Nalley Volkswagen- Bentley Atlanta
Delivery Area:
Florida, Alabama, Tennessee,
South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia
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By: Russ Heaps
Nalley Volkswagen/ Bentley Atlanta is poised to take a giant leap forward in wholesale parts. Since the Alpharetta Volkswagen and Bentley franchises changed hands a few months ago, and Dan Wicker assumed the manager role for both parts departments, the changes have been fast and furious. "We have a huge opportunity to grow the wholesale business of both dealerships," he said, and we are making the changes necessary to do that."
If you were playing "compare and contrast" with the Volkswagen and Bentley brands, most people would probably find it easier to identify what is different than what is alike. So when even a seasoned parts manager suddenly finds himself overseeing the parts operations of a Volkswagen and a Bentley store, it's not quite business as usual.
Despite Volkswagen's and Bentley's close corporate relationship, they are very different car companies each catering to a unique customer base. However, when faced with the task of running the parts departments of Nalley Volkswagen/ Bentley Atlanta in early December, Wicker jumped at the challenge.
Located right around the corner from one another, Nalley Volkswagen of Alpharetta is at 1550 Mansell Road; while Bentley Atlanta is at 10995 Westside Parkway. The fifth largest public automotive retailer in the United States, the Georgia-based Asbury Automotive Group acquired the two stores at the close of 2012, bringing its total dealership count to 77 across 10 states. Twelve of those dealerships representing nine brands are under the Nalley Automotive umbrella in metro Atlanta.
A member of the Nalley Automotive family for a decade, Wicker is a product of its management training program where he spent 18 months learning the car business, rotating around the many departments comprising a dealership. It was in parts, though, where he was convinced he would be most comfortable and make the greatest contribution.
"I found I liked parts," he explained. "It was my niche. It was just where I thought I belonged."
His first position after exiting management training was in the wholesale parts operation at Nalley Lexus in Roswell. He honed his skills there for more than two years before transferring to the parts department of Marietta's Nalley Infiniti.
Before assuming the reins at Nalley Volkswagen/ Bentley Atlanta, Wicker ran the parts operations at Nalley Jaguar in Roswell and then did a two-year stint at Nalley Volvo.
Wicker sees his more pressing challenges in the Volkswagen store. Because Volkswagen is a volume brand, as opposed to Bentley that thrives on much smaller numbers, it's where the greatest gains can be achieved. It also faces the most competition from same-brand parts departments. With six other Volkswagen dealerships in the Atlanta area, there are a lot of parts departments chasing the same customers.
"The previous management didn't seem to be very aggressive in growing the wholesale parts business," Wicker explained. "Before we came in, the store was under performing. We have a lot of room to improve."
A three-person staff covers the retail and wholesale needs at the Volkswagen store that stocks, on average, $420,000 of VW parts. Although Wicker has worked with them less than three months, he appears confident the right talent is in place. "We have a strong staff here," he stated, "that is willing to take on all the challenges we face as we move forward."
Since becoming manager, Wicker has been relentless in making changes in stocking and organizing the inventory, as well as handling special orders. He has touched virtually every aspect of the parts operation. "Everyday I come in," he said, "I still look around and think there are all kinds of things that need fixed.
According to Wicker, every major change, however, didn't require his attention. Just putting the Nalley name over the door brought with it a greater depth in resources benefiting wholesale customers in very big ways. In the area of deliveries, Nalley has a fleet of trucks with delivery routes reaching deep into Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as all of Georgia.
"We have more drivers available than any other VW dealership," Wicker declared. "Before we got here, there was only one driver. We now have 10 immediately available and another 30 on deck if needed."
This, of course, translates into quicker and more reliable deliveries.
Another advantage of the Nalley name is that wholesale customers already doing business with credit from another Nalley dealership, instantly have credit with Nalley Volkswagen/ Bentley Atlanta. "That saves customers time and hassle," Wicker said.
Already a smooth-running operation, Wicker found the one-man parts department at the Bentley store was doing impressive wholesale business from its roughly $180,000 monthly parts inventory.
"Bentley is a different beast" Wicker explained. "It's low volume and the customer is more captive. Bentley customers are more likely to find a parts source they trust and stick with it. Donnie James has been doing a substantial amount of wholesale business for the past 12 years in the Bentley store. He has been able to build his own reputation as the go-to guy in Bentley parts. What we are bringing to him is a whole new set of tools that will make him even more effective."
Wicker's short-term goal is simply to increase month-over-month sales.
"I’ve been with Nalley for nearly 10 years," he stated, "and I’ve brought with me to this store an attitude of always maximizing our wholesale potential. I’ve found that many independent dealerships, including the previous management here, often strategize to focus on wholesale this month. With Nalley, we focus on wholesale year around. We’re not in this business segment just to increase our numbers for a month or two. With the razor thin margins in wholesale, the only way to be profitable is to do it with the biggest volume possible. We’re fully dedicated to wholesale and have zero plans to take our foot off the throttle."
His long-term goal is to create online parts sales for both departments.
"We are very much a work in progress," Wicker explained. "Right now, it is the early incarnation of what it will become. Everything is in place; now, we just need to make it happen."n4131.
