe,  November, 2006  by Saint-Seine, Sylviane de

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Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine

Karel Cardoen, champion of the car supermarket, sits in a big, bare office whose only decorative feature is an aging ficus tree. Through long glass windows he can watch the showroom here where 250 new and used cars share a plain, no-frills environment, waiting for savvy, bargain-hunting customers.

The cars are not grouped by brand, but by category.

A Seat Altea (rebate [euro]2,576) is parked beside an Alfa Romeo 147 (rebate [euro]2,811). Both are so-called zero-kilometer cars. Those are new vehicles a dealer registered temporarily - typically ...

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