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GM restores franchise agreements with Simon, Masse |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 |
By RUSS OLIVO
WOONSOCKET – Two local GM car dealerships are revved up and ready for business this week after General Motors recalled part of its sweeping franchisee shutdown plans.
In a welcome reversal of fortune, Simon Chevrolet, which GM had threatened to close, will remain in business as a new car dealership, and Paul Masse Buick GMC will keep its Cadillac franchise, their general managers said Tuesday.
The news was especially sweet for Simon Chevrolet, which had fought vigorously to get GM to reconsider. The dealership circulated a petition signed by more than 2,000 people, urged customers to call their congressmen and got the City Council to join the protest.
“We're totally excited,” said General Manager Wayne Walker. “It's a great thing for the community and the Blackstone Valley. We wouldn't have got this far without the community's support and we're really grateful for that.”
Paul Masse and Simon Chevrolet were among 1,100 dealerships across the nation that were poised to enter arbitration with GM in attempts to save their franchise agreements. On Friday, GM did a startling about-face, issuing a statement saying it would allow over 600 of the arbitration claimants the option of staying in business, but it did not identify them.
GM announced an epic consolidation last May, saying it planned to close more than 2,000 dealerships across the nation by this fall. Many of those affected, like Simon Chevrolet, mounted highly visible efforts to challenge GM, explaining that they were healthy companies that did not deserve to be part of the automaker's downsizing.
“We got a form letter from them,” said Walker. “The same way they told us they were closing us down was the same way they let us know we were staying open.”
The news was a sorely needed morale-booster for the dealership, which now hopes to rehire all those it had let go, and add new workers, said Walker. If all goes according to plan, he said, there will be new-car inventory on the lot in two weeks.
“We'll go back to 60 employees,” said Walker. “Depending on how strong we get reestablished, we'd like to hire even more. It's going to be baby steps at first, obviously, but our goal is 75.”
The excitement was just as strong at Paul Masse Buick GMC.
General Manager Scott Wellington said the company had taken a double hit from GM because the dealership was not only stripped of its Cadillac franchise, it lost the discontinued Pontiac brand, which Paul Masse carried in a big way at the Woonsocket location.
“We were one of the top 20 Pontiac dealers in the country,” said Wellington.
Pontiac may not be coming back, but the restoration of Paul Masse's Cadillac rights means the dealership is positioned to reclaim the luxury niche of the car market in a wide swath of the Blackstone Valley, Wellington said.
“We're excited,” he said. “We're really excited. We think it's great news for Woonsocket as well.”
Wellington said Paul Masse was never forced to lay anyone off because of the GM rollback. But he said the loss of Cadillac shut the company off from a loyal, well-established base of customers it did not deserve to lose.
“We had a hard time swallowing that one,” said Wellington. “We always had great sales numbers, great customer service. We worked really hard to make Masse the premiere luxury Cadillac dealership in this area.”
Woonsocket has been home to a Cadillac dealership for about half a century, but if GM's plans had gone through the closest dealerships would have been located in Warwick or Norwood, Mass., said Wellington.
Thanks to the softening of GM's position, Wellington said Paul Masse, who runs four other dealerships in Rhode Island, is committed to embarking on a costly renovation of their Fortin Drive showroom that will create new construction jobs.
Walker and Wellington agree the news is as good for the local economy as it is for their dealerships, and city officials couldn't agree more.
“In times like these we'll take good news no matter where it comes from and no matter how circuitous the path that got us there,” said Matthew Wojcik, the city's economic development director. “They've made significant investments in their properties and they've earned the longstanding goodwill of their customers. It's good to see them back in business.”
Wojcik said the city stands ready to help in any way it can in restoring the dealerships to full strength.
Mayor Leo T. Fontaine also hailed GM's pullback as a boon for the city. President of the City Council when the panel passed a resolution in support of Simon Chevrolet's bid to preserve its franchise agreement, Fontaine said it seemed particularly unfair for thriving companies to become wantonly swept up in the consolidation of their corporate parent.
“I think GM realizes that in order for them to reach their goals, they need good dealers,” says Wellington, who sees smooth sailing ahead for Woonsocket's GM outlets.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 March 2010 )
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