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.
Issue link: http://autodealermonthly.epubxp.com/i/84037
dealership spotlight / service downsizing, it was more of the same. "The service depart- ment pulled us through that period," Witt said. "We see a customer once every three or four years in the showroom. The lasting relationships are built in the service lane," she explained, putting a hard figure on just how important that depart- ment is to Witt Buick's survival. "The service, tire (and) body shop provide 90 percent of the income to cover the bills." Battle for survival Once the guns of the Second World War fell silent, Witt Buick found itself amid both an unprecedented spending spree by Americans and a sharp rise in the western Michigan popu- lation. After four years of pent-up demand, the country needed more of everything, from toasters to the family cars needed to transport a new generation, the Baby Boomers. Buick successfully tapped into that, picking up where it left off before produc- tion was interrupted by the war. It remained a top brand throughout most of the cen- tury, peaking in the mid-1980s. That made sales easy for Buick dealers like Witt. But at the dawn of the new millennium, Buick sales began to sputter. Caught somewhere between GM's mainstream brand of Chevy and its luxury model, Cadillac, Buick suffered a bit of an identity crisis, with domestic sales dipping below that of when Witt first began selling the brand 74 years ago. Buick has shown recent signs of recovery in America, but what is keeping the country's oldest make still in production is its success in Asian markets, which accounted for three-quarters of Buick's 2011 global sales. 42 The domestic downturn was not solely Buick's cross to bear. In fact, it was merely a reflection of a slumping Amer- ican auto industry that led to what has perhaps been the Witt family's toughest fight for survival in its long history as auto dealers. After GM noti- fied 1,100 dealers in the spring of 2009 of its plans to pull their franchises by October 2010, the Witt family—both blood and its extended cus- tomer family—went to work to keep the dealership alive. "The customers were getting petitions signed and sending off letters," Witt said. "We had a lot of support from the community on that." Meanwhile, she met with senators and representatives and even hosted a summit, of sorts, with lawmakers and other dealers facing the same fate of losing their franchises in the wake of GM's bailout and bankruptcy. Those legisla- tors then took the collective message back to Washington with them. "That was very tough," Witt said. "I've never been political, but I certainly became political." Once noti- fied of GM's intent to close, as a part of the wind-down deal- ers stopped receiving new units for their lots, making business difficult during the fight to survive. For more than a year, Witt Buick faced termi- nation of its 70-year relation- ship with GM. In order to retain the partnership, during the appeal process the store held on to its final new model like a mother clutching her baby in the midst of a mael- strom, refusing to let it go. Once sold, the franchise would have ended. That period was difficult for Witt for another reason as well. Her husband, Lee, had fallen ill, and she was forced to balance fighting for both the dealership's and his survival at Witt Buick in Muskegon, Mich., still sports the original 100-year-old showroom depicted in this undated photo displaying two early Hudson Motor Car Co. models. the same time. But the mo- ment she learned of the deal- ership's right to arbitrate to keep the franchise, she said she knew Witt Buick would survive. "We finally received a call (saying) that I was too good of a dealer and would re- main," she said. Though Lee would succumb to his illness before the centennial gala, he was able to see his wife win the battle to keep his family's dream alive in Muskegon. Jan Witt credits her cus- tomers, community and espe- cially her employees with seeing her through the battle to remain a Buick dealer. "I was very fortunate during the wind-down that all employees stayed with me," she said. "Some had dealers contact them for hiring. It was not easy for them to work not knowing if I would be in business and what the business would become." Witt said she and her husband had planned to keep the company alive with or without GM, perhaps ac- quiring a franchise agreement with another automaker or simply sticking with used cars. Witt Buick's annual sales are still down a bit from the 120 new cars they averaged prior to GM's reorganization plans to pull the franchise, but Witt said loyal customers—a 70-percent customer-reten- tion rate being one of the reasons they were able to keep the franchise—are filtering back. "It's just a matter of getting the word out," she said, offering that the business should still exceed 100 new units in 2012. "We're still fighting back." The industry would be almost unrecognizable today to founders Frank and Charlie Witt, but they would likely feel right at home in the downtown Buick dealership, which has kept much of its original structure intact through six expansions. "The front of the building is even identical to the way it was," Witt said of the rustic façade. Though a GM-ordered, state-of-the-art exhibit area is imminent for Witt Buick, the family will con- tinue to hold on to its origins, preserving the century-old showroom, from its original floor to the first chandeliers. It will remain as a reminder of the ups and downs of a century in the American auto industry, as well as a testament to its future.