THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008
Napleton Owners Knew It Was Time To Move
By CRAIG ADAMS
Journal Reporter
"Sometimes the best plans and best intentions don't always work out," said William Napleton, owner of the soon-to-be-shuttered Napleton Cadillac in Park Ridge.
Napleton mourned the loss of the Cadillac, Buick, and Pontiac dealership while he praised the city of Park Ridge for its incentive agreements. "We've been in business since '86," he said. "We've had an unbelievably terrific time here." He called the Cadillac dealership "my flagship store" in Park Ridge.
The dealership was originally located at 200 N. Northwest Highway before moving to 501 N. Busse Hwy. "About five years ago we started to see a change in the marketplace," Napleton said. As redevelopment began in Park Ridge, Meacham Avenue closed and construction reduced traffic near the dealership. "We went from a commercial area, to a construction area, to almost a residential area," he said. "We knew we had to move."
At that time, he worked with the city of Park Ridge and purchased two other local dealerships, resulting in the current business with the three dealerships under one roof. "We thought we put together a really good business plan. It came together in January of '07," he said. Although the dealership lost money the three previous years, Napleton was sure it would bounce back. "The city did what they could do," he said. "I give them an A+ for trying to keep me in town." However, even with a better year in 2007, the dealership again lost money. Then, General Motors changed to a "four-channel" plan of dealerships: Cadillac/Hummer/Saab, Buick/Pontiac/GMC, and standalone Chevrolet and Saturn dealerships.
"GM went to their new catchphrase: elimination," Napleton said. "Somebody's got to go." He said representatives from the corporation contacted him in February of 2008. "They said, 'We think you've got some issues; you're not a channel dealership,'" he explained. Napleton Cadillac Buick Pontiac closed its doors on May 2.
"As we took a look forward to the next five years... thought we should at least listen to what GM had to say," he said. "They are buying the franchises back. We struck an agreement in March." Napleton tried to look at the positive aspects of the closure.
"It's not what I originally had planned," he emphasized. "It'll help all the neighboring Buick, Pontiac, and Cadillac dealerships." He added that he has already helped about 75% of his current staff find new positions, some at his other dealerships, one of which has been helped by consolidation.
In the last two months, corporate bought back four local Lincoln dealerships, two Mercury dealerships, and two Mitsubishi dealerships, helping Napleton Lincoln Mercury Mitsubishi. "That dealership is thriving," he said. The consolidation has helped it be a "solid sales and service organization that's growing," he said. "Someone else left the marketplace and I picked up their customers."
He added that he is involved in seven other dealerships while his family has a stake in 38 dealerships in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Florida.
Napleton wanted to refute statements that he negotiated in bad faith with the city when creating an economic incentive deal earlier in the year. "This was not some diabolical scheme I cooked up five years ago," he said. "It was no sinister plan that I had." He explained he made significant investments in real estate and franchises to put his dealerships together. "My plan was a long term stay in Park Ridge." However, the GM market share continued to decline. "The only villain is people buying more imports today than domestics," he said. "We had to take the rational point of view here."
Part of the now-cancelled economic agreement was $400,000 for environmental cleanup of the old property on Northwest Highway. That cleanup was part of a tentative agreement for PRC Partners to purchase the property and build town homes on it. That deal fell through, he explained. "PRC opted out of our contract to purchase the property."
Napleton is unsure of the future of the Northwest Highway property. He hopes to approach the city again after May 2 to see if there are other options available.
"There are old gas tanks still in the ground that need to be removed," he said, some dating from the 1930s and others from the 1960s. "It's not as bad as it could have been," he said. He added he does not know how complex the remediation would be after removal but soil testing has not revealed any major problems.
Regarding the Busse Highway dealership, he does not foresee another car sales business on the sight. "We've talked to a local real estate company," he said.
"Another dealership? Not likely; more likely it will be retail parcels."