Ford Closes Five Stores in Southern California

[XDCX]

In an effort to address declining sales and profitability, Ford closed five dealerships in Southern California. According to various publications the following dealerships have all been closed within the last 30 days:

Board Ford - Whittier, CA
Claremont Ford - Claremont, CA
Don Kott Ford - Carson, CA
Keystone Ford - Norwalk, CA
Ford West - Bellflower, CADon Kott Ford was owned by Sonic Automotive, Inc. An executive for the company indicated that they "resigned" the franchise in exchange for a financial incentive from Ford.

Another Dealer Principal, the owner of Keystone Ford, also indicated that Ford approached him with an offer to close his dealership. Faced with eight other Ford Dealerships in a 10 mile radius, the Dealer reported that he couldn't compete as Ford's Market Share continued to decline.

Ford's Retail Share in California has slipped to 8.4% - Lower than Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

In a separate report, the President and General Manager of one of the remaining Ford Dealerships expects sales to increase by over 50% as a result of the closings.

Links to the various reports follow:

http://www2.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_7840123
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-01-02-closing-dealerships_N.htm
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_7900058

[Rod Barajas]

In an effort to address declining sales and profitability, Ford closed five dealerships in Southern California. According to various publications the following dealerships have all been closed within the last 30 days:

Board Ford - Whittier, CA
Claremont Ford - Claremont, CA
Don Kott Ford - Carson, CA
Keystone Ford - Norwalk, CA
Ford West - Bellflower, CADon Kott Ford was owned by Sonic Automotive, Inc. An executive for the company indicated that they "resigned" the franchise in exchange for a financial incentive from Ford.

Another Dealer Principal, the owner of Keystone Ford, also indicated that Ford approached him with an offer to close his dealership. Faced with eight other Ford Dealerships in a 10 mile radius, the Dealer reported that he couldn't compete as Ford's Market Share continued to decline.

Ford's Retail Share in California has slipped to 8.4% - Lower than Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

In a separate report, the President and General Manager of one of the remaining Ford Dealerships expects sales to increase by over 50% as a result of the closings.

Links to the various reports follow:

http://www2.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_7840123
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-01-02-closing-dealerships_N.htm
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_7900058

That Claremont store was bound to fail...The new owner had good intentions but in the end a weak market and the inability to allow the talented people under him to run with the ball caused this outcome.

[XDCX]

It's been a couple of months since Ford took action and closed five dealerships in Southern California - I wonder how it's working?

In a perfect world, Ford's market share would stay the same and the remaining dealers would enjoy increased sales and profits. That said, it's not always a perfect world.

A question for the California Ford Dealers - is the plan working? If not, what else needs to be done?