Dealer sells abruptly.Former Auto Dealer of the Year exits B.E. 100s list quietly Successful General Motors car dealer Carl Barnett recently sold his three Houston dealerships back to the manufacturer for an undisclosed price. Barnett, BLACK ENTERPRISE'S Auto Dealer of the Year in 1996, had sales of more than $108 million in 1999. The sale of the three dealerships was finalized See finalization. in October 2000. General Motors spokesperson Marcia McGee would only comment briefly, saying "[Barnett] decided to go in another direction and we bought the dealerships back." She added that GM plans to resell re·sell tr.v. re·sold , re·sell·ing, re·sells 1. To sell again. 2. To sell (a product or service) to the public or to an end user, especially as an authorized dealer. them. "The Houston stores had six good years of sales and I felt it was time to move on, especially with the downturn in the economy and a slowdown For articles with similar titles, see Slow Down (disambiguation). A slowdown is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. in car sales," says Barnett. A spokesperson for the National Association of Minority Auto Dealers The National Association of Minority Auto Dealers, or NAMAD, was developed to assist in promoting minority auto dealers in the United States. The auto industry in the United States is a one trillion dollar business, which holds a huge percentage of America's working force. refused to discuss the sale. "It does look like it must be a nice deal for Barnett," says Dr. Michael S. Flynn, director of the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation. "As we may be entering a downturn [in the economy], Barnett may see this as a good exit strategy, he may be having trouble finding a buyer, or GM may be paying a premium for some reason." However, Flynn admits the deal is a bit odd. "It's surprising GM would buy back a viable dealership," he says. "I'm very surprised they would buy back a successful dealership from an African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. since they have been pretty active in trying to recruit minority dealers." Flynn says manufacturers like GM will usually agree to buy back a dealership if it is facing bankruptcy, is closing, or there are questionable business practices or criminal problems involved. None of these is proven to be a factor in Barnett's case. Under the agreement, Barnett will lease the land his dealerships are on back to General Motors for a pretty hefty heft·y adj. heft·i·er, heft·i·est 1. Of considerable weight; heavy. 2. Rugged and powerful. See Synonyms at heavy. 3. monthly fee. Barnett still owns a small dealership in Paris, Texas This article is about the city in Northeast Texas. For other uses, see Paris, Texas (disambiguation). Paris is a city located 98 miles (158 km) northeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. . His son, Carl Barnett Jr., runs a GM dealership in Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia, 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., and 55 miles north of Richmond, Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 19,279. . When Barnett was chosen as the BE Auto Dealer of the Year in 1996, GM officials had nothing but praise for him. "He's the top retailer in the region, not in fleet sales but in retail sales, which is unique when compared to other minority dealers," said GM Minority Dealer Representative Lee McDaniels at the time (see "Houston's Big Wheel," June 1996). Barnett, who is one of only two African American members of the National Automobile Dealers Association's board, says he might use some of the money he made off the deal to open other dealerships in the next few years. |
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