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Brandon Sun - ONLINE EDITION

Manitoba gets $10-M Honda store

By: Martin Cash

24/08/2010 9:16 AM | Comments: 2

Ashok Dilawri, left, shakes hands with Masahiro Takedagawa, president of Honda Canada, at the opening of Crown Honda.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Ashok Dilawri, left, shakes hands with Masahiro Takedagawa, president of Honda Canada, at the opening of Crown Honda.

Ashok Dilawri owned six car dealerships in Winnipeg so when he decided to inject another $10 million to open his seventh -- a new Honda Powerhouse called Crown Honda -- he must have known what he was doing.

Like every entrepreneur, Dilawri acknowledges there is always a risk, but his decision to open his biggest, most expensive store to date was made with his eyes wide open.

Crown Honda is Manitoba's first Honda Powerhouse. There are fewer than 50 such dealership across the country with showrooms split between the full line of Honda automobiles on one side and motorcycles, ATVs, outboard motors and a broad line of power equipment on the other side.

Honda's sales in Manitoba are a little ahead of last year, but motorcycle sales across all brands are down.

"We understand that the leisure market has dropped the last few years, but we believe it has stabilized now," Dilawri said.

Among other things, Dilawri hopes that motorcycle buyers in particular will be drawn to a modern retail environment that features a full service department, off-season storage facilities and a range of models, many of which have not previously been available in the Winnipeg market.

(Before the opening of Crown Honda, Winnipeg Sport and Leisure was the only Honda motorcycle dealership in the city.)

Marilynn Bastedo, executive director of the Canadian Motorcycle Association, said it's surprising that a city of Winnipeg's size would have only had one dealership selling Honda bikes.

But at the same time she said motorcycle sales in general are down and the number of motorcycle dealerships is declining.

"Profit margins are down, competition is tougher," she said. "In some markets some brands are just now available. But one thing our members tell us about their relationships with dealerships is that they want to buy from motorcyclists."

A number of Honda Canada senior executives were on hand on Monday evening for the official opening of Crown Honda, including its president, Masahiro Takedagawa, and Jean Marc Leclerc, assistant vice-president in charge of motorcycles.

Leclerc said after suffering through a couple of difficult years in the motorcycle market both Honda and its dealers are working their way through it and there is some optimism.

"We believe that there are better days ahead and the market will rebound, maybe not aggressively, but gradually," he said.

Honda has opened 43 Powerhouse centres in the last three to four years and even though poor sales in the sector have forced other motorcycle dealerships to close, Leclerc said "the enhanced level of customer satisfaction" that the Powerhouse concepts are trying to achieve will make the difference for Crown Honda.

That's offered through the spacious, bright, 39,000-square-foot facilities with services that include motorcycle test rides (not standard in the industry), winter storage, full servicing facilities and fun features like a large accessories shop and a cafe/snack shop.

"This equipment is not cheap, so we think customer will like to be able to come to a dealership where they can be comfortable," Dilawri said. "There's generally less stress than at a car dealership."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

What is a Honda Powerhouse centre? It's the new concept Honda store that combines cars and Honda's full line of leisure vehicles like motorcycles, outboard motors, ATVs as well as power equipment like lawn mowers, tillers and generators.

Where are the other Dilawri Group car dealerships? Crown Acura, Winnipeg Honda, Sunshine Toyota, Crown Nissan and the used car store, Auto Max, are all at Waverley Auto Mall. Destination Mazda is on Portage Avenue west.

Why did Dilawri decide to build a new dealership at the north end of McPhillips Street? That region has become a hotbed for new car dealerships. In the last couple of years Jim Gauthier Pontiac Buick GMC and McPhillips Toyota have built large, brand-new stores and Parkside Ford will move onto the same strip in the next year or so.

How many people work for the Dilawri Group? There are a total of 280 including about 50 at the new store.

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It is about time that this part of the city where I live in got some uplifting news.

As for those 300 people in Fort Richmond who do not want the new stadium in their area I would gladly accept a new stadium built somewhere on north McPhillips. Lots of room up here.

Bravo to Dilawri for making a wise choice!

Great now Deepak wants us to buy into his car philosophy as well. :)

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