Secrets of a Kia Dealer

A conversation with Anne and Jim Russomano – Owners Nutley Auto Kia Goodyear Carquest.

THE BUILD – AND REBUILD

In 2004 we decided to take a leap into becoming owners of an auto dealership. Our goal was to find a local community dealership, representing a strong franchise, close to our home, with a tremendous amount of upside potential.

After a long and determined search we were able to finalize the purchase of a Chevrolet Dealership in Nutley, New Jersey; a 30-year-old, once thriving, in-town dealership that was struggling in transition from founder to successors. We were excited about the opportunity to represent America’s brand “Chevrolet – The Heartbeat of America” in a quaint, bedroom community located 12 miles outside of New York City.

Nutley Auto opened as a Chevrolet retailer on October 1, 2005. We had a foundation of regular Parts and Service activity with significant opportunities for growth in the New and Preowned Sales Departments. Our plan was to recognize that the industry continued to operate in an environment where consumers dreaded the idea of walking into a dealership to buy a new or used vehicle. We were determined to completely change that experience for our customers. We needed to develop a culture of hard-working professionals that possessed the determination and integrity to “be different” and to make Nutley Chevrolet a formidable force in the northern New Jersey market.

The growth of the overall business operation was well ahead of plan in 2006, 2007, through the first 8 months of 2008. Unfortunately, the impact of the global financial crisis in September 2008 hit the automobile industry very hard and had a devastating effect on our business. The outlook for our industry and our business was bleak for the next several years. To make matters worse, General Motors declared bankruptcy in June 2009 and the future of Nutley Chevrolet was in serious jeopardy. We had a choice – to give up and lose our business or to fight for survival. We immediately began planning to restructure our business. As our Chevrolet business, and the Chevrolet corporate brand, were plummeting toward ruin, we were able to lay the foundation for rebuilding our business by creating relationships with Kia Motors, Goodyear Tires, and Carquest Auto Parts. The new Nutley Auto was born.

However, our challenges were not yet behind us. In 2010 the Kia Motors brand was not considered the most desirable in the automobile business. The models being built by Kia were not very popular and the styling not very exciting. Some may remember, or maybe not, model names like the Spectra, Amanti, Rondo, and Borrego. Also, at that time, the number of Kia’s on the road was not enough to support our Parts and Service Departments. The Goodyear Tire and Carquest Auto Parts relationships were intended to help us attract service and parts customers driving other makes and models. Fortunately, we had created strong relationships with our Chevrolet customers, and they remained loyal to us during these difficult times. We were able to maintain a sustainable level of Parts and Service business with Goodyear and Carquest while we began to build our new Kia business.

We parted ways with Chevrolet in 2010 and began to focus on our newly created business — Nutley Auto Kia Goodyear Carquest

THE COMEBACK

The rise of the new Nutley Kia, and the reinvention of the Kia brand, began with the introduction of the Kia Soul in 2010, followed by the newly designed:

• Kia Sorento
• Kia Optima
• Kia Sportage
• Kia Forte

These newly designed models brought great enthusiasm to the Kia brand and helped make Kia a serious consideration for consumers. Nutley Auto was well prepared and well-positioned to return to a thriving business. The five-year recovery from the financial crisis and the GM bankruptcy were extremely challenging and character-building at the same time. By the end of 2012, we were able to surpass our previous high in 2007 unit sales which coincided with continued growth in our parts and Service Departments. We were firing on all cylinders and saw an 82% increase in top-line sales for departments in all three businesses between 2010 and 2014. With this growth, we remained committed to our core values to be different than our competitors and to make our customer experience professional, respectful, and informative.

The Kia brand was now positioned to take on all competitors. The brand reputation, styling quality value of the vehicles was second to none, and the industry awards and accolades began piling up. Our partnership with Kia, Goodyear, and Carquest was well aligned and Nutley Auto was ready for continued growth. Goodyear and Carquest were developing robust online platforms and Kia continued to redesign the core model lineup and introduced new models:

• 2017 Kia Niro Hybrid
• 2018 Kia Stinger
• 2020 Kia Telluride
• 2021 Kia Seltos
• 2021 Kia K5

Nutley Auto was now representing an incredible lineup of Kia vehicles, the safety and value of the Goodyear tire brands, and the dependability and versatility of Carquest Auto Parts. Our businesses continued to grow between 2015 and 2020 with a 36% growth, exceeding industry averages. Kia has become the #1 brand in the industry in the JD Power Initial Quality study.  The Goodyear and Carquest brands continue to be industry leaders and Nutley Auto is the formidable force we set out to be in 2005 by being different and building relationships with repeat and referral customers.

  

THE NEXT CHALLENGE?

A Pandemic??

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