Rob Stein has expanded his dealerships in Ontario with three stores this year, including brands he has not retailed before. But the President of Plaza Auto Group is looking to continue to build his business — including venturing in the U.S.
Stein told Canadian auto dealer of his plans, specifically for Japanese brands. He added Woodstock Mazda in the spring and Muskoka Nissan and Orillia Nissan about three weeks ago.
“I’ve had Subaru for so many years and we just found the Japanese manufacturers are really good to deal with, they design an incredible product,” said Stein. “They have great plans for the future.”
With the addition of the two Nissan stores, he now has five stores in the Orillia area.
“In 2016 there was an opportunity to buy a Subaru store in Orillia, and when we bought it, there was a Kia available across the street,” said Stein, adding both dealerships were owned by Mike Davenport. “He was very community involved, and we carried forward with the community involvement.”
He said his company, which next year will celebrate its 70th anniversary and is a proud family with four generations of Canadian ownership, annually donates more than $250,000 to the community, including every charitable event.
A longtime Toronto resident, Stein now lives in Orillia, as does his son, Dustin, General Manager of Orillia Volkswagen.
Rob Stein
“It’s got all the amenities of a bigger city, it’s very comfortable and the employees are amazing,” said Stein. “The community is great to work with and sell cars to. It’s more of a pleasure doing business up here.”
He is looking to expand in Ontario this year, with a particular eye on Honda and Toyota stores, neither of which his company retails. He considers Honda and Toyota two great manufacturers.
He said it is a very expensive time right now to be buying dealerships, but there’s opportunities with single-family owners who are looking to retire from the business. “For owners who have one or two stores it’s very difficult to align their expenses properly to become profitable,” said Stein.
He said he currently has two letters of intent for stores in the U.S., specifically the southern part. Several Canadian owners have ventured into Texas and California in recent years because of more opportunities and a bigger landscape.
“Businesses are run quite a bit differently down there, and you get more product in America and you usually don’t run into inventory problems like we do up here,” said Stein. “They usually get first pick on the inventory and Canada gets secondary. The opportunity is strong.”
