Capilano audi
www.capilanoaudi.com
Capilano Audi
Capilano Audi
advanCement through teChnology
automotive
4 AUTOMOTIVECapilano Audi
Since 1970, Capilano Audi has been the
exclusive Audi dealer of North Vancouver.
Boasting some of the best staff and inventory
selection in British Columbia, Capilano Audi
consistently ranks as one of the top volume
Audi dealers in all of Canada.
Capilano audi’s Business style highlights their emphasis on providing an exceptional customer experience. Led by General Manager Derek Lau, who is also currently pursuing his MBA at Queen’s University, Capilano Audi is a progressive
dealer-ship that continues to reach out to its tech-savvy customer base in new ways. From social media – Capilano Audi is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more – to a host of other online strategies, Capilano Audi effectively uses technology to complement and enhance the experience of its customers, many of whom are professionals that use technology in their own lives to save time and money.
“We are reaching out to our customers in all ways possible,” Lau told The Canadian Business Journal. “It allows us to creatively respond the
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APRIL 2013 The Canadian Business Journal
coachecollision.ca
604-987-2211 | [email protected] Coache Collision is equipped with the most advanced state of the art technology to repair your luxury vehicles. We are family owned and operated, providing you with quality repairs, and exceptional service!
We provide full services for all insurance claims and private repairs, as well as online estimating, valet services, delivery and replacement vehicles.
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1172 west 3rd Street
(between Pemberton and Lloyd) North Vancouver , B.C. V7P 1E6
6 AUTOMOTIVECapilano Audi
needs of our customers while keeping our market-ing budget lean. We are domarket-ing thmarket-ings differently than the traditional car dealership.”
Organizational Growth
Another key to the Capilano Audi business model is that the dealership is managed by a smaller, tightly-knit team. Lean and mean, Capilano Audi is also home to Canada’s top Audi salesperson in James Rincon. Capilano Audi’s lean manage-ment model allows it to be very responsive to the needs of its clientele, while remaining proactive to emerging trends in the automotive landscape.
“Given the limited size of our lot, you wouldn’t expect that this store could retail just short of 1,000 new and used cars last year, and we did it with only seven salespeople” Lau commented. “Despite our shortage of space, this dealership projects sales growth in the neighbourhood of 20 per cent over the next five years – we can do this by continuing to build relationships within our community and by using technology to our advan-tage.” Currently Capilano Audi sells between 20 to 25 pre-owned vehicles each and every month despite only having the physical space to stock 11 used vehicles on the lot. An effective online
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APRIL 2013 The Canadian Business Journal
AllWest Insurance
is a proud service
provider to
Capilano Audi
and wish them
continued success.
President Devina Zalesky & CEO Paul Zalesky
North VaNcouVer office
Auto & Home Insurance
1058 Marine Drive
North Vancouver, BC V7P 1S5
Ph: 604-987-9356 Fax: 604-987-9330
Mobile Road Service Provided Open 7 Days a Week
VaNcouVer auto office
Auto Insurance
2-1855 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6J 3G9
Ph: 604-736-1969 Fax: 604-736-5973
Mobile Road Service Provided Open 7 Days a Week
corporate office
Home, Business & Life
315-1681 Chestnut Street Vancouver, BC V6J 4M6
Ph: 604-731-6696 Fax: 604-731-9210
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8 AUTOMOTIVECapilano Audi
marketing strategy has made Capilano Audi’s remarkable sales success possible.
What began in the 1970s as a shared facility split with another dealer, Capilano Audi recog-nized its growth potential and separated to its own standalone facility that provided greater space for customer service, a state-of-the-art showroom, and improved inventory selection.
Recession Recovery
The economic slide of 2008 wreaked havoc on the automotive sector, and those effects rever-berated on Capilano Audi. However, prior to this period, Capilano Audi first felt the challenge of
the on par Canadian Dollar, where given the dealership’s proximity to the United States, many buyers would simply purchase their new Audi at a lesser cost from an American dealer. The fourth quarter of 2007 was a particularly difficult period for Capilano Audi.
“We pulled through that, but then with the credit crisis in 2008, there was an even greater challenge as many manufacturers, including Audi, decided to ease out of the leasing business by cancelling special lease rates,” Lau explained. “What happened then was a self-fulfilling prophecy as most of the leasing business evaporated as customers were not interested in leasing an Audi at 9 per cent interest.”
Soon enough, Audi Canada revamped its lease offerings. As a result, Capilano Audi gained marketplace momentum, and in perfect timing too, as it coincided with the launch of several new Audi models, such as the game-changing Audi R8. The new models maintained Audi’s luxury orientation while also introducing buyers to a greater focus on efficient technologies and outstanding vehicle design.
Efficiency and the Future
New emission standards are a huge trend in the automotive world, and Capilano Audi has capital-ized on this opportunity by offering vehicles in
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APRIL 2013 The Canadian Business Journal
its lineup that make use of clean diesel technology. While long revered for its remarkable fuel efficiency and driving dynamics in Europe, Audi first intro -duced its clean diesel technology to the Canadian marketplace in 2009 with the launch of the A3 TDI and Q7 TDI. TDI diesel technology can improve fuel economy levels by up to 30 per cent, while performing as smoothly and powerfully as equivalent gasoline models.
This year, the company plans for a substantial rollout of its clean diesel lineup, where it will intro-duce the Audi Q5, A6, A7, and A8 all in TDI. Audi’s emphasis on clean diesel technology embodies its corporate slogan “Vorsprung Durch Technik”,
which translates in English to “Advancement Through Technology”. Coupled with legendary quattro all-wheel drive and investing in weight-sav-ing technologies and materials such as aluminum, Audi is on the cutting edge of delighting customers worldwide, and Capilano Audi is a prime example of this corporate vision in action.
CB
as seen in the april 2013 issue oF the Canadian Business Journal
