The Zanchin Automotive Group, one of the top dealer bodies in Ontario, added to its holdings and announced it in a unique way on LinkedIn.
With award-winning actor Brian Cox, Zanchin announced that it took over ownership of Mercedes-Benz Maple, Mercedes-Benz Midtown, Mercedes-Benz Mississauga, and the Mercedes-Benz Etobicoke Service Station earlier this week from Mercedes-Benz Canada. This bolsters Zanchin’s investment in the brand that includes stores in Newmarket and Durham and the construction of an MB flagship store under construction in Etobicoke and increases the company’s overall rooftops to almost 40.
“The acquisition of stores has always been a part of the Zanchin strategy, especially when they are located in the Greater Toronto Area,” said Laura Zanchin who, along with her sister Andria, are the Principal/Executive Vice-Presidents of ZAG. The group was founded by their 80-year-old father, Joe, in 1973.
“Our father has built our business on a strategic buying focus. It has to make financial sense, be in the right place and be the right brand. This acquisition was the epitome of the trifecta effect,” said Zanchin.
She adds that Mercedes-Benz is one of the most sought-after luxury vehicles in the market, and all of the stores that they acquired were in excellent locations with strong markets and an almost turnkey approach to the business and its customers. “We were thrilled when we won the bids and we will continue to strive to do what’s best for our new employees and our customers,” said Zanchin.
The use of Cox, star of the TV show Succession, added a creatively different approach to the acquisitions when the Zanchin sisters hired him via Cameo, a video service in which celebrities are paid to do personal messages. The Zanchin sisters are huge fans of Succession, in particular Cox’s crusty character Logan Roy, the patriarch of an international media conglomerate.
“There’s a lot of differences in there, but at the same time it’s the acquisitions, it’s the movement, it’s the, who’s taking over who. It’s the business competing more so than the family,” said Andria Zanchin. “The (Cox character) has got enemies as far as the other businesses are going and they’re trying to make purchases and he blocks them.”
This, she said, is why they were so intrigued with it—they thought having Brian Cox do the announcement “in true Logan Roy fashion” would be perfect, so they sent the script down to his team and said he welcomed the opportunity. “There were so many competitive groups going for this deal that it could have been an episode of Succession.”
Her sister Laura Zanchin adds that the announcement and the acquisition is “just one more step for us and there will be many more to follow.”
