Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement - (Page S39)

OCTOBER 21, 2013 ❙ 39 KUNI LEXUS OF GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. Colo. store offers buyers the trappings of luxury Printed in Automotive News July 15, 2013 Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com ustomers compare the new Kuni Lexus of Greenwood Village, Colo., to a resort - they would rather be there than at home, says Gregg Stone, the dealership's president. "Guests say: 'I have never felt that comfortable. Where do I check in, and can I stay here longer?'" That's music to the ears of Stone and parent company Kuni Automotive, which owns 14 dealerships, including four other Lexus stores. Customer service is the new battleground for luxury dealerships as competition intensifies and margins shrink, says Stone, 54, who has run the store since June 2006. Like all the other Kuni general managers, he is a part owner of the dealership. So when Kuni set out to move the Lexus store, which it has owned since 1991, it wanted to build something that would provide more of what Goodwin: Store Lexus is known for - cuswill build owner tomer service and the cusloyalty. tomer experience, says Greg Goodwin, 62, CEO of Kuni Automotive. The old store, Kuni Lexus of Littleton, was 8 miles away. The new store opened May 7. It was renamed because Lexus dictates that its stores have their location in their name. Greenwood Village is just south of Denver and sprang up after gold was discovered. It is known for its 300 acres of parks, nature trails and open space. Kuni Automotive of Vancouver, Wash., is the 79th biggest dealership group in the United States, based on its new-vehicle retail sales of 9,828 units in 2012, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Kuni expects the dealership's new-car sales to grow by at least 25 percent annually for the next few years, Stone says. Last year it sold 1,134 new and 860 used vehicles. Kuni told F. Michael Graves, CEO of Dakota Co., to make the store look like a luxury re- C Kuni Lexus' new dealership, at top, opened in May and is four times larger than the old one in Littleton, Colo. Above, amenities include guest patios that overlook picturesque vistas. sort. Graves' company has designed more than 20 dealerships, including two other Lexus stores the group owns. The new 196,000-square-foot, three-story store is four times larger than the old dealership. The 52-bay service area takes up about 85,000 square feet. With the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, the locally sourced Colorado stone and glass dealership blends in with the environment. The three-lane service drive is flanked by a wall of 1,700 live plants that are irrigated and will be switched out nine times a year. A 40-foot water wall is the first feature customers notice coming into the dealership. A dramatic staircase leads to the second floor, which has vehicle displays but is predominantly for customer use. Three movies can be shown simultaneously - the middle screen has a surround system and the other two offer wireless headphones - in the 16-seat movie theater with plush leather chairs. A concierge area is stocked with drinks and warming trays with such goodies as muffins and warm nuts and cookies. The customer lounge has leather sofas and wide chairs that wouldn't be out of place in a luxurious hotel lobby. A black leather massage chair sits in a private nook. A restored 1917 vintage Brunswick pool table with mother-of-pearl insets sits ready for gamers. A concierge provides customers who want to read newspapers or periodicals with iPads because the dealership wants to be as paperless as possible, Stone says. Two guest patios overlook picturesque vistas. The dealership has a massive, professionally equipped kitchen where food is prepared for customers and employee events. Goodwin wouldn't disclose how much it cost to build the Greenwood Village store. He's convinced that the store will build owner loyalty and increase sales higher than Kuni had forecast. The dealership also will demonstrate that the group is "the type of organization that manufacturers would like to represent their brand in a number of markets," Goodwin says. "We have a desire to grow. In 1999, we had six rooftops. Today we have 14. We are developing great leaders, and you have to have a place for them to lead." c

Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement

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