Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine Names Automotive Avenues one of the Top 10 Independent Retailers in 2010!

AutoAves Ranks Highest in Single Location Dealers for 4th Consecutive Year!

By Maureen Condon

Automotive Avenues has been named one of the Top 10 Independent Retailers in 2010 by Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine. This is the 4th consecutive year that Automotive Avenues has been the highest ranking single-location dealership on the list.

This marks the 5th consecutive year that Auto Dealer Monthly has featured the Top 50 Independent Retailers.

Automotive Avenues placed 8th on the list of 50 Top Independent Retailers this year. The announcement was made in the July 2010 issue of Auto Dealer Monthly.

Automotive Avenues’ General Manager Bill Green says, “On behalf of the entire Automotive Avenues team, I am sincerely appreciative of Auto Dealer Monthly for acknowledging us as one of the top 50 Independent Retailers in the country, coming in at #8 and especially being #1 for 4 consecutive years with a single location. The Award is very gratifying and we work diligently to offer a customer centric and transparent experience for all of our Credit Union Partners and customers.”

Candace Taylor, Automotive Avenues’ Vice President of Sales & Marketing says, “Even with the downturn in the auto industry, we have positioned ourselves to achieve and exceed wherever we can. We are extremely proud to be serving the credit union industry and our customers at this level.”

Automotive Avenues’ mission is to generate a steady, reliable flow of automotive loans for its partners -- 33 Denver area credit unions. And, it’s no accident that Automotive Avenues’ new and used car-buying customers reap the benefits of this approach.

“Especially in today's economy, consumers need to maximize their buying dollar. Our credit union partners have a history for providing excellent customer service, better rates and lower fees that make them a welcome alternative to typical banks. As Denver's largest credit union endorsed dealership, we work closely with our local credit union partners to help their members find and finance vehicles that fit their lifestyle and budget,” says Green. (To read about AutoAves unusual business model, visit: http://www.automotive-avenues.com/profiles/blogs/automotive-avenues...)

Favorable financing in turn generates higher sales revenues, and is part of the reason Automotive Avenues has achieved such a high ranking in the Auto Dealer Monthly Top 50.

The bulk of dealers recognized in Auto Dealer’s Top 50 Independent Retailers operate in one location only (62 percent), as does Automotive Avenues.

Of the Top 50, 14 percent of the dealers have 5 or more rooftops, and the remaining 24 percent have between 2 and 4 rooftops. The average number of rooftops per dealer is 2.34, while the actual range is from one to 11 rooftops per dealer.

In total, the Top 50 Independents retailed 77,395 vehicles in 2009, up 2,666 vehicles from 2008’s tally of 74,729.

The average number of vehicles retailed by a Top 50 Independent Retailers in 2009 was 1,548. However, the actual range from the first place to fiftieth place was 6,165 to 519 respectively.

This year’s Top 50 operate, collectively, a total of 117 rooftops, compared to 112 for the previous year. The average number of vehicles retailed per location is 661, barely down from the prior year’s average of 667.

Based on the Top 50 data, the majority of successful independent dealers have a service department on site (70 percent) and a defined finance department (86 percent).

Many of the Top 50 are long-time dealers, with the average time in business more than 23 years. Eighteen of the Top 50 have been in business for a quarter of a century or more, and four dealerships have been in business for more than 50 years. Automotive Avenues was founded in 1987 and has been in business for 23 years.

The Top 50 Independent Retailers used approximately the same number of Digital Marketing Service providers as last year. This year 31 different vendors were named as providers by dealers -- with only two making a significant showing: 10 percent of the Top 50 Retailers use ADP’s Digital Marketing Services including ADP’s Automotive Social Media Marketing and Reputation Management S... . Another 10 percent use AutoStar.

Automotive Avenues uses ADP’s Digital Advertising and Marketing Services, which powers AutoAves eCommerce site: www.autoaves.com . The dealership also uses ADP’s Automotive Social Media Marketing and Reputation Management Services (links) which powers Automotive Avenues’ online community: www.automotive-avenues.com

To read more about Auto Dealer’s Top 50 Independent Retailers, visit:
http://autodealermonthly.epubxpress.com/wps/portal/adm/c0/04_SB8K8x...!/