The Keuylians, owners of Lamborghini Orange County, are expanding, sweeping up a dealership at the Santa Ana Auto Mall, Commonwealth Volkswagen-Audi at 1450 Auto Mall Drive.
It wasn’t much of a stretch for the family,Lamborghini is part of Germany’s Volkswagen AG, which also owns Audi.
Brother Vik Keuylian owns the property, while sisters Nora, Sossi and Astrid own the dealership, which has been around since the 1960s, Vik Keuylian said. Jeff West, who used to run Bauer Jaguar, now manages Commonwealth.
The Keuylians bought three properties in all at the Santa Ana Auto Mall from former Commonwealth owner, Adolf Ohmann. Vik Keuylian said they had tried to buy the dealership from Ohmann in 1999 but he wasn’t ready then.
“Many people have been trying to buy it,” Keuylian said. “He was happy to sell it to a family.”
Keuylian declined to disclose how much the family paid.
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Vik Keuylian: “Many people have been trying to buy it,” he says of Volkswagen-Audi dealership |
This deal happened by chance, he said. Now Keuylian had bought 1425 Auto Mall Drive, a vacant lot, with the intentions of moving Lamborghini service there. Nora suggested they check to see if Ohmann might be ready to sell the dealership. He was.
The Keuylians also bought 1315 and 1325 Auto Mall Drive, a lot now used for parking, but eventually, they plan to build another dealership there. Audi will move to the property at 1425 Auto Mall Drive, and Volkswagen will spread out at its current location at 1450 Auto Mall Drive.
Audi is rolling out several 2008 models, the A5 and S5, which will compete with the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz CLK, and the sporty R8.
Meanwhile, the Keuylians recently bought Lamborghini Orange County’s building on 2441 S. Pullman St. in Santa Ana, off the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, which they have leased for the past 11 years. The family bought the building for $9 million, which includes extra space that will be a service area. The additional space expands the dealership from 18,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet.
Voit Commercial Brokerage LP in Santa Ana represented the Keuylians. Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. represented the seller, Daniel Grable.
The Keuylians are moving forward on their two-story dealership at 2244 W. Coast Highway near Sterling BMW in Newport Beach. They have been working closely with a city planner for the past two years. Their next meeting is this month with the Planning Commission, followed by meetings with City Council and the Coastal Commission.
Lamborghini OC is the automaker’s No. 1 dealership in the U.S. Customers include Rod Stewart, Kobe Bryant, Nicolas Cage and Dennis Rodman.
Flexing Some Muscle
Anaheim-based Max Muscle, a sports nutrition retailer with 100 franchises nationwide, is expanding to 500 within the next five years. Former Los Angeles Raider Joe Wells, chief executive, founded Max Muscle in 2003. His partner, bodybuilder Sean Greene, is president. The majority of the stores are in California but the chain plans on expanding in states including Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Max Muscle franchises go for $150,000 to $200,000 for a store.
Autobytel Unit Sold
Autobytel Inc., based in Irvine, sold its “retention performance marketing” business to Cincinnati-based CallCommand for $7.6 million. Dealers used the service, known as RPM, to deliver welcome letters and e-mails for customers buying a new auto. The RPM unit had 53 workers, who will stay on under CallCommand.
Autobytel has been narrowing its business focus in the past few years to improving its online consumer sites, where car buyers can research autos. It launched the beta version of MyRide.com last month. MyRide is a hipper version of its Autobytel.com site, its original consumer research site. Autobytel gets paid by dealers for customer leads.
Autobytel’s first quarter sales were flat at $28.4 million, compared with $28.3 million a year earlier. About 61% of total revenue comes from dealer lead fees and 17% from advertising. Operating income for the first quarter was up to $3.1 million, compared to a loss of $9.1 million in 2006. The increase in income included a $9.9 million gain related to the settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit.
Harlow at The Camp
Kerri Harlow, owner of Harlow, a men’s and women’s boutique at The Lab in Costa Mesa, is opening another store at the The Camp, also called Harlow. The store will have more space to sell shoes, handmade jewelry, perfumes and Sumbody facial products. Harlow used to be called Black & Blue. Harlow bought the store in the fall of 2005 and changed the name.
