Group 1 Automotive, a Fortune 500 company based in Houston, Texas, bought the Baron Automotive Group at the beginning of 2007. By pledging to grow its market share and uphold its strict standards for total customer satisfaction in both sales and service under Group 1, Baron has entered a new era. Simply put, we want to build lasting relationships with our customers and give them an experience that is representative of the BMW brand.
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Baron BMW/Mini and Baron Volkswagen have been acquired by Group 1 Automobile Inc., a Fortune 500 automotive retailer with headquarters in Houston, for an unknown sum.
The agreement, according to Group 1, is anticipated to bring in around $123 million in yearly sales for the business, which is among the top five automobile sellers in the nation.
The agreement to become the region’s sole BMW dealer had been in the works for a while. In 14 states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Texas, Group 1 is the owner of more than 100 dealerships. The business’s most recent fiscal year had revenues of $6 billion.
Local financial banker Bart Cohen and Dallas industrialist A. Baron Cass III were the owners of the Baron Automotive Group. Cohen (not to be confused with the Metcalf Bank owner who passed away in December) In 1993, the two acquired the sole BMW dealership in the region from Bert Benjamin and Marion Battaglia, who had served as its general manager up until that point.
On Friday, it was unable to reach Cohen or Cass for comment. The new general manager of Baron, Don Lindsey, announced that Cohen will offer the dealership consulting services.
Executives from Group 1 could not be reached for comment on Friday since they were in Las Vegas for the National Automotive Dealers Association’s annual auto show.
Clint Woods, a spokesman for Group 1, said the acquisition was a part of the business’s strategy to increase the proportion of luxury/import brands in its lineup.
One of Merriam’s most prominent and upscale car dealerships is the Baron BMW/Mini store, perched atop a hillside near Shawnee Mission Parkway and Interstate 35. The steel-gray dealership building, reported to have cost $10 million to construct, was designed by Gould Evans Goodman Associates and constructed by Walton Construction Co. It debuted in late 2000.
Before the project began, there was a dispute over what some Merriam residents believed to be a misuse of the city’s eminent domain authority.
After William and Laverne Gross and Baron BMW were unable to come to terms over the purchase of a one-acre tract of land for the project, the city seized the property through eminent domain and gave title to the dealership.
The Grosses had accepted Baron’s $650,000 offer for the property. According to the Grosses, it was worth $2.3 million.
Group 1***8217 has made its first acquisition of the year with the arrangement with Baron Automotive Group.
In 2006, the business purchased over a dozen import franchisees, including four in the Philadelphia region in October.
Although there were no other deals in the works, Lindsey stated that the business was interested in growing in the Kansas City market.
Group 1 was started in 1995, and in October of same year, it became public. In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, shares of the company increased by one cent to $53.93.
saved my vehicle.
At an out-of-state vehicle collision center, a crew of auto mechanics who were “in over their heads” “repaired” my 2019 530i. Zachary Smith, my service adviser, was a true relief from the team at the Auto Collision Center when I received the car back and took it into Baron Service Center. Zachary Smith took the time to phone the mechanics and inquire about their work after hearing what I had to say regarding the history of those “repairs” and the state of the automobile. Baron’s had discovered there were issues with the repairs by that crew through inspection and scans. Zachary provided me with advice regarding what needed to be mended, replaced, and modified, coordinated with my insurance provider—but that’s another story—and kept me updated via text messages and phone calls about the services the service center was buying, fixing, and how much it would cost. For the entire two weeks that my car was in the shop, Zachary was patient, reassuring, incredibly professional, kind, and knowledgeable about what he was talking about. Knowing that Zach is very busy serving other customers with the same level of customer care, I will ask Zach to be my adviser whenever I bring my car in to Baron’s for any type of servicing. I will also advise everyone to connect with Zachary Smith while bringing their car in. Zach, in my opinion, is a real value to the Baron team, and I hope to continue working with him in the future as needed.
Distribution of scores (out of 5):
- Consumer assistance 5.0
- purchasing method
- the level of repair
- 5.0
- broader facilities
- 5.0
- Overall impression 5.0
- Does endorse this merchant
- arrived for maintenance or repair
- did not purchase anything
I really appreciate your warm thoughts, thank you! We are overjoyed to learn that we were able to give you a wonderful experience.