Former GM dealer Frank Lauria emerges triumphant as Hyundai superstar
Dealer principal Frank Lauria is proud to tell the story of his “overnight” success. When he lost his Port Hope GM franchise in 2009, this entrepreneur immediately converted his facility to a Hyundai dealership. Last year, he was recognized as the top performing Hyundai dealer in the country.
“The Lauria family is here to stay,” says Lauria. “We’ve been here for 25 years and we are going to stay longer.”
In 2009, when Lauria’s GM sign was lowered by a big crane after 25 years in Port Hope, it signified a major moment in Canadian auto retail history. Lauria, along with several other former GM dealers is still involved in a lawsuit with GM over the matter.
Fortunately, Lauria had already applied for a Hyundai franchise and was planning to build a new facility adjacent to his GM dealership. “We actually switched from General Motors to Hyundai in 24 hours,” says Lauria, in an interview with Canadian auto dealer at Lauria Hyundai. “We timed it just perfectly as to how my inventory went down. Hyundai shipped in between 130-140 vehicles in a 48-hour period. We got moving.”
Dealer Principal Frank Lauria is all smiles after being named the top Hyundai dealer in Canada.
BIG INVESTMENT
It was a high stakes gamble for Lauria, who was at a stage in his life where he was getting ready to relax a bit, spending time in Florida and enjoying his hobby of boating.
“This conversion to Hyundai cost me a small fortune of my own money,” says Lauria. “This was money that was part of my retirement.”
Lauria’s big gamble paid off. He was able to retain many loyal customers and then reached the top ranks of the Hyundai dealership world winning the President’s Award of Merit in his first year of eligibility.
“We have converted a lot of former General Motors people into Hyundai products,” says Lauria, adding that in the first 90 days in business about 80 per cent of the trade-ins were GM products. “This isn’t a GM town any more. Do you know what this town is? It’s a Hyundai town,” he says with a laugh.
LOYAL CUSTOMERS
Lauria’s customers have remained loyal during the transition. “They like our service, they like our people,” says Lauria. “People are attached to a dealership location, to the family that owns it, the integrity and honesty of them and the people that they employ. It’s not just a brand. The dealer himself actually establishes a brand.”
While Frank Lauria is happy to talk about the past, he steers questions about the dealership’s current success and its future to his son Bud, of whom he’s clearly proud.
Bud, the dealership’s General Manager, and part owner, is a frequent participant in local business panels and helps provide advice on business issues. A graduate of Georgian College’s Canadian Automotive Institute (now the Automotive Business School) program, he has been working in the business since he was a teenager.
Bud says the secret to success is that you need great people and sound processes in place. “That allows you to maintain a certain level of consistency,” he says. “If you are doing things right, it’s done right consistently.”
Bud says this disciplined approach applies to everything from greeting customers in sales or service, writing up repair orders, financial processes, and every aspect of dealer operations.
To really find best practices you need to look outside your industry, he says, whether from other retail stores or from the tourism or hospitality sectors. “That’s when you start to set yourself apart from the competition,” he says.
“No matter what processes you have in place — the people that drive them need to be friendly,” he says. “You need to make sure that when your customers walk through the door they leave thinking: ‘Wow. that was an amazing experience. That was a far different experience than I’ve ever had in a car dealership.’”
Lauria Hyundai’s service bays are filled with all brands, including lots of former GM customers.
SERVICE BUSINESS GROWING
The dealership’s service business has also grown during the transition, and now employs six licensed technicians, two clean ups and one apprentice. Bud says the dealership and is looking for more off make business, not just Hyundai vehicles.
If you want to visit Lauria Hyundai, you can’t miss the dealership’s giant flag as you drive down the 401 between Toronto and Kingston. “It’s almost like a beacon,” says Bud. The dealership also lowers the giant flag to half-mast whenever there is a repatriation service for a Canadian soldier killed overseas who is being honoured on the stretch of the 401 called the Highway of Heroes.
Frank Lauria isn’t quite ready to wind down yet, but his operation is in good hands with Bud and a skilled team running the day-to-day operations. It’s a story that proves that perseverance pays off.
TOP OF THE CLASS
In April 2012, Hyundai Canada held a business meeting at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. and announced the recipients of the prestigious 2011 President’s Awards of Merit. The top dealership for Canada was Lauria Hyundai in Port Hope, Ont. The criteria for the awards are: volume achievement over target, customer satisfaction index and market share in the dealer’s respective area.
Below we publish an excerpt of a letter sent to Lauria Hyundai from Hyundai Canada’s President.
Message from the President
Dear Frank, The fact that you are one of Hyundai Auto Canada’s most respected, most accomplished leaders has never been a secret. I was proud to see that status has now been officially recognized with the President’s Award of Merit.
As you know, this honour is incredibly difficult to win. Only a very small fraction of our dealers have a performance that balances sales, satisfaction, vision, growth and a commitment to excellence that is an inspiration to everyone in our company. You are one of those rare entrepreneurs who put it all together in 2011.
But let me be clear. You didn’t “win” the President’s Award of Merit. You earned it, with a relentless drive to be the best.
Steve Kelleher, President and CEO Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.
