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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

50 Fastest Growing Private Companies 2017: Keyes Automotive

As in years past, Keyes Automotive Group is the largest company by revenue on the Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Private Companies list. Of course, most fast-growing companies are small. Many of the ones on the Business Journal’s list have revenue only in the tens of millions of dollars (although they needed at least $5 million to qualify for the list). The Van Nuys auto dealer group was the largest by far: It reported $2.2 billion in sales in 2016. That compares to $1.9 billion in 2014, or an 11.3 percent growth rate over a two-year period. That was enough to put the company on the list, albeit barely, at No. 50. Howard Tenenbaum, the firm’s vice president, attributed the growth to a well-performing car market in recent years and the company having expanded with dealerships during and after the recession. “During the recession is when (dealerships) came to us,” Tenenbaum said. “Now that the recession is over, all that stuff is working. That is what’s behind the increase in size.” Keyes operates 15 dealerships in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys selling new and used cars from brands that include Audi, Honda, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz. It has been a mainstay on the Business Journal’s list although its ranking has slipped over the years. Anthony Borquez, a professor with the Greif Center on Entrepreneurial Studies at the USC Marshall School of Business, agreed that fast growth for a large company can be difficult, “In this day and age, I think they would be happy with that type of growth,” Borquez said. On the other hand, Keyes by the strong performance of the auto industry in recent years. And it markets some of the most popular cars. Wheeling dealers Two individual Keyes dealerships also made the fastest growing list. Woodland Hills Hyundai was No. 7 on the list with a 220 percent growth rate. The store on Ventura Boulevard went from $21.8 million in sales in 2014 to $69.5 million last year. It is one of three Hyundai stores that Keyes acquired during the recession, Tenenbaum said. Keyes Chevrolet also made the list, coming in at No. 23 with a 61.5 percent growth rate. The dealership in the “auto row” area of Van Nuys Boulevard went from $81.7 million in 2014 to $132 million in 2016. The car market, Tenenbaum said, has been helped by a high lease rate in California. In luxury brands, customers leasing a vehicle ranges from 70 percent to 80 percent of all transactions, he added. “Those people turn over ever three years, so it keeps the cycle growing,” Tenenbaum said. Industry figures support Tenenbaum’s thoughts on the car market. The California New Car Dealers Association is forecasting that new car registrations will exceed 2 million this year. For last year, the association said there were 1.9 million new cars sold and an additional 777,800 used cars sold. While Keyes is the biggest company on the list, it is not the only billion-dollar company. Galpin Motors Inc., in North Hills, had $1.1 billion in sales. It was ranked at No. 46 on the list with a 16 percent increase. The family-owned dealership group has 12 stores in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. Additionally, Galpin’s Jaguar Lincoln location made the list at No. 49 with a growth rate of 12 percent. The store grew from $117 million in 2014 to $131 million last year. Galpin also sells cars from Ford, Subaru, Kia and Volvo, among others.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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