Automotive News - September 23, 2019 - Best Practices Supplement - A33

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 | 33
WILSONVILLE SUBARU, WILSONVILLE, ORE.

Customizing before anybody asks
Subaru store's inventory
accentuates the brand's
outdoorsy lifestyle
Published in Automotive News May 27, 2019

Jack Walsworth

jwalsworth@crain.com

arked among the new-vehicle inventory at Wilsonville Subaru near Portland, Ore., are several models decked
out with beefy tires, lift kits and cargo boxes.
That's part of the store's outreach, says its
general manager, Ron Owens. Wilsonville
capitalizes on the rugged and outdoor part of
the Subaru DNA to pre-customize vehicles on
spec.
When the store opened in 2017, it wanted a
way to differentiate its product offerings, Owens told Automotive News. The answer was to
dazzle shoppers who came looking for the
outdoorsy Subaru image by offering them
models that already had been customized.
Subaru's crossover-heavy lineup proved an
ideal portfolio to outfit with upgrades and accessories that made the vehicles even more
off-road-capable. Owens and his colleagues
had some experience in the field.
"We came from a Toyota store where we
were lifting FJ Cruisers, Tacomas and Tundras," Owens said. "When we came to Subaru,
there really wasn't anything in that space."

Price it right
Wilsonville typically stocks 25 to 30 customized Subarus in its inventory, which might include such noncrossover offerings as Imprezas, Legacys and WRX/WRX STIs. The
store's various departments participate in deciding what to customize and how, including
parts and service, marketing and even customer relations.
"We have a lot of people who live the Subaru
lifestyle here," Owens said of the dealership.
"We take the cars out; we use them to see what
works. And once we do, we put the accessories on the cars."
Owens himself drives an Outback with a
one-and-a-half-inch lift on it with custom
wheels and tires.
Wilsonville also adds ski racks, cargo baskets, mudflaps, wheel arch moldings, body
side moldings, window tints and paint protection films - all before the vehicles go onto the
lot.
"At the time a new vehicle arrives on the

Wilsonville Subaru's various departments participate in deciding what to customize and how.

Over 10% of Wilsonville Subaru's
new-vehicle sales per month are of
inventory that has been customized
on spec, carrying a higher price tag
but also helping to draw in customers
from other outdoorsy brands.

truck and is dropped off for pre-delivery inspection, we make a decision on what accessories we want to add," Owens said. "It depends on where we're at with inventory."
The customizations typically add $3,000 to
$4,000 to a vehicle's price, Owens said. He credited
his time at the Toyota store for identifying what
works and what doesn't when it comes to customizing vehicles.
"It mostly comes down to price," he said. "If
you're too high-priced on something, customers
are not going to buy it."
Wilsonville Subaru sells about 200 new vehicles a month and 60 to 70 used, Owens said.
The store sells about 25 of the customized vehicles monthly. The accessorized models
tend to have a short stay at the 90,000-squarefoot store, which is the largest Subaru dealership in the U.S., in terms of square footage.
"Inventory turn is crucial with any kind of
business, and you can't put a whole bunch of
accessories on cars that just sit and don't
turn," Owens said.
The dealership also has tied a charity element to some of its customization, similar to

Subaru's Share the Love marketing campaign,
featuring three different accessory packages
called the Foundation Series. For each Foundation Series vehicle sold, Wilsonville Subaru
donates $250 to either Mountain Wave Emergency Communications, the Oregon Surfrider
Foundation or the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, depending on which package the vehicle
has.

Marketing tool
Having customized vehicles in the showroom also serves as a customer magnet, drawing in people who saw them online, Owens
said. But in addition, the decked-out models
serve as examples of what the dealership can
do with any vehicle if a customer is interested.
The rides also have helped the store conquest from other off-road-minded brands -
which has meant a large number of four-door
Jeep trade-ins.
Owens believes customers are attracted to
Subaru's all-wheel-drive technology, lower
expense and higher fuel efficiency, especially
when shoppers come in contemplating trading in a larger truck.
Wilsonville's efforts have caught the attention of the factory.
When Subaru was designing a new trim for
the redesigned Outback, the automaker sent
engineers from Japan to the Oregon store to
study the dealership's customizations firsthand.
"It was really humbling," Owens said. m

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