CanadaOne Auto Group is looking to add some more dealerships after actively buying seven in the last two years, following a three-year period in which it didn’t purchase any.
The Alberta-based company recently purchased Subaru City and Rally Subaru in Edmonton, adding to the purchase of Subaru stores in Saskatoon and Prince George. The Subaru acquisitions represented CanadaOne’s first affiliation with the Japanese manufacturer. The other purchases include two Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC dealerships and one Honda dealership.
Daniel Priestner, President of Priestner Family Holdings, told Canadian auto dealer CanadaOne was always interested in acquiring Subaru but had never had the right opportunity. Priestner, whose father, Pat, is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of CanadaOne, said the company wants to continue to grow its overall stores.
“We’ve had a lot of operational success, we feel very good about that and we’d like to expand that to more points,” said Priestner. “Pat had always run the company very lean and thin, and now at this point in my (20-year) career I’m prepared to step into a larger role.”
In January, the company hired a new President/Chief Operating Officer, Ryan Nilson, who had managed two Ford stores in Edmonton for the company.
“He and I are a really good team, that’s given Pat a lot of confidence to grow the business, so we’ve started moving in that direction in the last couple years,” Priestner said. “That said, the opportunities have been in front of us, so there’s also a very direct correlation there where some vendors who were looking to sell decided to do so because times were good.”
Earlier this month, CanadaOne posted a notice on LinkedIn seeking its next dealer partner in Southern Ontario. It indicated its structure is to give dealer partners autonomy with the head office providing guidance and specialized support.
“We’ve added three dealerships in Ontario in the last several years that have stretched our manager capacity,” said Daniel. “We’ve promoted our best people in Ontario. As we continue to grow in Ontario, we are flirting with the idea of bringing somebody in from the outside for future opportunities. It’s nothing urgent or imminent.”
