Hendrick, Gregory vying for Heard stores
Hendrick, Gregory vying for Heard stores
Automotive News | September 26, 2008 - 4:30 pm EST
The 58-store dealership group owned by NASCAR-team owner Rick Hendrick has discussed expanding its company with “the folks at Bill Heard Enterprises,” Hendrick said late Friday in a statement.
Hendrick Automotive Group is vying to buy some of the Bill Heard Enterprises stores, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The 13 Heard stores, which formed the world’s top-selling Chevrolet dealership group, closed Wednesday, Sept. 24.
“I personally have appreciated their time and effort. If something comes of our conversations, we certainly will announce it,” Hendrick’s statement said. “If there’s a potential opportunity to expand our company, we’re always going to be interested in discussing it.”
Carl Gregory Enterprises Inc., a dealership group based in Columbus, Ga., is in talks to buy Heard’s flagship store in Columbus, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. Gregory owns 10 stores in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.
Hendrick’s dealership group ranks No. 7 on Automotive News’ list of the top 125 U.S. dealership groups, with 73,636 new vehicles sold in 2007. Carl Gregory Enterprises ranks No. 117 on the list, with 6,540 new vehicles sold in 2007.
Heard’s store in Sugar Land, Texas, is under new ownership, said a woman who answered the dealership’s phone on Thursday, Sept. 25. The employees of the store do not know the name of their new owner or the new name of the Chevrolet dealership, the woman said.
Rumors say other major auto dealers are interested in Heard stores, but none have confirmed an interest.
High fuel prices, canceled floorplans from GMAC Financial Services, a reliance on sales of pickups and SUVs, a soft national economy and struggles in local markets had troubled the company, which on Sept. 12 closed its store in Scottsdale, Ariz.
General Motors may not seek to reopen Chevrolet stores in all the markets of the closed Bill Heard Enterprises stores, GM spokesman Susan Garontakos told Automotive News.
“We would still look at each (Bill Heard) dealership, case by case, to understand the profitability and throughput at those dealerships and understand whether we need to keep it as an open point or consolidate it with another Chevrolet dealership in that area,” Garontakos said.
GM’s market research has led the automaker to plan to reopen the Scottsdale store, she said.
“That was still a viable point,” Garontakos said. “There’s always the possibility that we might choose to consolidate that point with another dealership in that area, but right now we know that we need to keep the Chevrolet representation there.”
Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, told Automotive News last week that GM is hoping to increase dealership consolidation, possibly closing up to 400 stores in 2008.
In the end, Bill Heard Enterprises closed because it could not raise operating capital and did not secure floorplan financing, said a source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Bill Heard Enterprises employed about 2,700 at Chevrolet stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas, the company said. One Georgia store also sold Cadillacs and Saabs.
No bankruptcy filing is on record related to the closings.
Bill Heard Enterprises, of Columbus, Ga., ranks No. 13 on the Automotive News list of the top 125 U.S. dealership groups, with 40,781 new vehicles sold in 2007. It posted 2007 group revenue of $2.13 billion.
Amy Wilson contributed to this report
