MEET THE CLARKS, THE PROUD DEALERSHIP FAMILY THAT JUST CELEBRATED 100 YEARS RUNNING CANADA’S OLDEST CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP, J. CLARK AND SON LTD. IN FREDERICTON, N.B. HOW DID THEY DO IT?
You can forgive the Clark family for being proud as punch about their latest milestone.
The Clarks have managed to achieve what only a precious few family-owned and run companies have managed to do — remain successful as the business changes hands from generation to generation — to generation.
In celebrating their 100th anniversary as the first and oldest Chevrolet dealership in Canada, the Clarks beat the odds, weathered many storms, and bucked trends.
According to research from the Family Firm Institute, only about 30 per cent of family businesses survive into the second generation; 12 per cent are still viable into the third generation and only about three per cent operate into the fourth generation or beyond. The main reason, says the Institute, is a lack of succession planning.
Succession planning is part of the Clark family tradition. The family embraces its history, as visitors immediately notice when they enter the Fredericton, N.B. dealership where a giant wall mural with the words: “Canada’s oldest Chevrolet Dealer” displays photos of all the previous Clarks who ran the business over the years.
The business also survived two world wars, the great depression, multiple recessions and the global meltdown of the financial sector that all but crippled the auto sector.
Canadian auto dealer visited the dealership recently to meet three generations of the Clark family, and gain a better understanding of what makes them so successful.
In celebrating their 100th anniversary as the first and oldest Chevrolet dealership in Canada, the Clarks beat the odds, weathered many storms, and bucked trends.
WHO IS WHO?
First of all, with so many of them named John T. Clark, how do they know who is who?
“There are too many Johns,” says John T. Clark IV, the current dealer principal. “My father goes by John Sr.,
I go by John Jr., and my son goes by Jay, to keep it simple.”
Clark Jr., a chartered accountant by trade, says before they join the business, each generation of Clarks first ensure they earn an education and are trained in the business. “The stuff that I know about accounting has made my job a lot easier,” he says. “In the end — it does come down to numbers.”
“I always knew I wanted to work in the business — it was just going to be when,” says Clark Jr. who started as the dealership’s financial controller in 1983. He became the general manager in 1988, and dealer principal in 1995.
Clark Jr.’s three children already work in the dealership. The youngest, Chelsey, works in the business office, Kyle is the service manager and the eldest John Clark V, (Jay) runs the body shop.
It’s still being determined who will take the helm next. “I feel compelled to try to take this to the next generation,” says Clark Jr. “But you have to make money. If you don’t make money, it’s not going to work.”
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Clark Jr. took us through the dealership’s early days, starting in 1915, during the First World War. That’s when W.G. Clark met Samuel McLaughlin, who had started the McLaughlin Motor Car Co. in 1904, (which later evolved into General Motors of Canada). W.G. arranged with McLaughlin to have the first Chevrolet shown at the Fredericton Fair.
That was the start of the Clark’s journey of transforming their carriage business into a “horseless carriage” business.
It hasn’t always been easy. Each Clark has faced his share of challenges.
The biggest challenge for Clark Jr. was when General Motors was going through bankruptcy in 2009, the supply of cars dried up, and nervous buyers were unsure about the company’s future. Clark Jr. remembers uneasily looking out at his lot that was rapidly running out of inventory. “It was a scary time,” says Clark Jr. “During that time, car dealerships also became ‘risky businesses’ with the banks.”
During the crisis, the bank reduced the dealership’s line of credit, and then demanded that the family personally guarantee any loans. “It was an awful time,” says Clark Jr.
His father and grandfather also faced their share of hurdles, from depressions to recessions and everything in between.
“It’s a wonder it’s still here,” says John Clark Sr., who shared his thoughts on the dealership’s history and on reaching the centennial anniversary. His most difficult period was the 1981 recession when interest rates skyrocketed above 20 per cent. “When you are going through bad times, you wonder how you will get to the other side, but somehow you always do.”
How important is it to pass the dealership on to the next generation of Clarks? “That’s everything,” says Clark Sr.
Will someone be interviewing another generation of Clarks for an article when they reach the 200th anniversary? “That’s a long time,” says Clark Sr., with a laugh. “Lord knows what the cars will be like then. I can’t imagine there will ever be a time with no vehicles.”
Clark Sr.’s son James, who owns a Toyota dealership in Fredericton, is also proud of the family’s milestone. “For any business to last one hundred years is quite an accomplishment,” says James Clark. “Dad went through some tough times, and we went through some tough times not too long ago.”
THE NEXT GENERATION
So, will the next generation of Clarks be ready for what comes next? Canadian auto dealer met with each of John Clark Jr.’s three children at the Fredericton dealership.
“We took another giant step towards another 25 years,” says Kyle Clark, 28, service manager. “That’s what the
100 years means for me.”
Kyle says since there are currently two dealerships under the Clark name, one in Fredericton and one in Sussex, he could envision a scenario where he and his brother jointly manage them. “What’s the potential for becoming a brother management team: technical and business? How does that work across two stores going in the future?” says Kyle. “That has its own potential.”
Kyle says he admires his father and grandfather, has watched them, and has taken traits from both. “They look at everything extremely professionally,” says Kyle. He says his grandfather can do “mental math” faster than a computer, and is extremely sharp. His father is incredibly well organized, and keeps detailed files on everything. “My father makes every decision based on fact, rather than just jumping in,” says Kyle, adding that he is also compassionate and always driven to do the right thing for customers.
John T. Clark V, 30, who goes by the name Jay, also embraces the anniversary and what it means for the family and the community. “I think it’s a huge deal. It means a lot to me,” says Jay. “When I was younger I kind of rebelled a little bit. As I’ve gotten older, this is a big deal to me, and I want to be a part of it.”
Jay says he sometimes feels the pressure to continue the family business, to not be the one to break the chain of hard-working entrepreneurs. But he says he has embraced it. “It is a bit intimidating. You don’t want to be the guy that ruins 100 years. But it also means we are now into the next century, we just have to make sure it’s a good one,” he says. “Things are falling together. The family is in the management ranks and a step towards the future for more down the road.”
Jay says the customer focus has always been a strength of the dealership. “We want to see people happy with us and live up to the reputation,” says Jay. “When you meet a customer you want to keep them for life. What can we do to make you stay? That’s the name of the game.”
Chelsey Clark, 26, who works as a financial services consultant in the dealership’s business office, describes the milestone as “awe inspiring.”
“It’s rare for a family business to be passed down that many times,” she says. “There is definitely a sense of responsibility. When customers come in and see that I’m a Clark, that changes the customer expectation.”
Chelsey says there was a time when all three of Clark Jr.’s kids didn’t seem destined to end up working in the car business, but they have come full circle. “For me, it’s not really about the auto industry. For me it’s always been about that family connection.”
A PEOPLE BUSINESS
So what is it about the car business that has kept the Clarks battling it out and staying engaged for more than a century?
“It’s probably one of the most interesting businesses you can get into. There’s never any day that’s the same,” says Clark Jr. “I like meeting people. You are making people happy. The customers are great. I love my staff. It’s all about people, really.”
Clark Jr. says he fondly remembers one customer, Merle Wallace, who bought 57 Chevrolets over his lifetime at the dealership. “He’d always get a Chevy Caprice one year, and a truck the next year,” says Clark Jr.
Clark Sr. also has a real fondness for the business. “It’s never the same,” he says. He also shared one secret for success: “Successful people make a habit of not doing the things that unsuccessful people do.”
The Clark’s employees stick around too. Retired employees are invited back for the Clark’s annual Christmas dinner, and at a recent dinner one employee celebrated his 60th such dinner.
To mark the 100th anniversary milestone, the Clarks held an anniversary car show at their Sussex and Fredericton dealerships. “We had Corvettes, old Chevys — we even let some Fords in!” says Clark Jr.. “We had a lot of visitors come look at the cars,” he says, adding that the events also helped raised money for the local food bank.
In a publication celebrating the dealership’s 50th anniversary, W.G.’s second son, Alden recalls what life was like in the early days of the dealership. “I used to help unload new cars at the railway yards; six of them to a freight car, double decked. It was quite a trick getting the first ones out, then lowering the top ones down, pulling the wheels on them and rolling them out the narrow side door without damaging them. Then we’d have to tow them to the shop floor to install the windshields, steering wheels, tops, bumpers and spare tires.”
GIVING BACK
Over the years, the Clarks have given back to their community, making countless charitable donations, and setting up a foundation to help fund philanthropic efforts. “Something that’s been passed down through the generations is the belief that we have to support our community and give back to local causes,” says Clark Jr.
The Clarks also served on local boards and provincial dealer associations and three generations served as the Chairman of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) — a feat not achieved by any other dealer family.
The family also respects and honours its past. John Clark Jr. fondly showed us a pocket-sized journal from 1947 kept by W.G. Clark. He kept one for every year in the business. “He was a guy that kept track of everything,” says Clark Jr. “He’s got his bank balance in there.” It also had notes on business meetings, donations to the church, notes on his operations, and personal events like birthdays. As he flipped through the book, Clark Jr. was chuckling and relishing in the memories.
It’s connections like that to the past that help the Clarks span across the generations and keep the company’s core values alive and well. “I think if you do the right thing, it’s all going to work out right,” says Clark Jr. “We’ve always tried to treat out customers ethically, honestly, fairly and right. That means people don’t have to second guess you.”
It seems to be working out just fine.
A legacy of service
I could not be more proud to celebrate this 100th anniversary milestone achievement with John Clark IV and his family.
Not only is the celebration of a 100th anniversary in any business a rarity, it is even more so in this extremely competitive and volatile business of ours. I read a report published by the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE) that very few businesses survive the second generation and that almost none get to the third generation.
The Clark family continues to defy all odds as they are now in the fourth generation of Clark ownership since they first opened for business in 1915 as a Chevrolet dealership.
Another milestone that I believe we at CADA will not see again, is the fact that CADA (FADA as it was once called), has had the good fortune of having three Clarks serve as Chairman of the national association: Alden 1956-57; John T. Sr. 1976-77 and John Clark IV in 2005-2006. No other family has given so much to the industry at large and to its national association.
I am proud to have worked with John IV as our Chairman and member of our Executive Committee and on behalf of all of us at CADA, our Executive Committee and Board of Directors, I congratulate the Clark family for their accomplishments over the last 100 years and I wish them another 100 years of success.
R.C. (Rick) Gauthier
President & CEO, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association
