Todd Blue's indiGO Auto Group Acquires Desert European Motorcars
The finalized purchase includes all real estate and nine luxury brands including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Audi, Lotus and Maserati.
- Riverside-San Bernardino, CA (1888PressRelease) August 15, 2013 - Todd Blue, Chairman and CEO of indiGO Auto Group (IAG), announced today that his company has acquired Desert European Motorcars, Ltd. located at 71-387 Highway 111 Rancho Mirage, California. The asset purchase includes all real estate and automotive franchises on the 10-acre site including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Audi, Lotus and Maserati. Mr. Blue finalized the purchase yesterday with sellers Frank Hickingbotham, David Murphy, Jerry Johnson, Gene Whisenhunt and Gary Whitaker. Previous owner Mr. Whitaker will remain with the company as General Manager of Desert European. Mr. Blue will serve as Dealer Principal for the nine franchise iconic dealership group.
"This is one of the premier luxury and performance dealerships in the United States. Under the leadership of Mr. Hickingbotham and his team, Desert European Motor Cars has developed a tremendous reputation and is located in one of the finest communities in the country," said Mr. Blue. "We've been working for many years to enter the California market and we're ecstatic to make our entrée with an asset of this quality." He added, "One of our corporate missions is to honor the heritage of and associate with the best brands in the world. We couldn't think of a more perfect match aligned with our vision than Desert European Motorcars and its stellar line-up of world-class automotive brands."
In addition to Desert European Motorcars, indiGO Auto Group owns and operates dealerships in Houston, Texas including Porsche of North Houston, a top 20 Porsche dealership in the nation and the only Porsche Premier Dealership in Houston; Lamborghini Houston, a top 5 ranking Lamborghini retailer in the United States; and indiGO Classic Cars, which specializes in the sale of post war European sports cars.
A life-long car enthusiast and collector, Mr. Blue currently serves on the Porsche Board of Regents and is a hands-on Dealer Principal within each of his thriving dealerships. "We hold true to our five organizational certainties," explained Mr. Blue. "We prioritize continuous improvement, we passionately honor the heritage of the brands we represent, we maintain a consciousness for uniqueness and authenticity, we expect to exceed customer expectations, we embrace change and we work passionately to enlighten and activate customer ownership. It's what we're committed to every single day."
Under Mr. Blue's leadership, indiGO Auto Group has a history of rapidly accelerating sales growth and customer service in the dealerships it acquires. In January of 2010, he purchased his first franchised automotive dealership, Porsche of North Houston. At the time, the underperforming Porsche point was ranked number 49 out of 197 dealerships in the nation with two other Porsche stores in town. Since then, the indiGO Auto Group dealership jumped as high as eleventh position in the nation and has earned the prestigious Porsche Premier Dealer status every year it has been eligible to do so. Lamborghini Houston has grown five-fold since being acquired by IAG in early 2011. IAG's team moved the super sports car performance dealership's sales from ninth out of 27 dealerships to number three in the nation in two short years.
Instrumental in the rise of the group's Houston operation, IAG Executive Vice President, Kelly Wolf says the California stores are poised for growth. In addition to multiple corporate image showrooms and service departments on its sprawling 10-acre campus, indiGO Auto Group's Desert European Motorcars features a brand new showcase Audi Terminal design building and service drive.
"Audi is a white-hot brand right now and there's an incredible opportunity to grow in the Desert Cities area and beyond," said Mr. Wolf. "Porsche is on fire. There are exciting new models launching this year for Jaguar, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maserati, Audi, Porsche and Aston Martin. We're eager to return Desert European Motorcars' Rolls-Royce and Bentley back to the world leader status they maintained in previous years. California is experiencing healthy growth again; we are looking forward to playing a role in the Southern California footprint for each brand we represent."
"We are moving forward with modification plans for some facility improvements," said Mr. Blue. "These are already beautiful landmark buildings on Highway 111, so, consistent with our mission we will always be enhancing them to keep them unique, authentic, timelessly modern and consistent with corporate image requirements".
Now that the acquisition of Desert European Motorcars is completed, Mr. Blue already has his eye to future opportunities for growth.
"When we acquired the properties in Rancho Mirage we purchased additional land for future expansion and construction," Mr. Blue said. "While our focus is squarely on the nine new franchises we have just acquired, we will entertain adding the right brands to Desert European Motorcars if the product mix complements the great heritage of the brands we are fortunate to represent with this acquisition".
For more information on Todd Blue, indiGO Auto Group or Desert European Motorcars, visit www.indiGOautogroup.com.
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