Business at Park Place Motorcars' Grapevine dealership is in a new gear
06.09.11
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GRAPEVINE -- Mercedes-Benz owners are toughened to nicer-than-average amenities and a certain level of elicit and personal attention. That's what Ken Schnitzer set out to provide as he planned the Store Place Motorcars dealership in Grapevine. Formerly in Bedford, the new dealership opened in break of dawn summer in a gleaming 152,515-square-foot proficiency at 1300 Texan Trail off Texas 121. In by the skin of one's teeth the first two months of business and with little promotion of the move, sales volumes and utilization business are growing at a pace that would work out to a 40 percent year-over-year multiply. "It's a little better than we expected," said Schnitzer, chairman and ranking owner of the Dallas-based Park Place congregation. Looking to the future and the planned expansion of Texas 183, Schnitzer began studying options for expanding or relocating the Bedford dealership in 2008. It didn't take big for the Texan Trail site to become the best option. "It was in reality an easy decision because the Grapevine area is where most of the growth is occurring in Northeast Tarrant County," Schnitzer said. "Grapevine was confining to our customers. We could have a state-of-the-art facility that was aesthetically pleasing and operationally effectual." But when the decision was made in 2009, the U.S. economy was in one of the most uncertain periods in decades. Well-versed in sales were awful; new car sales, too. General Motors and Chrysler were in bankruptcy. Luxuriousness items, including Mercedes-Benz autos, were selling at far below common rates. Schnitzer said that he had faith that the decision to base in Grapevine was the right one but that in that economic climate, "you're holding your breath." Schnitzer declined to report the cost of the facility, just east of the Park Concern Lexus complex that opened in 2000. It's large. It's very drawing and very functional. Schnitzer's touch is everywhere. Working with the architects and designers, he took the Mercedes-Benz's uncontaminated but Spartan "AutoHaus" concept and added luxurious touches. He picked out colors, tiles and wood paneling. In adding up to a large service facility, a separate but adjoining configuration houses the Park Place Bodywerks, a full auto centre repair and paint facility, the company's first outside Dallas. It will treat all work from Park Place's other Tarrant dealerships and facing business as well. "It's really a new business for us in Tarrant County," Schnitzer said. "It's enabled us to rent a lot of new people." The complex will employ 180 to 200, Schnitzer said. He's still recruiting technicians and sales personnel. The speedy increase in business has only fueled Schnitzer's bullish standpoint. Park Place has 10 locations in North Texas, including dealerships in Dallas and Plano, and sells a inclusive variety of high-end brands including Porsche, Jaguar, Bentley, Maserati and Rolls-Royce. "It's a very seemly luxury car market. With the move from Bedford to Grapevine, we'll do a much better job of serving our customers," Schnitzer said. "There's not another shop I'd rather be in than Dallas-Fort Worth. The Fort Worth dealership [on Bryant Irvin Route] is growing, and we'll have to make some decisions about expansion at that dealership in the next 12 months."
Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram
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