On the news last night. The LFSC MAserati delership that was just opened in SE Wiscosin closed after just 2 months. OUCH. Is Mancuso/LFSC in dire straights? I thought they owned this new dealership... Someone is going to take a huge financial beating on this one, as the start up costs had to be huge...
Well I am sure the economy had a lot to do with the store closing in Milwaukee. They have a great reputation and a lot of loyal customers, many of whom post here on fchat. In my opinion, just because the new location is closing down does not mean that LFSC is in dire straights.
I like LFSC, and bought my car there. But this still worries me. Most folks give a new location 1-2 years to gain some traction... closing in 2 months is not a good sign. LFSC probably doesn't make money. I get the impression its more of a labor of love for the family that owns it. Most of their dealerships are domestic, if I recall right. So, I suspect that they are doing poorly, just like everyone else. I hope LFSC stays open...
Here is the press release: Lake Forest Sportscars of Lake Bluff, Ill., said Wednesday that it has closed its Glendale dealership, Maserati of Milwaukee, after just a few months of operation. The Glendale dealership, at 5858 N. Green Bay Ave., opened in mid-summer of 2008, as a factory authorized Maserati dealership selling and servicing new Maseratis and pre-owned luxury sports cars. It was the first and only Maserati dealership in Wisconsin. In a statement, Lake Forest Sportscars said: "the unstable financial environment, along with an inordinate amount of interest in the property itself, made the decision to pursue the sale of the facility economically more interesting."
LFSC statement just sums it up perfectly. You just have to agree with their decision and only admire their quick and decisive action to stop any current or potential financial bleeding. I only wish I was as quick with some of my own investments.........
Reading between the lines, I suspect they are losing tons of money nd that was a nice way of saying it...
Any business that closes in 2 months of opening was ripe for failure anyway either through not having enough capital or a poor business plan UNLESS it was more profitable to sell the location or business at the time. That goes for a restaurant, internet online store, or car dealership NO MATTER what the shape of the ecomony is or could be. It's just bad business.
disagree. when that dealership was planned things were booming. the collapse has been in 3 months... IMHO LFSC see's the obvious truth... smart decision to not throw good money after bad... Quick action in this economy increases their chance of weathering the storm Best wishes to LFSC...
It wasn't a business that closed, only a satellite store. Otherwise yes I agree with that statement. Bear in mind when the idea was conceived Maserati had a record year in sales and profits. Tide has obviously changed very quickly.
LFSC sold 40 Maseratis from Jan to October, Maserati of Milwaukee sold 6 Maseratis from Jan to end of September. Top 5 in sales in the country are: The Collection Long Island Beverly Hills Fort Lauderdale Newport Beach Bottom 5 are: Hawaii Salt Lake Alberta Milwaukee Kansas City
I'm not challenging its authenticity, but I am just curious as to where you got those stats. I'd like to see the whole list.
You'll be seeing a lot more of this trend in the future, and it's mostly due to the current hiccup in the economy of all nations. This is going to sting for quite some time; Depression, possibly?
The Collection Long Island Beverly Hills Fort Lauderdale Newport Beach New Jersey Palm Beach Ontario Miller Motorcars Auto Gallery San Francisco Tampa Atlanta World Wide of Cars Boardwalk New England Silicon Valley Houston Park Place Central Florida Lake Forest San Diego Seattle Algar Orange County Pasadena Continental Washington Baltimore Vancouver Quebec Naples Italia Scottsdale Penske Wynn Mineapolis Troy Kerbeck Barrett Sacramento Rancho Mirage St. Louis Cincinnati Denver Ron Tonkin Cleveland Charlotte Raleigh Cauley Charleston Midwestern Hawaii Steve Harris Alberta Milwaukee Kansas City
I think the people who bought the cars in Milwaukee would have bought them at LFSC's anyway, so why have an extra building up in Milwaukee?? Chicago has 2 big Maserati dealers, LFSC's and Continental. They are both in the middle of the list. I would not be supprised to see the left and right coast dealers dropping down on the sales list next year. South Florida and Southern California will be hit hardest for obvious reasons. TT
The location in Milwaukee was close to their equivalent of the Magnificent Mile: North of the city is that affluent neighbourhood where they have a street somewhat reminiscent of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills (I'm slightly exaggerating). A Maser dealer fit the profile. Also I believe buying the cars in Milwaukee costs a good deal less on taxes than buying it at one of our dealers (not completely sure though).
I think you pay tax for the state your from. I know I got robbed when I bought a car out of state and Illinois hit me up for state taxes. Your right about having it local, but they still will buy the car from LFSC's if they really want it. Walk in traffic might help, but with only 4 cars being sold it didn't do much. TT
Here's the real story on why Maserati Milwaukee closed. Rick set a budget for the first year's projected annual loss. They were burning up that number way too fast for 5 months! He told us, so we would know the real facts, that he was unwilling to deficit fund that place in this economy going into winter. Like he said, it was bad timing in an increasingly tougher environment for a single franchise dealership. The good news is that he's already had multiple offers on the real estate which he owns. He thinks the Ralph Mauro Auto Group will be the new Maserati dealer on the west side of Milwaukee very soon. He wanted Milwaukee to strengthen our LFSC operation. It wasn't headed that way so anything that has the potential to weaken our primary operation gets eliminated. Too bad it didn't work out. That's business like he said. Actually pretty good move on his part. He tried it. The trend was looking bad. He stopped it quickly. Maybe some of those big companies on TV that need bailouts now should have acted that quickly instead of pretending everything was ok when it wasn't.
with the way the economy has been lately I highly doubt Ralph will be willing to spend money on another dealership. They are already cutting back tons at the dealerships he has in the milwaukee area.
