Fletcher Jones Buys Chicago Dealers
The owner of Newport Beach’s Fletcher Jones Motor Cars hopes to crack the Chicago market.
Las Vegas-based Fletcher Jones Management Group recently paid an estimated $50 million for six Chicago-area dealerships, including a Mercedes-Benz franchise, which were owned by Loeber Motors Inc., a 66-year-old family business.
Fletcher Jones hopes to woo customers with the same pampering approach,putting green and cappuccino bar included,that it uses at its Newport Beach operation, the biggest-selling Mercedes-Benz dealership in the country.
Fletcher Jones Jr.,the automotive group’s namesake and chief executive,jets regularly between Las Vegas and Newport Beach, where he has a home on Linda Isle.
The automotive group has dealerships in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., that sell cars from Ford, Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Fletcher Jones posted 2001 sales of more than $800 million.
Sales at the Newport Beach dealership alone were $446.7 million for the 12 months ended June 30.
The move into Chicago gives the company an entry into the third-biggest U.S. market.
Loeber’s dealerships, which will take on the Fletcher Jones name, sell Audi, Honda, Infiniti, Nissan, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz cars.
Fletcher will go up against several Mercedes dealerships in the region, including one retained by Loeber, which generated $215 million in revenue last year, according a report in Crain’s Chicago Business.
Jennifer Bellantonio
