Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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By Paul Chavez PA R T S A ND AC CE S S ORIE S Pictured is General Manager Larry Hook and the parts department at All American Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Odessa, Texas. PROFIT BOOSTER Tapping the $30 million specialty equipment market is no easy task, but two dealers say it���s not impossible. They open up their playbooks to making accessory sales a proftable venture. Te par and accessories market has unpa r parts derg r dergone a sea change over the years. Dealers r ers are now incorporating accessory sales into the no into their sales processes, and they���re leaning t n ing on technology to help buyers customize thei new h their newly purchased vehicles ��� all in the hop of p hopes o improving the buying experience and capitalizing on the $30 billion specialty equipment market. Larry Hook, a 20-year industry veteran and general manager of All American Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Odessa, Texas, recalls a time when vehicles didn���t come with carpet. He even remembers when some Chevrolet trucks didn���t come equipped with either a front or rear bumper, and how 16 Dodge trucks came with school bus-like steering wheels. ���Tings have changed, no question,��� Hook says, pointing to the wheel craze of a few years ago when consumers began buying bigger wheels and tires. ���We used to have to apologize for our product. Now, we can open the door and not say much. Our product has come forward leaps and bounds.��� If a buyer wants to further customize his or her vehicle, the store tries to make that experience as smooth as possible. ���If we don���t make it easy and convenient and have the product in stock, then they���ll go and accessorize their vehicle somewhere else,��� Hook says. AUTO DE ALE R MONTHLY ��� APRIL 2013 Te All American store, which is part of Medford, Ore.-based Lithia Motors Inc., has stafers dedicated strictly to installing accessories. Tere���s a technician who concentrates on window tinting and a heavy truck accessories specialist for handling larger items, such as grille guards. ���We have to stock those types of accessories,��� Hook explains. ���We���re in oil feld country, and these guys like to have their vehicles a certain way, so we try to stock those types of items.��� PROFIT DRIVERS One of All American���s most popular items has been a pre-installed Electronic Ve-