 |
 |
PROFILE
A
Driving Vision for Business Leadership
John
Capps
President
and CEO
Plaza
Motor Company
By Pam
Droog
Although
he's president and CEO of Plaza Motor Company and has worked
in the automobile industry more than 25 years, John Capps
claims he's "not a car guy." He explains, "I never worked
on cars or tinkered with them. What I like is the business
of selling automobiles."
Capps
was set to study law when he took a summer job at Quality
Volkswagen in south St. Louis. "I really enjoyed it, and was
making so much money selling cars, I never made it to law
school," he says. "And I've never looked back!"
On
the road from sales to management to owning a dealership,
Capps developed the vision that would change his life and
auto retailing in the metro area. "During the '70s and early
'80s I watched numerous industries consolidate," he says.
"For example, people used to buy their TVs in small, mom-and-pop
appliance stores. Then the big-box retailers gave consumers
a chance to see the top 20 TVs available in the world. I thought
I could do that with the luxury auto segment of the market
here."
Starting
with Mercedes Benz in 1980, Capps gradually added Porsche
and Audi in 1981, Cadillac in 1988, then BMW, Infiniti, Lexus
and Range Rover between 1988 and 1991. Besides the franchises,
Capps also was able to acquire the land on which Plaza Motors
was built in Creve Coeur. "I wanted to establish a campus
environment where the customer could park his car, cross-shop
and buy a new automobile in one stop," he says. "That gives
me the opportunity to keep customers loyal, not necessarily
to one brand, but to Plaza Motors. That's the key to everything
I'm doing."
The
strategy is working. One measure of success is that Plaza
Motors controls 40 percent of the luxury auto market in St.
Louis. In addition, of the approximately 450 cars Plaza Motors
sells each month, more than 75 percent are purchased by repeat
customers. This large volume makes Plaza Motors the number
one franchise in Missouri for every brand it represents, except
BMW.
Just
as Plaza Motors has dramatically grown, the auto industry
has undergone significant changes, Capps notes. "The first
75 years in the industry were pretty static. But the last
five years have witnessed a sea change, with public ownership
of dealerships, distribution changes and consolidation among
manufacturers." Another fundamental change is big consolidators
buying dealerships, like the $3 billion Asbury Automotive
Group, the third largest dealer group in the country, which
acquired Plaza Motor Company in 1997.
The
Internet is also having an impact on auto retailing, Capps
says. In fact, Plaza Motors is in the process of developing
a "virtual showroom" and customer websites. Customers will
be able to turn on their computers and find out everything
about their cars, like when the next service is due, and then
schedule it online," Capps says. Plaza Motors currently sells
12 to 15 cars a month via the Internet.
-
Plaza Motors employs more than
300 people; most of the management team has worked
there 10 or more years.
-
Its website features a "virtual
showroom" of new and pre-owned cars, at www.plazamotors.com.
-
In 1999, Plaza Motors sold more
than 3,500 new cars and 1,500 pre-owned cars, with
sales of more than $200 million.
-
John Capps serves on the national
dealer councils of BMW and Cadillac 20-Group, as
well as Mercedes Benz and Infiniti regional councils.
|
Capps'
enthusiasm for trying new things is an asset in his role as
founding chairman of The Regional Business Council at the
RCGA. "It's a great honor to be invited to join the group
and serve as its chairman the first year," he says. He remembers
his pride "when his father was named Man of the Year."
Accepting the responsibility to continue his father's civic
work, Capps promises to "step up and be even more involved
in the community. There are a million and one things we want
to address, but we're focused on areas in which we feel we
can make a difference reasonably quickly, to get some victories
under our belts and build momentum."
One
area the group is concentrating on is emphasizing the positive
aspects of St. Louis, Capps says. "St. Louis has a great
history and infrastructure, a whole litany of things we
have that other cities don't. When you have business, political
and civic leaders talking up the region, there's no doubt
about it, you're going to attract business."
Besides
the Regional Business Council, Capps currently serves on
the boards of the Muny Opera, Commerce Bank, St. Louis Priory
and Whitfield School. He enjoys outdoor activities with
his family--two daughters at Vanderbilt University, a son
who attends Whitfield School, a 6-year-old son and his wife
of 26 years, Debbie (who's the daughter of Capps' first
boss at Quality VW). With his brother, Tom, he oversees
the Capps Foundation, which provides funds for a variety
of charitable causes.
The
non-car guy who has his pick of luxury autos currently drives
a Mercedes Benz E430. "But I love the Lexus GS400," Capps
adds. Still, his all-time favorite was his first: "A yellow
VW Beetle, the best and most fun car of my life."
Pam
Droog is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
|
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
