WHEELS
Even as the spotlight has been trained on struggling Detroit automakers, many of the nation’s 20,000 auto dealers are fighting for their own survival.
Faced with high fixed costs and few car buyers, dealers are cutting salaries, laying off workers, slashing inventory and shuttering money-losing locations.
New industry figures released Monday underscore their plight.
The average profit per employee in new-car dealerships sank from $4,173 in 2007 to a measly $349 last year, reports research firm Sageworks, which tracks dealer performance.
“They are operating now on literally razor-thin margins compared to a couple years ago,” says Sageworks CEO Brian Hamilton. Because of high real estate and inventory costs, “a small decrease in sales can have a profound impact on profitability.”
Some 960 dealers went out of business last year, says Paul Taylor, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association.
About 30 percent of dealers are operating in the red.
“There’s a feeling in the dealer network (ranging from) mildly concerned to outright panic,” says Paul Melville, a dealer restructuring expert for consultant Grant Thornton.
Business is so bad at the Galpin dealerships in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley that owner Bert Boeckmann says he’s sold more cars in a single weekend in good years than he had in February. He’s already cut 25 percent of his employees and may have to lose some more.
Some big dealer chains around the nation are taking their own action as they face the same plight. Among the strategies:
•Pay cuts. Top officers of the Asbury Automotive Group, with 164 sales locations, started taking voluntary 10 percent pay cuts earlier this month.
•Slashing inventory. After seeing a 30 percent decline in new-car sales in the fourth quarter, Group 1 Automotive announced last week it will cut inventory to match demand at its 100 dealerships.
•Suspend dividend. To help reach $100 million in cost savings, Penske Auto Group, which operates 304 sales locations, said this month it is suspending its quarterly dividend and its company match for employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts.
USA Today