Marty Greenwood this week said he wants the community to know that despite Hollister Honda receiving a two-year extension before beginning to repay its loan from the city’s Redevelopment Agency, there are some “great wins going on” that portend a bright future for the store at the city’s northern entrance.
“When the economy breaks in a positive way, we’re in a great position to really perform to the basic business plan that we put forth a few years ago,” he said from his office at Greenwood Chevrolet, just up the street from the Honda dealership.
The RDA earlier this month approved a second, two-year extension on repayment of $1.9 million in loans on the 22,000-square-foot business at 411 San Felipe Road. Hollister Honda needs to average sales of 50 to 60 units per month to turn a profit, but is averaging half that.
“The extension allows us to still try to grow this business in a down market,” Greenwood said. “We are thankful and feel blessed that we can operate. We should be OK when the economy turns.”
In year-over-year comparisons, provided by General Manager Fred Gotelli, Hollister Honda’s sales are up nearly 14 percent in an industry that has seen an 11 percent drop. The dealership is ranked tops in the district and in the top 50 out of 1,100 Honda dealers nationwide in motorcycle sales, including on- and off-road models.
It is also in the top 10 percent for sales of all Honda products nationwide.
“We work really hard,” said Gotelli, noting that the Hollister store is just one of 38 in the country that is a “Level 5 Powerhouse,” meaning it sells “everything that Honda sells except cars and jets.”
“Hollister Honda is on the map,” he said, noting that sales numbers compared to similar dealers in other cities prove that people are willing to drive to Hollister to make purchases. According to city officials, the business has consistently ranked among the top 10 sales tax generators in Hollister.
A story about the business’s request for a further extension of its repayment terms and a mischaracterization of what he meant in a letter given to the city prompted calls to the dealership from people concerned about its future, Greenwood said.
“It made so many people nervous,” he said regarding use of the phrase “non-existent,” which he said referred to the retail climate in general, not business at his store in particular. “There were some generally concerned local people. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we have doubled the sales of our closest Honda dealer. We are out there aggressively seeking business and we have people from all over California buying bikes from us and people from all over the United States buying parts through our website.”
An expansion of its parts business over the Internet has broadened Hollister Honda’s market share and reach across the country, Greenwood and Gotelli said, adding that it also has supplied police motorcycles to San Jose, Gilroy and Salinas departments, among others.
“When people are back to work and spending again, the economy will make a turn,” Greenwood said, noting that many of the products at the Honda dealership are items people are more likely to buy with discretionary income. “We’ve got really good people with proven track records working for us. We’ll hit those numbers (in the business plan).
