How this Car Dealer Became a #1 Volvo Store in the US
发布时间 2024-02-20 10:00:16 来源
摘要
In this episode, I'm speaking with Matthew Haiken, President of Prestige Collection Auto Group This episode is brought to you by: ...
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The manufacturers, no matter who they are, to hold this inventory on their balance sheet is suicide for them. This dealer is selling electric vehicles with no inventory, a retail space the size of an Apple store and fixed pricing set by the manufacturer. But can this new model succeed in America? Today I'm speaking with Matthew Haken, president of Prestige Collection Auto Group, a four store New Jersey group competing in one of the most saturated markets in the country. We discuss how he took over his father's business and turned it into a number one Volvo store in the nation, making $300 million in revenue from so-called throwaway brands. Are we living through the great EV recession and much more? Don't forget to click subscribe so you never miss an episode. What's up everyone? This is Car dealership guy. You're listening to the Car dealership guy podcast, which is my effort to give you access to the most unbiased and transparent insights into the car market.
这些制造商，无论是谁，将这些库存列入他们的资产负债表是自杀行为。这家经销商出售没有库存的电动车，拥有一个与苹果商店大小相似的零售空间，并由制造商设定固定价格。但这种新模式能否在美国取得成功呢？今天我与新泽西四家店铺的Prestige Collection Auto Group总裁马修·哈肯进行了对话，该集团参与了美国其中一个最饱和的市场竞争。我们讨论了他如何接手他父亲的企业，将其打造成了全国第一的沃尔沃专卖店，从所谓的低端品牌中创造出3亿美元的收入。我们是否正在经历大规模的电动车衰退等等？别忘了点击订阅，这样您就不会错过任何一集。大家好！我是汽车经销商小伙子。您正在收听的是汽车经销商小伙子播客，我努力为您提供对汽车市场最客观透明的见解。
But before we get into the show, this episode is brought to you by Stream Companies. Stream Companies is the type of agency partner that easily becomes an extension of your team fully engaged in the growth of your business. They're impressive team of auto industry and marketing experts dive in to understand your business needs, study the data and provide full media strategies that leverage every channel that is right for your specific business and its goals. Stream is fully integrated, full service and just celebrated 28 years of consecutive growth. A feat that is only possible through collaborative partnerships and exceptional customer service. From building your brand to leveraging their patented ad tech, Stream has driven a capture that attention of your shoppers and convert them into buyers. They work with some of the biggest and best dealerships in the country and serve all OEMs.
在我们开始节目之前，本集的赞助商是Stream Companies。Stream Companies是那种能轻松成为你团队延伸部分的代理合作伙伴，全心投入于你业务的增长。他们令人印象深刻的汽车行业和营销专家团队深入研究你的业务需求，研究数据，并提供充分的媒体策略，利用每个适合你特定业务及目标的渠道。Stream是完全整合的，全方位服务的，并刚刚庆祝了连续28年的增长。这一成就只有通过协作伙伴关系和卓越的客户服务才有可能。从打造你的品牌到利用他们的专利广告技术，Stream已经吸引了你的购物者的注意，并将其转化为购买者。他们与全国一些最大最好的经销商合作，并服务于所有汽车制造商。
To learn more, head to Stream Companies.com today where you can book a free advertising audit. Their team will dive deeper to your online presence and digital advertising to uncover all your immediate opportunities for growth. This episode is also brought to you by CDK Global. CDK Global has been empowering nearly 15,000 dealers with the tools and technology they need to build deeper relationships with customers. Their team is keenly aware of the state of dealership technology and while many vendors promise seamless experiences between your CRM, DMS, digital retail and fixed ops, most of these bolt-on solutions tend to break workflows and cause more harm than good. That is why CDK has launched a new dealership experience platform.
要了解更多信息，请立即访问Stream Companies.com，您可以预订免费的广告审计。他们的团队将深入了解您的在线存在和数字广告，揭示所有您的即时增长机会。本集还由CDK Global赞助。CDK Global已经为将近15,000家经销商提供了他们需要与客户建立更深层次关系的工具和技术。他们的团队对经销商技术的现状非常了解，虽然许多供应商承诺在您的CRM、DMS、数字零售和固定运营之间提供无缝体验，但大多数这些附加解决方案往往会破坏工作流程，带来更多害处。这就是为什么CDK推出了新的经销商体验平台。
This new integrated software consists of everything you need to operate a dealership officially while delivering an unparalleled experience to your customers. Basically, everything working together, not separate, one system to run your dealership as opposed to 10. CDK developed it with an outside-in approach listening to dealers every step of the way. You can learn more about CDK's dealership experience platform by visiting CDKglobal.com slash DXP or clicking the link in the show notes below.
这款新一体化软件包含了您经营经销商所需的一切，同时为客户提供无与伦比的体验。基本上，所有功能都集成在一起，而不是分开的，只需要一个系统来经营您的经销商，而不是十个。 CDK采用了从外部到内部的方法来开发它，始终倾听经销商的意见。您可以通过访问CDKglobal.com/ DXPor点击下面节目说明中的链接了解更多关于CDK经销商体验平台的信息。
Matt Haykett on the CDG podcast. Matt, welcome. Thank you so much. So, so excited to be here, especially after your reveal at NADA. Well done, it was amazing. Really, really awesome. The execution was out of the park. So, yeah, happy to be here. Appreciate it, man. Thanks for coming by. I know you were there in the crowd. I didn't see you, so I really appreciate that. And I'm really excited about this.
马特·海克特在CDG播客中。马特，欢迎。非常感谢。特别是在NADA的发布会之后，我感到非常兴奋。干得好，真是太棒了。执行得非常出色。所以，很高兴来这里。感谢你的来访。谢谢你的到来。我知道你在人群中。虽然我没看见你，但我非常感激。我对此感到非常兴奋。
I think, when we were doing a research on you, your group, I think one of the most interesting parts here is the fact that you are a post-star dealer. So, I'm gonna wanna get into that, what that means, how that's different, why you even did that, I'm intrigued. Before we get into that, give us your background, tell us a little bit about yourself.
我认为，在对你和你的团队进行研究时，我觉得最有趣的部分之一是你是一个后星级经销商。所以，我想要了解一下这个，这意味着什么，有什么不同之处，为什么你会这样做，我很感兴趣。在深入讨论之前，请给我们介绍一下你的背景，告诉我们一些关于你自己的信息。
Sure, sure. So, I've been in auto retail now for 19 years. I got my briefcase the day after I graduated from the George Washington University in 2005. And my dad had one Volvo dealership, Pressy Volvo on Ruten and East Hanover. And I knew at 16 that this was the business I wanted to be in. My parents said, no, no, no. I said yes, yes, yes. I had to be like undercover in college. Like I couldn't tell anyone I wanted to be a car dealer, because my dad was afraid that all his managers would be, you can be quit and he'd be alone. But I knew this is what I wanted to do. Yeah, so I've been doing this now for 19 years full time and I've had up to five stores, added four more stores. And I just, I love the car business. I love the people. I love the energy. I love the competitiveness.
当然，当然。所以，我现在在汽车零售行业已经有19年了。我在2005年毕业于乔治·华盛顿大学，第二天就拿到了我的公文包。我爸爸拥有一家沃尔沃经销店，位于鲁滕和东汉诺威的Pressy沃尔沃。我16岁就知道我想从事这个行业。我父母说不行，但我说可以。在大学时，我必须像卧底一样保密，不能告诉任何人我想成为一名汽车经销商，因为我爸爸担心他的经理们会辞职，他会孤独。但我知道这就是我想要做的事情。是的，所以现在我已经全职做了19年了，曾经拥有过五家店铺，后来又增加了四家店铺。我真的热爱汽车业务，热爱与人相处，热爱那种能量，热爱那种竞争。
What attracted you to this industry? Because when I was your age, I was still in my head like, I'm just doing this to help my father. This is a stepping stone, right? My mom wanted me to go corporate. I had applied for college internships at JP Morgan. So why the auto industry? So, like most dealers, sons, our daughters, I grew up washing cars, plowing and shuffling snow on snow days. I grew up all around the dealership. And I really wasn't until, I was 16. I was invited to my first 20 group meeting. A 20 group is a group of non-competitive 20 dealers that meet quarterly and go over a composite and benchmark ideas and best practices. But my dad invited me. He gave me a composite. And I was around this table with these, these just bigger than life personalities. And I just fell in love with these dealers. They were just like larger than life. And it was really that that said, mom, dad, like this is what I want to do. I just love the energy and I love their spirit. And my parents were like, absolutely not. You are not coming into the business. Go be a doctor, go be a lawyer. But no, this is not a business for you. So it was the people. And I just got sucked in and I just, I wanted more. I wanted more. I love it.
你是因为什么吸引进入这个行业的？因为当我和你一样年轻的时候，我还在想，我只是在帮助我的父亲。这只是一个跳板，对吧？我妈妈希望我进入公司。我曾申请过在摩根大通的大学实习。所以为什么选择了汽车行业？所以，像大多数经销商的子女一样，我从小就在洗车，下雪天的时候铲雪挪雪。我在车店四周长大。直到我16岁的时候，我才真正被吸引。那是我的第一次20人小组会议。20人小组是一个由非竞争性的20名经销商组成的小组，每季度会议一次，讨论综合情况和最佳实践。但是我的爸爸邀请了我。他给了我一份综合分析。我围坐在这个桌子周围，和这些个性十足的人在一起。我爱上了这些经销商。他们就像振奋人心。正是这一点让我说，爸爸，妈妈，我就是想做这个行业。我只是爱这种能量和他们的精神。我的父母一如既往地说，绝对不能。你不可以进入这个行业。去做医生，去做律师。但是不，这不是适合你的行业。所以，是那些人吸引了我。我被卷入其中，我想要更多。我热爱它。
So tell us a little bit about your group today, right? How many stores do you have? Like, how many cars a year do you sell, service? Give us the overview. So we have four locations. We're right outside of New York City. It's a super, super competitive environment. We do about 300 million in revenue, 6,000 retail new and used commerce. But a pretty small, flat organization. We have around 150 associates. And I'm like extremely hands on. When you come into one of our stores, chances are you're going to see me sitting right on the showroom floor. I'm doing this podcast in a back office right now. But I'm never in an office. I am literally right in the center of the dealership. And you'll always see me there feeling the pulse of the action of the store.
所以今天能给我们稍微介绍一下你们的集团吗？你们有多少家店？比如，每年卖出多少辆汽车，提供多少汽车维修服务？给我们一个概述。我们有四个地点。我们就在纽约市外面。这是一个极其竞争激烈的环境。我们的营业额约3亿美元，有6000辆零售新旧车。但我们是一个相当小巧、扁平化的组织。我们有大约150名员工。我也非常亲力亲为。当您来到我们的店铺，很有可能会看到我坐在展厅地板上。我现在正在一个后勤办公室录制播客。但我从不在办公室待着。我真的就在经销商的中心，您总是能看到我在那里感受着店铺的活动脉搏。
When I took over, we were a small, bald dealership. It was a great business. Sent me and my sister to college. And I'm grateful for that. But really, didn't have an F&I department. Didn't sell used cars. It was a great business. But people just operated differently. And then when I came in and I learned a lot, I fell on my face a million times. But I said, hey, this is not rocket science. I want to run with this. And I was really, really fortunate that my dad kind of threw the keys at me and said, OK, make what you could do. What was your scale? Give me a sense of your scale and your acquisitions throughout the years. Give us a little chronological timeline. Because I want to ask you, I want to drill into some of your acquisitions and understand how you came about them and more questions.
当我接手的时候，我们只是一家小型的经销商。这是一家很棒的生意，它供养了我和我的姐姐上大学。我对此心存感激。但事实上，我们没有一个财务保险（F&I）部门，也不卖二手车。这是一家很棒的生意，但人们只是以不同的方式运营。当我进入后，我学到了很多，摔了很多次跤。但我说，嘿，这并不是什么高深莫测的东西。我想要发扬光大。我真的非常幸运，因为我爸爸把钥匙扔给了我，说：“好吧，看看你能做什么。”你的规模是什么？让我了解一下你这些年的收购。给我们一个时间线。因为我想问你，我想深入了解一下你的收购，并提出更多问题。
So 2005, I take over from my dad's store. I had a rep that worked for a while at the time and said, you guys are always going to be that consistent 40 car a month store. And so and so sore is going to be the biggest store in the country. And that just got at me. And within two years, we became one of the biggest Volvo stores in the country. And we've stayed there for the last 20 years. And we actually, wait, you're the biggest Volvo store in the country today? Not number one, but we've been in the top five for at least the last 20 years. And there's been years that we've been number one and years that we've been number two. And now we have two Volvo locations. But consistent. And really how I grew was when I took over the business of 2005, Ford owned Volvo cars. Volvo, people thought Volvo was going to go out of business. People thought Volvo could have been like Saab. Nobody knew anything about Volvo. Volvo's the best kept secret. In every benchmark you ever saw, it was like it's the most profitable dealers, the best retention. But Volvo was really an incredible gem. And we didn't have the best product. But there was a way to make a business there. And like I said, it was kind of one-dimensional. No F&I, no use cars. It was new cars. It was service. It was parts. And that got it done. And there's a lot of dealers out there today. And that's their playbook.
所以在2005年，我接管了我父亲的商店。那时候，我有一个销售代表曾经说过，你们永远只会是一个每月售车数量保持在40辆的店铺。而某某店将成为全国最大的店铺。那句话激起了我的斗志。在两年内，我们成为了全国最大的沃尔沃店之一。过去20年我们一直保持在那个位置。你现在是全国最大的沃尔沃店吗？不是排名第一，但过去至少20年我们一直是前五。曾有过排名第一和排名第二的年份。现在我们有两个沃尔沃分店。但我们一直保持稳定。当我在2005年接管这家企业时，福特拥有沃尔沃汽车。很多人认为沃尔沃将倒闭。人们认为沃尔沃会像萨博一样退出市场。没有人知道沃尔沃的情况。沃尔沃是一个不为人知的秘密。在每一个标杆中，它总是最具盈利能力的经销商，最好的客户维持。虽然当时我们的产品不是最好的，但在那里还是有创业的机会。就像我说的，我们的业务在某种程度上是单一的。没有金融保险业务，没有二手车销售。只有新车、维修、零配件。但这些已经足够。今天有很多经销商，他们就是这样经营的。
And one thing I love about the car dealership industry is there's not everybody has the same playbook. Some people are huge wholesale parts guys. Some guys want nothing to do with wholesale parts. There's a lot of weight to make up that 5% margin as one of your previous guests said. It's a 5% business. But you can get there many different ways. So I come in in 2005. I have this little store. I don't know anything. I was green as green could be. I had passion. I had energy. I really didn't know how to deal with people. It was tough. I had to build everything from scratch.
汽车经销行业让我喜欢的一点是，并非所有人都有相同的策略。有些人是大型批发零部件商。有些人不想碰批发零部件。正如之前的一位客人所说，要弥补那5%的利润差距很费力。这是一个5%的利润行业。但你可以通过多种方式达到这个目标。所以我在2005年进来。我有这家小商店。我一无所知。我是真的一无所知。我有热情。我有能量。我真的不知道如何与人打交道。这很困难。 我不得不从零开始建立一切。
I had a time early on where literally everybody left. They went to one of my competitors. And then three years fast forward, we ended up buying that store and consolidating it and getting a lot of them back. I mean, you name it. But again, I was so blessed. I learned from all these mistakes. There's a lot of people that don't get the opportunity to learn. And because I didn't have any of these positions, I had to learn firsthand. There was no F&I manager. I had to be the F&I manager.
在我刚开始的时候，几乎所有人都离开了。他们都去了我的竞争对手那里。然后三年后，我们最终买下了那家店，整合了它，把很多人又吸引了回来。我是说，可以说什么都有。但再一次，我感到很幸运。我从所有的错误中学到了很多。很多人没有机会学习。因为我没有任何职位，我不得不亲自学习。没有财务与保险经理。我自己就是财务与保险经理。
There was no use car manager. So I had to be the use car manager. So it took me a year, two, three years. I went to NADADiller Academy. And I wasn't in any way. Yeah, for anyone that doesn't know what that is, can you just give like a one sentence overview of what that is? So basically, NADAs are big association and one of the values and foundations is education. And there's many different ways you could get education.
那时候没有二手车经理，所以我不得不成为二手车经理。所以这花了我一年，两年，三年的时间。我去了NADA迪勒学院。 但我并不在那里的任何方式。 是的，对于任何不知道这是什么的人，你能简单地概括一下它是什么吗？基本上，NADA是一个大型协会，其中之一的价值和基础是教育。 有许多不同的方式可以获得教育。
There's some short term classes or on demand classes. But the dealer Canada Academy is a full 18 month program where you go into each profit center. So you go into a new car module, an accounting module, a used car module, parts module, a service module. And over time, you learn. It's a great university. And my class wasn't a dealer back in the day.
有一些短期课程或按需课程。但加拿大经销商学院是一个为期18个月的完整项目，您将学习每个利润中心。所以您将学习新车模块、会计模块、二手车模块、零部件模块和服务模块。随着时间的推移，您将学到很多。这是一个很好的大学。而我当时的班级并不是经销商。
They called it the dealer son class. I was with general managers, which is because that was really important to me. So these were people that have worked hard and their owner sent them and sponsored them to the school. So yeah, so went to the dealer academy right away in 2005. So you mentioned a philosophy of running a dealership, which I think it's interesting, right? Like the dealership business just comprised of all these mini businesses.
他们把这称为经销商子课程。我和总经理们在一起，因为这对我来说非常重要。所以这些人都很努力工作，他们的老板派他们去学校并资助他们。所以，我于2005年立刻去了经销商学院。你提到了一种经营经销商的理念，我觉得很有趣，对吧？就像经销商业务由所有这些小型企业组成一样。
And you're right, Darrell Cunningham, and CEO group one automotive was on the podcast, 5% margin, right? Razor said margins, you do it well. You can obviously make lots of money and be very profitable and run a great business. What is your philosophy? But you've scaled, you've acquired multiple stores over the years. Again, I do want to get into your, one of your latest acquisitions, pole star.
你说得对，达雷尔·坎宁安，CEO集团一汽车在播客上，5%的利润率，对吧？剃刀说利润率，你做得很好。显然你可以赚很多钱，很有利润并经营一个伟大的企业。你的经营哲学是什么？但你已经扩大规模，多年来收购了多家门店。再次，我想讨论一下你最近的收购之一，北极星。
But before we get that, what has been your operating philosophy? What do you think has led to your success? I think it comes out of the customers and going the extra mile. I mean, I was raised to pick up, pick every day, pick up someone's car and your way to work. Drop off your car, let them borrow, take their car in for service. Everyone in the dealership does that.
在我们讨论那个之前，你的经营哲学是什么？你认为是什么让你成功了？我认为这是源于客户的需求并且多加努力。我是这样被教育的，每天都要帮助别人，载着别人的车一起上班。把自己的车送到修车行，借给别人，帮他们把车送去维修。我们车行的每个人都在这样做。
You have another 20 appointments a day. Like whatever a customer wants, we're going to deliver. So I was super, super focused on taking care of the customer. And right away I said, we're going to offer pickup and delivery and this was in 2005. Nobody was picking up and dropping off cars. I want to give everybody loaners, regardless of where they bought the car. I mean, a lot of this stuff is so common sense now. But back when I first got in the business in 2005 and it's not like ages ago, but like it was like the loaner police.
您每天还有另外20个约会。无论客户想要什么，我们都会提供。所以我非常非常专注于照顾顾客。我立刻就说，我们将提供接送服务，这是在2005年。当时没有人提供接送汽车。我想给每个人提供租车服务，无论他们在哪里买车。我是说，很多这种做法现在都是常识。但是在我2005年刚开始做生意的时候，虽然不是很久远，但就好像是租车警察一样。
Like if you didn't buy your car from us, we're not giving you a loaner. And I'm like, that's insane. Like parts and services, 80% margin. Why are we not giving everybody a loaner? Why are we not offering to pick up and deliver for everyone? And I just, I went the extra mile for the customer. So that was number one. And we'll talk about later. Like my next, well, I had one acquisition, which was Fisker, but that was short-lived.
如果你没有从我们这里购买汽车，我们就不会提供给你替代车辆。我感到很不可思议。像零部件和服务，利润率高达80%。为什么我们不给每个人提供替代车辆呢？为什么我们不为每个人提供上门取送的服务呢？我为客户做出了额外的努力。这是第一点。我们稍后再谈。关于我的下一个，嗯，我曾经有一个并购，那就是Fisker，但很快就结束了。
But my first acquisition was a Kia store. And Kia's hottest could be right now. And we could talk, I don't have Kia anymore. But I always believed to go in the extra mile. And that was at the time, that was so anti-Kia that I wasn't a great Kia dealer because I wanted to go the extra mile for everyone. But yeah, but without a doubt, that was my number one philosophy is deliver excellence for the customer. Explain that deeper. So why did you get rid of Kia?
我的第一家汽车店是一家起亚汽车店。而当时起亚最热门的汽车可能就是这辆。我们可以聊聊，我现在不再经营起亚了。但我一直相信要不遗余力地服务客户。那时候，这么做可能有点反起亚，因为我不是一个出色的起亚经销商，因为我想为每个人提供更多。但毫无疑问，我的第一原则就是为客户提供卓越的服务。请再详细解释一下。那么你为什么要放弃起亚呢？
So let's see. So I start off with Volvo and through 2008, it was a really tough time for a lot of people and I was rocking. I was selling 100 volts a month, which was unheard of. Nobody was doing that. We were super profitable because we were leaning mean and I was the guy running the entire show. So make it out of 2008, try to acquire another Volvo dealership. I get close, the deal blows up and the broker looks at me and says, listen, he should have taken that deal. But there's a Kia store right up the block. It's a great starter store. Why don't you try Kia? So I jumped on it. So I found the deal through a broker and it wasn't a lot of money. And I could get traditional financing through a bank. And Kia welcomed me with open arms saying, okay, this kid, and I was 30 at the time, this kid, he's selling over 100 volts a month. He's killing with Volvo. I mean, he's gonna be the next great thing with Kia and he's gonna sell 200 Kia's a month. Yeah, and I really, I was not successful. I fell on my face and Kia was a really.
所以让我们看看。所以我是从沃尔沃开始的，一直到2008年，那是很多人都很艰难的时期，但我却很成功。我一个月卖出100辆沃尔沃，这是前所未见的。没有人能做到这个。我们的利润很高，因为我们非常高效，而我是整个团队的负责人。然后走出2008年，尝试收购另一家沃尔沃经销商。我几乎成功，但交易失败了，经纪人看着我说，听着，你本该接受那个交易。但旁边就有一家起步店，是一家很好的起步店。为什么不试试凯亚？于是我就跳槽了。我通过经纪人找到这笔交易的，投资并不多，而且我可以通过银行获得传统融资。凯亚热情地欢迎我说，好的，这个小伙子，当时我三十岁，这个小伙子，他一个月卖出100辆沃尔沃。他在沃尔沃干得很出色。他将成为凯亚的下一个伟大人物，他将一个月卖出200辆凯亚。但实际上，我并没有成功。我失败了，凯亚对我来说很困难。
And by the way, I think, like, I love this because we always hear about these acquisitions, these success stories. I feel like there's a lack of vulnerability. Yeah, no, I mean, it comes down to people. And, you know, I went, you know, I had dreams to grow and I had a super successful Volvo store. And then I tried to scale that and I didn't have a bench. I was a one man show at the time. I didn't have great people. I couldn't divide myself in two places at the time when it was really important that I was in both places and the face of the store. And at the end of the day, it comes down to people because there are stores out there that kill it and they kill it because of the team and the bench. And that's another thing that I love about the car because really at the end of the day, you know, the brands that we represent, they're sickle go. They have good times, they have bad times, but if you have a great team of people, they'll be successful no matter what brand you're selling. And that was without my biggest mistake with that store.
顺便说一下，我认为，我喜欢这个，因为我们总是听说这些收购案，这些成功故事。我觉得缺乏脆弱性。是的，对，这归根结底是因为人。你知道，我去了，我有成长的梦想，我有一个极其成功的沃尔沃店。然后我试图扩展，但我没有足够的团队。当时我一个人的表演。我没有出色的员工。当那时我很重要的时候，我没法分身到两个地方去。这最终取决于人，因为有一些店铺成功，他们成功是因为团队和人才储备。这是我喜欢汽车的另一件事，因为最终，你知道，我们代表的品牌，它们有起有落。但如果你有一个出色的团队，不管你在卖什么品牌，它们都会成功。这是我在那家店的最大错误。
What do you think since then, again, you've clearly been successful and, you know, I'm gonna have to assume you've had lots of learnings. But what do you think has changed the most in your business and the way you operate over the last decade to run today, you know, multiple stores and do it successfully? What has changed? Have you just been, you know, more focused on the people you recruit or has it been operating philosophy? What is it?
你认为自那时以来，你显然取得了成功，你知道，我得假设你学到了很多东西。但是在过去的十年里，你认为你的企业和运营方式发生了最大的变化是什么，使你能够成功地运营如今的多家店铺？有什么改变吗？是你更专注于招聘员工还是经营理念发生了变化？是什么呢？
I think the entire, my management team, my associates, we've kind of grown together. Most people started with me when I started in the business and started on the ground floor. And I had to really trust them and train them and coach them and learn how to let people be successful. And that's the only way to do it. You know, I can't be everywhere, it's impossible. And for me, it was really just getting the absolute best people and let them flourish and let them develop. And I'm super proud, you know, or my flagship store, the store that my dad started. I mean, right now we have, we have a flight organizations. We have centralized accounting, that's where our offices, everything flows through that store. But I mean, I have two women that run that store. That's one started as a sales receptionist, one started as a service receptionist. They're strong, they're fantastic and they're not perfect, but they've grown with me and they do an amazing job.
我觉得整个团队，我的管理团队，我的伙伴们，我们都一起成长了。大部分人和我一起开始了这个行业，从做最基层的工作开始。我必须真正信任他们，培训他们，指导他们，学会如何让人们成功。这是唯一的方法。你知道，我无法到处都在，这是不可能的。对我来说，真正重要的是找到最好的人才，让他们茁壮成长。我为我的旗舰店感到非常自豪，这家店是我父亲开办的。现在我们有飞行组织，有集中核算，所有事务都通过这家店进行。但是，在那家店工作的有两位女性。其中一位从销售接待员开始，另一位从服务接待员开始。她们强大、出色，虽然不完美，但她们和我一起成长，做得很出色。
And then I have really one person who's like my fixed ops director, operations manager, and he's really the only person that still with me that started from before I was in the business a few years before. And so we really have a diverse group of tenured young, female, male, it's pretty diverse group. But again, like I learned that I'm not going to be successful without the people. That is we are the people business, you know, and that's my number one role.
然后我有一个人，像我的固定运营董事、运营经理，他是唯一一个在我加入这个行业之前几年就开始与我合作的人。所以我们团队里有很多资深员工，年轻员工，女性，男性，团队很多元化。但我意识到没有团队，我不可能成功。我们是人际业务，这是我最重要的角色。
Tell us a little bit about your economics across your group. What are you seeing right now in terms of demand overall from consumers? How is, you know, let's just say how is business right now for you, generally speaking? We have a lot of inventory and I know every brand is different, but the brands I represent, we have a lot of inventory. And one of those brands again, give us a run of all the brands. I have two vault stores, a Lincoln store and Polestar. So we have a lot of inventory, we have a lot of exposure to EV. You know, there's still some manufacturers that are still, you know, have that balance of supply and demand. We have been back to volume, thinner margins, lots of inventory.
请简单介绍一下你所在集团的经济情况。现在消费者方面的需求整体如何？总的来说，你们的业务状况怎么样呢？我们有很多库存，我知道每个品牌情况都不同，但我所代表的品牌，我们有大量库存。再说说其中的一个品牌，给我们列出所有的品牌。我有两家保时捷专卖店，一家林肯店和一个Polestar。所以我们有很多库存，对电动汽车有很多接触。你知道，仍然有一些制造商在保持供求平衡。我们已经回到了量，利润空间较小，库存很多。
And we've been that way for probably the last year. No, so what that what's that revert to is we're back to pre-COVID 2019 business. To that extent, a hundred percent. And we've been there for, I would say, most of last year. Most of last year was 2019 pre-COVID. And I see that going well into 24. Yeah. And I think you are a bit of an anomaly because you mentioned you are very exposed to EVs with your brands. So I think that you're or I don't want to say it anomaly, but it's definitely impacting you more than you know, it might be impacting the average or other, other dealers.
我们大概已经这样过了最后一年。不，这意味着什么是我们回到了新冠疫情前的2019年的生意情况。在这方面，是百分之百的。我要说，我们去年的大部分时间都是如此。去年的大部分时间都是2019年新冠疫情之前的时期。我觉得这种情况会延续到2024年。是的。我认为你有点特殊，因为你提到你的品牌对电动车(EVs)非常敏感。所以我认为你可能是一个例外，这对你的影响可能比其他经销商更大。
Tell me more about, you know, in terms of margins, what has happened to your margins over the last year? Like what, what, what, what were they at? What are they at now on an average basis? Being right outside New York City, it's a very, very competitive pocket. Big volume, some of the biggest volume in the country again. So our margins have always been super competitive on the new car side of things. There's lots of dealers everywhere. I mean, you could get to about a dozen competing Volvo dealerships in about a 15 minute drive. Right in our market, it's a market that's, that's heavily inundated with third party brokers.
请告诉我更多关于你的利润率方面的情况，去年你的利润率发生了什么变化？比如说，去年的利润率是多少？现在的平均利润率是多少？作为纽约市的外围，这是一个竞争非常激烈的区域。这里有很大的销售量，是全国最大的销售量之一。因此，我们的利润率在新车方面一直非常有竞争力。到处都有很多经销商。我是说，你在15分钟的车程内就可以找到大约十几家竞争的沃尔沃经销商。在我们的市场中，存在大量的第三方经纪人。
So again, it's just a hyper competitive market outside of New York City. So those new car margins have always been competitive. I mean, we live, what are they though? What are they now? What are the margins on those new cars? I would say they're almost nothing, almost nothing. And that's just the business that we've always always signed up for. You know, we had a, we had an amazing bubble from, you know, 2022, where our margins were greater than they've ever been on the new car side.
所以再说一次，在纽约市以外，市场竞争非常激烈。因此，新车的毛利一直都是竞争激烈的。我的意思是，我们生活在一个什么样的竞争环境中呢？现在的毛利是多少呢？新车的毛利几乎等于零了，几乎等于零。这就是我们一直以来所面对的行业环境。从2022年开始，我们曾经有过一个令人惊叹的繁荣时期，新车毛利达到了历史上最高水平。
But I would say in, in tri-state, you know, they've, they've always been close to absolutely nothing. On your new car side, where would you say most of your profit right now is coming from? I mean, it comes from F&I, comes from New Jersey still has a healthy dock fee. You know, those are the margins, you know, and, and again, it's a game of volume and units and operation.
在三州地区，他们总是利润微薄。你觉得你们新车销售方面的大部分利润现在来自哪里？我是说，来自金融保险业务，还是新泽西州仍有健康的码头费？这些都是利润的来源，再次强调，这是一个数量和运营单位的游戏。
Well, you mentioned Fisker. I didn't even know about that, by the way. I want to, I want to transition to that, right? First of all, why Polestar? Like, where did this come from? What led you to wake up one day and say, I want to be a Polestar dealer? Polestar, you know, it's a sister company and Volvo cars. There's, there's, they've, there's separate, separate publicly listed companies, but they are a sister company. So when Polestar went to market and this was super controversial, they only wanted Volvo dealers. So we all raised our hand, all the Volvo dealers, most of them, and said, pick me.
嗯，你提到了Fisker。顺便说一句，我甚至不知道这个。我想，我想转向这个话题，对吧？首先，为什么是Polestar？这是从哪里来的？是什么让你有一天醒来想要成为Polestar的经销商？Polestar，你知道，它是沃尔沃汽车的姊妹公司。它们是两家独立的上市公司，但它们是姊妹公司。所以当Polestar进入市场时，这是非常有争议的，他们只想要沃尔沃经销商。所以我们都举起手来，大多数沃尔沃经销商都说，选我吧。
You know, it was like an America's Got Talent competition. And for me, you know, I just wanted the opportunity to build something from the ground floor. I wanted, I wanted to be that, that person who said, okay, I, I, I got involved day one. This company was nothing and I built it up into something special. And so of course, yeah, I raised my hand. I said, I want to do this. Polestar came to market and it was supposed to be this new way to buy a car. I don't want to sound like Saturn or any of these other defunct companies, but, you know, they wanted to really come up with a, with a hybrid, you know, agency model that fit, fit the US market.
你知道，就像是一个《美国达人秀》比赛。对我来说，我只是想要一个从零开始构建的机会。我想要成为那个能够说，“好吧，我参与了第一天。这家公司一无所有，而我将它建设成了一些特别的东西的人”。当然，是的，我举起了手。我说，我想要做这件事。Polestar上市了，本应成为购买汽车的新方式。我不想听起来像是那些沦陷的公司，但是他们想要真正提出一种适合美国市场的混合机构模式。
And I want to be a part of it, you know, and again, you know, I am competing with, you know, major public companies, big deal of groups, private equity. For me to grow, I need opportunities like this. I need throw away brands. And I say that because, you know, I've spoken to so many dealers and they're like, I'll call you when I have a throw away. And what they call throwaways, you know, they acquire a big group of stores and they're like, all right, we, we really want these, and these two we're going to get rid of.
而且，我想成为其中的一部分。你知道，我在竞争的是大型上市公司、大型集团和私募股权，为了让我成长，我需要像这样的机会。我需要弃用品牌。我之所以这么说是因为，你知道，我已经和很多经销商谈过了，他们会说，等我有闲置的时候再联系你。他们所谓的闲置就是，他们收购了一大批商店，然后说，好，我们真的想要这些，但这两个我们要剔除掉。
So they're the throwaway brands. So I don't mind, like I know, I, you know, that's how I'm going to have to make it. I'm a Volvo dealer. I'm a Lincoln dealer. I'm a Polestar dealer. These, for a lot of people are throwaway brands. And that's how I'm going to have to grow and compete with the big guys. So for me to get Polestar on the ground floor, you know, it was a dream come true for me. I love that term throwaway brand because it's such a good way. Like, look, the way I see it, thrower or throw away or not, right? The market has an opportunity and you're simply capitalizing an opportunity. And so I think that I think that you're just playing it smart, frankly, because you don't have, you're right. You don't have private equity back in you. You don't have, you know, that kind of crazy capital or, you know, the super prestigious, you know, public dealer group, whatever it may be. And so this is an opportunity that you can take advantage of a hundred percent. And yeah, and I didn't, I didn't point that term literally, like I've been told that, that throwaway by multiple dealers who I reach out to when I'm looking for an acquisition.
所以它们是可以随意放弃的品牌。我不在乎，就像我知道的那样，我，你知道的，这就是我必须做的。我是沃尔沃经销商。我是林肯经销商。我是极星经销商。对于许多人来说，这些都是可以随意放弃的品牌。这就是我必须要成长和与大公司竞争的方式。对我来说，让极星在起步阶段发展是一个梦想成真。我喜欢“可以随意放弃的品牌”这个术语，因为这是一个很好的方式。从我的角度看，无论是扔掉还是不扔掉，市场都有机会，你只是在利用一个机会。所以我认为你做得很聪明，坦率地说，因为你没有私募股权支持你，你没有那种狂野的资本或者超级有声望的公共经销商集团，无论是什么。所以这是一个你可以百分之百利用的机会。是的，我并不是字面上的意义上使用这个术语，因为我在寻求收购时曾多次被多个经销商告知。
So and explain those for a second. Like when you say agency model, right? What does that really mean? I think so, like agency, when I hear agency and, you know, you read the headlines in, in Europe and Australia, how they've terminated all these, all these auto dealers, franchise agreements and they've signed new agency agreements. But I think the tenants of agency in the US are really the dealers are not stocking units. Fantasyland, but that's one of the tenants of an agency that the dealers don't stock units. I think another tenant is negotiation free. Also, I think fantasy land. And I would say like another tenant is probably, you know, non traditional dealership footprints. So for example, we opened up Paul Star in the short hills mall. So we are in a mall. So I think there's, there's probably more tenants to what an agency is, but I think those are kind of three main penance. When I put my dealer hat on, it also makes me think less margin. Because by having no inventory negotiation free, kind of an omni-channel online offline experience that could pay us less margin. And I can tell you the pros and cons of all the stuff and what's fantasy land and what's real.
所以解释一下这些。比如说当你说代理模式，对吧？这到底是什么意思？我认为，比如代理，当我听到代理，你知道，在欧洲和澳大利亚，他们终止了所有这些汽车经销商、特许经营协议，然后签署了新的代理协议。但我认为，在美国，代理模式的原则实际上是经销商不存货。这可能是一个幻想世界，但代理的原则之一是经销商不存货。我认为另一个原则是无谈判。同样，我认为这是一个幻想世界。我想说另一个原则可能是非传统的经销商模式。例如，我们在短山购物中心开了一个Paul Star。所以我们在一个商场里。我认为代理模式可能有更多的原则，但我认为这三个是主要的原则。当我戴上我的经销商帽子时，这也让我想到了利润空间更少。因为通过没有存货、无谈判、一种全渠道的线上线下体验，这可能会给我们带来更少的利润空间。我可以告诉你所有这些东西的优缺点，以及什么是幻想世界，什么是真实的。
Yeah. Well, tell us more about that. Like when you say fantasy land, isn't this the business that you're currently operating? Yeah, it is. But again, like, so I've been now operating out of the mall, a mall for three years. And I've seen the good, the bad, the ugly. And it's, it really is a different model than, than what we're used to or what I'm used to as a car dealer. I mean, to me, the mall is media and awareness. And it's like operating at a car show. There's a lot of traffic. But again, these people are not there with their hat on to buy a car. They're there to get information and get brand exposure, which is, which is fantastic. But by not stocking any inventory, it's presented a ton of challenges. First of all, you know, customers aren't brand local, brand loyal to their, to their, their local dealership because at the end of the day, they would leave multiple deposits at multiple spaces within multiple states and they would go with whoever got them the car first, or they look for a car with a certain feature and who could get them that feature faster.
是的。嗯，告诉我们更多关于这个的信息。比如当你说到幻想乐园时，这不就是你目前经营的业务吗？是的。但是，所以我现在已经在购物中心经营了三年。我见过好的、坏的、丑陋的。这真的是一个与我作为汽车经销商所习惯的模式完全不同的模式。对我来说，购物中心就像媒体和意识。就像在车展上经营一样。这里有很多流量。但是，这些人并不是戴着帽子去买车的。他们是去获取信息和品牌曝光的。这是非常棒的。但是，不存货也带来了很多挑战。首先，顾客并不忠于当地经销商的品牌，因为最终他们会在多个地方、多个州在多个地方留下多笔押金，然后会选择最先让他们得到车的那个或者寻找带有特定功能的车辆，看看谁能更快地为他们提供这个功能。
So like not stocking cars, although it's our biggest expense, especially now with rates, I mean, our floor blind bills are crazy. I don't know if, if the US consumers there yet, based on my experience, they're not, like they, they want instant gratification. They want the car on the ground during COVID, when there was no inventory and people ordering cars that was different. But now when supplies back, you know, most people don't want to wait. And so that was a major learning. And then again, like we're in the people business. Okay. So attracting professional automotive executives that, that are in these cardiovascular shifts to the mall space is extremely, extremely challenging because working at a mall is seven days a week and it's long hours and it's, it's tough. It's, it's really tough. So we, like, you know, getting the best people, definitely a major challenge. And being negotiation free is, is another major, major challenge, especially when you're competing with, you know, Tesla and they're making these price changes dynamically on the spot and you're dealing with, you know, all these now traditional OEMs that are inundated with EVs and they have to move these cars and they'll take a huge loss just to get, get the cars off their floor plan because there's so many more coming behind it. So yeah, it's, it's definitely had its unique challenges. Sounds like it. Uh, but very interesting. Tell me more about just from an economic perspective, right? Like how are you making money with the fact that inventory is not on your balance sheet. You don't have, you can't negotiate. We haven't even touched on service, right? And, you know, not having a service department or a poll star service department. But tell me, like, how are you making money here? How do you make money?
所以不像存货车辆，尽管这是我们最大的支出，尤其是现在的利率，我的意思是，我们的库存账单太高了。根据我的经验，我不知道美国消费者是否已经接受了这一点，他们并不像他们想要立即得到满足。在COVID期间，当没有库存而人们订购汽车时，情况就不同了。但是现在库存恢复了，大多数人不想等待。这是一个重要的经验教训。再次，我们是从事与人相关的业务。吸引专业的汽车行业高管转向购物中心空间，是极其具有挑战性的，因为在购物中心工作是一周七天，工作时间很长，非常艰难。因此，吸引最好的人才绝对是一个重大挑战。无需谈判也是另一个重大挑战，尤其是在与特斯拉等竞争时，他们可以即时动态调整价格，而您必须与所有这些现在传统的OEM竞争，他们淹没在电动汽车中，他们必须推动这些汽车，并且他们为了将汽车从他们的库存计划中拿出来而承受巨大的损失，因为还有更多的汽车在后面。这确实是一个独特挑战。听起来是这样。但非常有趣。就从经济角度来看，你们如何赚钱，考虑到库存不在你们的资产负债表上，你们无法谈判。我们甚至还没有提到服务部门或极星服务部门。但告诉我，你们是如何赚钱的？你们如何盈利？
So I, when we, when we first opened up, we were rocking, totally rocking. Well, up in the morning, we'd have the orders, we'd be selling cars. Um, we thought we were, you know, God's greatest gift. Yeah. We thought this. And what, what were you selling? What were you selling at that time? We were selling price 60, 60 to 70 a month and half, half the orders were just coming in online. It was amazing. Uh, but it was the very, very unique time in the EV space. First of all, nobody had any inventory ice or EV. Yeah. What year? 2021, 2021, yeah. Yeah. It's pre pre inflation reduction act. So the tax incentives were super generous to EV and EV consumer at that time. These people were so sophisticated. Okay. That literally they had Reddit groups of all the inventory. What space had the inventory? What the doc fees were. And they knew all the OEMs and their incentives. So these were literally professional EV flippers.
所以，当我们第一次开业的时候，我们非常成功，完全成功。嗯，早上起来，我们有订单，我们正在卖车。嗯，我们觉得自己是上帝赐予的最伟大的礼物。是的，我们是这么想的。那么，那个时候你们在卖什么？在那个时候你们在卖什么？我们当时每个月能卖60到70辆汽车，其中一半订单都是通过网上下的。这很了不起。但那时EV领域是非常独特的时期。首先，没有任何库存冰车或电动车。是的，什么年份？2021年，2021年，是的。是的。那时候还没有通胀压缩法案。所以那时对EV和EV消费者来说税收激励非常慷慨。这些人非常精明。好吧，他们甚至有Reddit小组讨论所有的库存情况。哪家店有库存？文档费是多少？他们知道所有原始设备制造商和他们的激励政策。所以这些人实际上是职业EV翻车手。
I have customers coming in that knew that, okay, I was going to go and get the Chevy bolt and, and bolt was going to give me a free home charger plus installation that I was going to take that bolt and I was going to trade it into pulsar and pulsar was going to give me more than I paid for this. And I was going to cash out that. And then I was going to take the pulsar and then I flipped that into a keya or a hundred. I mean, they were literally trading the $7,500 credit because you got it, whether you leased it or you bought it and it was unlimited. And they were using it to flip cars. They were so sophisticated. They were, they were so much more well prepared than the average dealer or OEM. They knew everything. Um, so it was a totally different time. And they knew that, you know, as time was going on, the, the use values were just going up and up and up. And they were just flipping and flipping and flipping and flipping. And it was like, it was amazing time. It was a once in a lifetime, like time to be around. And, you know, when I was in the business, one of my mentors said, Matt, I feel so bad for you, you know, um, you know, you're just never going to experience the good times like we experienced it and rattle off. And like we, we just lived through an incredible time and these buyers were just so sophisticated. And then, you know, the inflation and wait. And so at that time when you're selling like 60, 70 a month, it's, you know, markets hot, how much are you making per car on a pulsar at that time?
我有一些顾客知道这一点，我打算去买雪佛兰震撼和装置，而且震撼会给我一个免费的家用充电器，我打算把震撼交给普赛尔，普赛尔会给我比我付的更多的价格。然后我打算把它卖掉。然后我会用普赛尔换成一辆起亚或者一百。他们实际上在交易7500美元的抵扣款，因为无论你是租还是买，你都能得到它，而且没有上限。他们利用这些来翻车。他们如此老练，如此精明。他们比普通经销商或原始设备制造商准备得更充分。他们了解一切。这是完全不同的时代。他们知道，随着时间的推移，使用价值只会越来越高。他们就不断地交易，交易，交易。这是一个了不起的时代。这是一生中难得一遇的时刻。当我在业务中时，我的一位导师说，马特，我为你感到难过，你知道，你永远不会像我们那样经历美好的时光，然后列举了一番。我们刚刚度过了一个不可思议的时代，这些买家非常老练。当时销量如此骚动，每辆普赛尔车你能赚多少钱？
So I would say we were making three to $5,000 a car, which at the time, because, you know, it was stupid. I call it Armageddon. That was below average at the time, below average. But looking at pre-COVID numbers, we were like, you know, of course, of course. But again, you know, we're looking at it as we're not stocking inventory. Um, you know, we don't have sales done online. Heavy. We don't have these heavy hitter people. You know, the people that we were hiring were coming over from the Peloton store, the Apple store, all about my findings with them. Because dealers stayed up at night saying, how can I get these Apple people? How can I get these Peloton people? And they're great. But as far as like going the extra mile and that long term relationship, they have a lot to learn fast forward out to today.
所以我会说我们每辆车赚三到五千美元，当时，你知道，那是愚蠢的。我称之为世界末日。那时的收入低于平均水平。但看着新冠疫情前的数字，我们就像，你知道，当然当然。但再次，你知道，我们一直在看着，我们不会储存库存。嗯，你知道，我们没有在线销售。大举。我们没有那些实力派人才。你知道，我们雇佣的人都是从Peloton商店、苹果商店过来的，所有关于他们的情况我都了解。因为经销商整夜都在想，我怎么能得到这些苹果的人？我怎么能得到这些Peloton的人？他们真的很不错。但就像加倍努力和长期关系，他们还有很多要学习，快进到今天。
What is, what is a, what does margins look like on a pulsar? So, so today, I mean, the EV market is just so, so competitive. And, you know, there's people that I'll tell you, like, I don't want an EV, but I'll tell you firsthand. When there's a value proposition, they don't care if it's ice or EV. They'll, they'll roll that off. They'll 100% get that. And if the price, and if the price is right, 100%, 100%. And, you know, that's why I think, you know, a lot of these manufacturers are backtracking on their EV aspirations because they know this. But when they put the math to what they need to where these cars really need to be, it doesn't make sense.
在脉冲星上，边际利润是什么样子？所以今天，我的意思是，电动汽车市场竞争非常激烈。你知道，有些人会告诉你，我不想要电动汽车，但我可以第一手告诉你，当有一份有价值的提案时，他们并不在乎是内燃机还是电动汽车。他们会毫不犹豫地拥有。只要价格合适，他们就会百分之百买下去。你知道，这就是为什么我认为，很多制造商正在撤回他们的电动汽车雄心壮志，因为他们知道这一点。但当他们计算出这些车辆真正需要的情况时，这就不合理了。
You know, and, and pulsars are amazing cars. And, and I, I, I believe that pulsars are bright future. But we're just at this point right now where it is like, it's like the great recession of EVs right now. It is, it's really, really tough. It's really competitive. And, you know, we're, we're, we're trying to sell as many as we can, but we have to give them away. Like, like everyone else. We have to give them away. Does that mean like, does that mean break even $1,000 a car right now lose it, lose per car? Like, what are you really looking at? And how sustainable is it? Well, it's sustainable when we get more product and we have a full suite of product. And then we actually, you know, start to sell used cars and, and it was again, like it, what, what, regardless of the brand, OK, if you get an open point and it's a startup, OK, you don't have units in operation. You don't have service. You're looking at that open point as, OK, I'm going to sell used cars. I'm going to buy cars from the public. I'm going to sell used cars. I'm going to service those cars internally. That's how I'm going to make it. Nobody signs up for an open point and says, I'm going to put the key in the door and the customer is going to run in. Like we have to rely on other profit centers for that.
你知道，脉冲星是很棒的车。我相信脉冲星有一个光明的未来。但是我们现在正处于电动汽车的大衰退阶段。竞争激烈，困难重重。我们尽力销售，但不得不免费赠送，和其他人一样。这是什么意思？每辆车能否平衡盈亏1,000美元？您真正关心的是什么？这是可持续的吗？当我们有更多产品并提供全套产品时，这是可持续的。当我们真正开始销售二手车时，情况会好转，无论品牌如何。如果您拥有一个新的点，那么你需要在服务和二手销售上下工夫，这样才能实现盈利。没有人会签约一个新点然后说：“我只需打开门，客户就会涌入。”我们必须依靠其他盈利中心。
But, you know, as, as, as Pulsag has been more mature, we're waiting for two new products as, as they figure out where they want us as far as destiny. II have a loan that has been available to know about, you know, it is possible. They're waiting for more. EEE and these are theharmonic's right now, you know, there's some AIRbank and Shen Capital that increasing the cost of, you know, that's changing it's happening there. So we're offering YouTube. But, if engagement is you're going to be staying and I do money. diminish our rankings and Theodore Peak, because each of us is a financially risky asset. Like, Why would the customer understand? Yes, they were also Wealthover. then you have to do what you have to do to move a new car. Got it. So on a net basis right now, is it would you say like is your poll store sort profitable?
但是,你知道,随着Pulsag变得更加成熟，我们正在等待两款新产品，看看他们想让我们在命运方面扮演什么样的角色。我有一个贷款可以了解，你知道，这是可能的。他们正在等待更多的信息，这些是目前的和谐因素，你知道，现在有一些AIRbank和Shen Capital正在增加成本，你知道，那里正在发生一些变化。所以我们提供YouTube。但是，如果参与度持续下降，那么我们可能会失去排名和西奥多峰值，因为我们每个人都是一项风险资产。比如，为什么客户会理解？是的，他们也是Wealthover。那么你必须做你该做的事情来买一辆新车。明白了。现在算起来，你觉得你的Poll Store算是盈利的吗？
It is not profitable. So it's tough out there for EVs. Now in terms of, you mentioned used and you mentioned used and you mentioned service. Are these considerations right now for poll store specifically? Is that a thing or is there just, are you servicing your other stores? How does that work? Yeah, so right now we are authorized to service at one of our Volvo locations. So we have, we have, we have poll store technicians that are certified poll store technicians and they have their own separate computer system. But yeah, we service it through a Volvo location. But again, it stands on its own. We look at a P and L for Paul, sorry we look at what they bring in service and parts growth every month. And the service business is not bad. We have units in operation and the EVs are all, they're in a lot of rental fleets and because there's such limited spaces, we get cars coming in from all over, all over. So we'll take the service.
这并不赚钱。EVs现在处境艰难。关于您提到的二手车和服务，现在对于保利公司来说是否是考虑的因素？这是一个问题吗，还是您只是在为其他店进行维修？工作方式如何？是的，目前我们有授权在我们的沃尔沃位置之一进行维修。我们有保利公司认证的专业技师，他们拥有自己独立的计算机系统。但是，是的，我们通过沃尔沃位置提供服务。但是，保利公司自成一体。我们每个月审查保利公司的利润表，看看他们每月带来的服务和配件增长情况。服务业务还不错。我们有很多EV车辆在运营，并且它们都被租车公司广泛使用，由于空间有限，我们接收来自各个地方的车辆进行服务。因此我们会接受维修业务。
It's good. Why do you think, why are you bullish on the brand? Given the headwinds for EVs and specifically, poll store again being more of like a, up and coming brand, not being the market leader, like a Tesla, what keeps you bullish on this brand? First of all, I put Tesla in a different bucket. Like, and I would never, I'm never gonna knock Tesla, the product Elon, like you put them in a different bucket, like everybody, it's everybody else and it's Tesla. So the one thing is, I believe in poll store's philosophy. I mean, poll store is not direct to consumer. There's a dealer network. They believe in the dealers. They know dealers know how to sell cars. You know, there's not a dealer network with Lucid. There's not a dealer network with Rydian. Now companies like Vin Fast and Fisker out there trying to sign up dealers because they know that model works. And I believe in that model and that's a cash flow positive model for them. But I believe it, I've seen the product. The product's amazing and we're selling products and we're putting on the road and the customers that are interacting with the products, they love it. They love the car, they love the quality. And it's gonna be, you know, an interesting journey, but I'm confident in the Volvo brand and the parent company, Gilly, that they're gonna keep investing.
这是好的。为什么你认为，你为什么看好这个品牌？考虑到电动汽车面临的困难，特别是像普雷氏这样更像是一个新兴品牌，而不像特斯拉那样是市场领导者，你为什么依然看好这个品牌？首先，我把特斯拉放在一个不同的桶里。而且我永远也不会诋毁特斯拉，埃隆的产品，你把它们放在一个不同的桶里，就是所有其他人和特斯拉。所以我相信普雷氏的理念。我是说，普雷氏不是直销消费者的方式。有一个经销商网络。他们相信经销商，他们知道怎么卖车。你知道Lucid没有经销商网络。Rydian也没有经销商网络。现在像Vin Fast和Fisker这样的公司正在努力签约经销商，因为他们知道这种模式是行之有效的。我相信这个模式，这对他们来说是现金流的积极模式。但我相信它，我看到了产品。产品很惊人，我们在销售产品，我们把产品上路，与产品互动的客户他们都很喜欢。他们喜欢这辆车，他们喜欢品质。这将是一个有趣的旅程，但我对沃尔沃品牌以及母公司吉利继续投资充满信心。
Do you think that this agency model, quote unquote, do you think it's gonna go away? Like, do you think there's a future for it in the US? In the US? No, I'm not a believer in the US. No. But when I say I'm saying, with respect to what you're doing with poll store, like does that stick around or does that end up transforming into an actual dealership? I think it's gonna have to change, okay? The main reason is like the economics, you know, the manufacturers, no matter who they are, to hold this inventory on their balance sheet is just a suicide for them. Nothing happens when they're holding these cars on their balance sheet and they're sitting at the port and they're paying interest on it. I mean, if you think about it, the relationship with the manufacturer and the dealer is the greatest relationship on the planet.
你认为这种代理模式，打引号，你认为它会消失吗？比如，在美国，你认为它有未来吗？在美国？不，我不相信在美国会有未来。不过，我说的是，关于你在波尔商店做的事情，它会保留下来吗，还是最终会变成一个实际的经销商？我认为会发生改变的，好吗？主要的原因是经济上的考量，你知道，制造商不管是谁，把这些库存放在他们的资产负债表上对他们来说都是自杀。这些车子在他们的资产负债表上并没有发生任何改变，它们只是停在港口，他们还得支付利息。我是说，如果你想想，制造商和经销商之间的关系是地球上最伟大的关系。
You know, they sell the cars to us. We pay them full price negotiation-free before these cars even get loaded on the truck, okay? Then they load them on the truck, they drop them off at our dealership. We sell them for thousands less than what we paid for them. And then we hope to get that difference back. Those are rebates incentives. We hope to get them back within 60, 90 days. And half the dealers don't even know how to apply for these incentives so they don't even get them back. And we fund everything for them.
你知道吗，他们向我们销售汽车。在这些汽车被装上卡车之前，我们就不经过任何讨价还价直接支付他们全价。然后他们将汽车装上卡车，将其送到我们的经销商那里。我们以比我们购买价格低上千美元的价格出售它们。然后我们希望能够拿回这个差价。这些是返利激励措施。我们希望在60、90天内拿回这些款项。有一半的经销商甚至不知道如何申请这些激励，所以根本拿不回来。而我们要为他们提供所有资金。
You know, as long as they have inventory, when they need advertising, when they need help, they pick up the phone and say, hey, I need you to take an extra few cars. We got to write the check for the sponsorship of the football team or the professional hockey team. I mean, they have the greatest business on the planet. And I just don't think they have the fortitude to hold these cars on their balance sheet. And then, you know, I don't think they have the ability to change pricing dynamically or want to change pricing dynamically like Tesla does.
你知道的，只要他们有库存，当他们需要做广告、需要帮助的时候，他们就会拿起电话说，嘿，我需要你再多运几辆车。我们得为足球队或职业曲棍球队的赞助写支票。我是说，他们在地球上有着最伟大的生意。我只是觉得他们没有足够的毅力把这些汽车留在资产负债表上。而且，你知道，我觉得他们没有像特斯拉那样动态调整定价的能力或者愿意动态调整定价。
You know, just think about how many customers they would piss off if everything was negotiation free. And then the next day they go and they just, you know, change the price by a couple thousand dollars and then this neighbor paid this and this guy paid this, like put it on us, put it on the local experts. And I think it's a great model for them. And I just, I think they're going to embrace it now more than ever. You know, you said that. And I think what comes to my mind is, when times are good, right?
你知道的，想想如果一切都没有谈判空间，他们会惹恼多少客户。然后第二天他们就随便改动价格几千美元，而这个邻居支付了这个价格，那个家伙支付了那个价格，就把责任推到我们身上，推到本地专家身上。我觉得这对他们来说是一个很好的模式。我认为他们现在比以往任何时候都更愿意接受这种模式。你说的对。我觉得让我想到的是，当时机好的时候，对吧？
Like everyone gets greedy. And the manufacturers, because I think if our consumer was listening to this, they would say, what do you mean you're losing on these cars? You're, you know, there have been $15,000 markups for the last couple of years. And while that's true, right? You know, there's also been the opposite now we're seeing or historically, right? Where the new car was actually, you know, a loser for most dealers. Needless to say, yes, it's true that, you know, when supplies constrained, of course, they're their markups. But here's the thing, right? Manufacturers saw that, times were good. And suddenly, you know, the agency model looks very attractive for a manufacturer. Because hey, I can earn all that additional profit that the dealer is now earning, you know, on the sale. When times are not so good, suddenly it's not as attractive to retain that inventory and keep it on your balance sheet. Because just like the pendulum swings up, it swings back down. And again, like, and that's, you know, cardulous, we've been there, we've done that with, you know, we're survivors. And, you know, at the end of the day, so much as they have bailed us out of tough times, we're always right there to help them when they call, you know? And that's how you have to do business today.
就像每个人都会变得贪婪一样。制造商们也是如此，因为我认为如果我们的消费者听到这个消息，他们会说，你们是什么意思，这些车子你们卖亏了？你们知道，过去几年里一直存在这样的高价销售。虽然这是事实，对吧？你知道，也有相反的情况，或者说从历史上看，新车实际上对大多数经销商来说是一种亏损。当然，供应受限制时，他们会加价。但问题是，制造商们看到了，时机好的时候。突然间，代理模式对制造商来说变得很有吸引力。因为嘿，我可以赚取所有经销商现在在销售中赚取的额外利润。当时机不那么好的时候，留存库存并让其持续存在于你的资产负债表上就不那么有吸引力了。因为就像钟摆一样，它会摆到最高点，然后再摆回最低点。我们在这个行业已经历过这样的情况，我们是幸存者。在一天结束时，尽管他们帮助我们走出困境，但当他们需要帮忙时，我们总是会在他们的身边提供帮助。这就是你今天要做生意的方式。
The interesting part is that, I think this was my podcast with Alan Higg, but he mentioned that even when, you know, there were, you know, auto manufacturers going bankrupt and oh wait, oh nine and the whole Chrysler stuff, no dealer went out of business at that time. No Chrysler dealer, at least if I remember this correctly for my podcast with Alan Higg, which is fascinating. When you think about it, how the businesses are in a way, like insulated from each other. And it really, I mean, like you said, it's too separate, call you completely two separate operations selling to each other.
有趣的是，我认为这是我和Alan Higg的播客，但他提到，即使当时有汽车制造商破产了，还有哦等待，oh九和整个克莱斯勒的事情，没有任何经销商在那个时候倒闭。至少如果我记得没错的话，在我和Alan Higg的播客中提到了这一点，这是令人着迷的。当你考虑到这一点时，企业在某种程度上像是彼此隔离的。就像你说的那样，它们完全是两个独立的运营部门，互相向对方销售。
All right, so I was at NADA as we all were, you know, a week ago. And I heard a good question that I really loved. And the question, I want to ask you this question, but do you today, do you consider yourself a new car dealer that happens to sell used cars or a used car dealer that happens to sell new cars? Specifically, I'm asking that with, where do you think we're heading into the next year in terms of market conditions? Listen, I am a new car dealer that sells used cars, but I love used cars. There are new car dealers that don't sell used cars, but I think that's a major opportunity and I've always wanted like the manufacturers that just take some money and invest in their used car business, especially as like you're seeing a major consolidation right now in these used car independence.
好吧，所以我和大家一样，一周前也在NADA。我听到了一个我非常喜欢的好问题。这个问题，我想问问你，今天你认为自己是一个卖二手车的新车经销商，还是一个卖新车的二手车经销商？具体来说，我问这个问题是为了探讨我们在未来一年内市场状况将走向何方。听着，我是一个卖二手车的新车经销商，但我喜欢二手车。有一些新车经销商不卖二手车，但我认为这是一个重要的机会，我一直希望制造商投资他们的二手车业务，特别是在你现在看到二手车独立店正在进行重大整合的情况下。
And I've just had this philosophy, like those independence that I like, they have survived and built their businesses on our rejects, okay? And I mean this with respect. 100%. Not a hundred percent. They have taken, like we've taken our least portfolios and our dealers don't want them. So then they take them and they sell them at auction and they get more money than they would get if they sold them to us. And like these are our cars that we rejected and we created all this value, whether it's fantasy value or paper value, but like we control that supply chain and, you know, I just think it's crazy.
我就有这种哲学观念，就像我喜欢的那些独立个体一样，他们靠我们拒绝的东西生存并建立了自己的业务，知道吗？我是尊重的。绝对的尊重。他们拿走了我们最不受欢迎的车辆库存，我们的经销商不想要它们。然后他们拍卖出售，卖出的价钱比卖给我们的价钱要高。就像这些被我们拒绝的车辆，我们创造了所有这些价值，无论是虚拟价值还是纸面价值，但我们控制着整个供应链，我觉得这很疯狂。
I mean, I love used cars. It's like the first area of the business I tackled when I first came to the business was, all right, we got to start selling used cars. And then everything starts from a used car sale. So you sell used cars, your service and parts apartment grows, you finally have F&I managers that are lining up, dying to work for you because they want an opportunity to sell F&I on a used car. Nothing stops, you make more trade-ins, your look to book goes up. I mean, so like our dealerships, this doesn't work without used cars. So yeah, there's just so much opportunity. And I think more of that is going to fall on our shoulders as you see more consolidation with the used car independence.
我的意思是，我喜欢二手车。当我开始从事这个行业时，第一个领域就是二手车销售。一切都从二手车销售开始。你销售二手车，你的维修和配件部门会增长，最终会有F&I经理排队等着为你工作，因为他们希望有机会在二手车上销售F&I。没有什么能阻止这一切，你会有更多二手车换购，你的目标客户增加。我的意思是，我们的经销店没有二手车就无法运转。所以，这里面有太多的机会。我认为，随着二手车独立经销商的整合，更多的机会将落在我们肩上。
Yeah, so even me as a used car dealer, right? Like knowing, you know, you have the right car for your market, it's everything. But I think the reason I asked you that is because, again, you just mentioned that, you know, on a net basis at Bolstar, you're losing money right now. And we know that there's margin compression on the new car side. We know that it's going to continue accelerating as supply continues growing across major brands. And so what are just the overall steps that you're taking to insulate yourself into this next year? Clearly used cars is a big driver here, but can you just give us some specifics like what are you focused on for the next year?
是的，作为一名二手车经销商，对吧？就像知道，你知道，拥有适合你市场的车辆很重要。但我问你这个问题的原因是因为你刚刚提到，在Bolstar，你们目前是亏损的。我们知道新车边际压缩，供应继续增长会加速。那么你们正在采取什么整体措施来保护自己在接下来的一年？显然二手车是一个重要的驱动因素，但你能具体告诉我们你们未来一年的重点是什么吗？
I think I said this in the beginning. I mean, this year more than ever, I need to make sure I have the absolute right people in every spot in our deociates. I mean, so when times are easy, like you don't have to worry about your people because anyone can do it. But drill down on that. Like I want to know from a profit center perspective, how are you looking at your business today? Again, like, Bolstar is a little unique because I'm kind of handcuffed. I can't leave them all. I have to get it. I have to be in the mall. So I have to maximize that media. And again, with Bolstar, I can't retail use cars out of the mall. Okay, so Pulsar is, I'm kind of handcuffed with Pulsar.
我想我一开始就说过这个。我的意思是，今年比以往任何时候都更需要确保我在我们的合作伙伴中每个位置都有绝对正确的人选。我是说，当时光容易的时候，你不用担心你的员工，因为任何人都能做到。但是要深入探讨这一点。比如，我想知道从利润中心的角度来看，你今天如何看待你的业务？再次说一下，像Bolstar这样的情况有点特殊，因为我被限制住了。我不能离开他们。我必须在商场里。所以我必须最大限度地利用那种媒体。而且，用Bolstar，我不能在商场里零售二手车。好的，所以对Pulsar来说，我有点被束缚住了。
And I don't know how you want to share this, but it's like, I can't take unique steps at Pulsar. I feel they say, Matt, and I don't know if you want to share this, but until they say, okay, Matt, the mall's media, we're gonna get, we're gonna get a group of product specialists just to handle the mall. We'll pay for it like a mobile billboard. And you could have a traditional dealership where I can line up EVs galore, because I love buying U-CVs. There's some deals that won't touch them. I love U-CVs, and make it an EVU super center. I mean, that would be a premium line. And we would make money, and we would lose money in the new cars, but we would be really a buying center and a retail outlet for U-CVs. And that would work.
我不知道你想如何分享这个想法，但我觉得在Pulsar这方面我无法做出独特的举措。我觉得他们说，马特，我不知道你是否想要分享这个想法，但直到他们说，好的，马特，商场的媒体，我们会找一个团队的产品专家来处理商场。我们会像移动广告牌一样付费。你可以在传统的经销商那里排起一车的电动汽车，因为我喜欢购买二手电动汽车。有些交易商不会碰的。我喜欢二手电动汽车，并把它打造为电动汽车超市。这将是一个高端品牌线。我们会赚钱，也会在新车上损失钱，但我们真的会成为一个购买中心和二手电动汽车的零售点。这将起作用。
But right now, the setup is, I'm kind of Henka. Henka. And then what about Involve, what about Involve? Yeah, on the Volvo world, so again, we're always super super focused on U-Cars, and we're just trying to be smarter. I, from my philosophy is really, 30 days is the new 60 days. So we have to turn that inventory every 30 days. We have to have to minimize the cars that we're gonna lose on, and get rid of the cars that are loser cars. I mean, that's really our philosophy. And then again, for me, it's all about parts of service. I'm building an entire new service center for Volvo, Lincoln, and we're able to service Ford's and do Ford warranty work for Ford's. And that's my, that's my baby, trying to get open any day now. That's my focus. That's my very goal.
但是现在，情况是，我有点Henka。Henka。然后对于Involve怎么办，对于Involve怎么办？是的，在沃尔沃世界里，所以我们始终非常专注于U-Cars，并且我们只是在努力变得更聪明。我个人的哲学是，30天就是新的60天。所以我们必须每30天转动存货。我们必须尽量减少我们将会亏损的车辆，并摆脱那些亏损的车辆。这真的是我们的哲学。而对我来说，一切都关乎服务。我正在为沃尔沃、林肯建立全新的服务中心，并且我们能为福特提供服务并进行福特的保修工作。这是我的责任，我正努力争取尽快开业。这是我的重点。这是我的目标。
What's next for a prestige group? Are you looking for more acquisitions? What do you have in mind? So I'm always looking for acquisitions, but again, I wanna maximize what we have. We have such a great opportunity. And right now, and for us, it's these challenging times. Like that's when you get really lean and really good and really, really polished and developed your people. And we have a lot on our plate, Volvo's Rock, and they have some new product coming out this year. They're growing in service and parts. So, I'm definitely laser focused on just improving what we have now. And we'll see what happens down the line.
对于一个顶尖集团来说，接下来会是什么？您是否正在寻找更多的收购目标？您有什么想法？所以我一直在寻找收购目标，但我还想要充分发挥我们已经拥有的资源。我们有如此巨大的机会。现在对我们来说是一个挑战时刻。在这个时候，你会变得更加精益、优秀，锻炼和培养你的员工。我们手头上有很多事情，Volvo's Rock，他们今年将推出一些新产品。他们在服务和零部件方面也在增长。因此，我专注于改善我们目前已经拥有的资源。我们将看看未来会发生什么。
I love to hear it. Do you think you're gonna get your kids into the business? That's a great question. So I have four kids, 11, nine, five in a year and a half. And I would love it. I love it. My five year old son is just a car nut. It loves, loves, loves cars. Yeah, it knows every brand. He's just, he's a car guy. But I would love it. I mean, listen, I love, this is my passion. And it's fun. And I love everything about the car business.
我很喜欢听到这个。你认为你会让你的孩子进入这个行业吗？这是一个很好的问题。我有四个孩子，11岁，9岁，5岁和一岁半。我会很乐意。我喜欢。我的五岁儿子就是一个车迷。他喜欢，喜欢，喜欢汽车。是的，他认识每个品牌。他就是个车迷。但我会很乐意。我是说，听着，我热爱这个。这很有趣。我喜欢汽车行业的一切。
Awesome. I absolutely love that. Matt, it's been really, really interesting. I love the poll store insight. Again, we haven't had a discussion like this on the podcast yet. So it's super, super interesting. I wanna thank you for coming on. We'll put links to your dealer group at the bottom. If anyone wants to check it out, visit it. You've been super transparent with us. So I'm sure people will appreciate it. I definitely appreciate it.
太棒了。我绝对喜欢这个。马特，这真的很有趣。我喜欢调查店的见解。再次，我们在播客中还没有进行过这样的讨论。所以这非常非常有趣。我想感谢你的参与。我们会在底部放上你经营的经销商集团的链接。如果有人想查看，可以去看看。你对我们非常坦诚。我相信人们会欣赏的。我真的很感激。
So anything else in your mind for a wrap up? No, thank you. I just, I love what you're doing. I wrote this privately, but I'll say here, like you are definitely the voice of the dealer right now. And what's amazing is like the previous voices of the dealer were like self-appointed and you've been appointed by the people. And I think that's just so amazing. And I think it's awesome that you're bridging the gap between dealers, vendors, and the public and uncovering what an amazing industry this is. So like maybe you'll motivate someone at home to say, hey, I wanna be a car dealer when I get older. I wanna work in the car business. So like I really think something and I'll keep pushing, pushing your message as much as possible. You're the man. Appreciate you. Thanks so much for coming on. It's been super fun. Thank you. Appreciate it.
在总结方面，您还有什么想说的吗？不用了，谢谢。我真的很喜欢你现在正在做的事情。我之前是私下写的，但我想说，你绝对是现在车商的代表声音。令人惊奇的是，之前的车商代表是自己任命的，而你被人们选定。我认为这真的很了不起。我觉得你所做的让车商、供应商和公众之间的鸿沟变得不再存在，揭示了这个令人惊艳的行业。也许你会激励家里的某个人说，“嘿，将来我想做一个车商。我想从事汽车行业。”我真的认为你做了一些事情，我会尽可能多地宣传你的信息。你是最棒的。感谢你。非常感谢你的到来。非常有趣。谢谢你。感激不尽。
All right. Please give the podcast a rating, consider subscribing to the show and check the show notes for links to what we talked about. Thanks for tuning in. I'll see you guys next time.
好的。请给这个播客一个评分，考虑订阅节目，并查看节目说明中关于我们讨论内容的链接。感谢收听。下次再见啦。