Automotive News Canada - June 2017 - v2 - 27

* JUNE 2017

Penticton Indian band's
first business lease is a

Nissan dealership

An artist's rendering shows the new Nissan dealership and surrounding property development at Satikw Crossing.

'When you build
it, they will come,'
band chief says
By BILL McLAUCHLAN

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

PENTICTON/OKANAGAN
(SYLIX) TERRITORY, B.C. -
Construction has begun on the
new Nissan Penticton dealership as the first business lease
of the Penticton Indian band's
Satikw Crossing property
development.
The first Nissan outlet in
the south Okanagan valley,
the dealership is set to open
in December at the two-acre
(0.8-hectare) site, part of the
band's 140-acre (60 hectare)
Satikw development adjacent

to Highway 97 and Penticton's
regional airport.
The 17,000-square-foot
(1,580-square-metre) dealership is being constructed
under Nissan's New Image
program. Infrastructure work
is already under way to service the site.
"I look forward to bringing the Nissan lineup of vehicles to residents of the south
Okanagan," said John Kot,
dealer principal. Confirming
that the lease negotiations
had been finalized in July
2016, Kot said, "I'm honoured
and excited to work with the
Penticton Indian Band and
bring this fast-moving automotive franchise to the community."
The dealership is the
fourth in Kot's growing

group. He purchased Kelowna
Hyundai in 2011 and has
since established Buy Direct
Truck Centre, also in nearby
Kelowna. He also owns Maple
Ridge Hyundai that's located
east of Vancouver.
Plans are to relocate the
Kelowna Hyundai store from
its existing 2.7-acre (1.1-hectare) location to a yet-to-be-constructed showpiece building
elsewhere in the city. A deal

( I L L U S T R AT I O N : P E N T I C T O N I N D I A N B A N D )

has been made to buy five
acres (two hectares) where his
truck centre currently sits,
allowing him to open both
a revamped Hyundai facility and a new dealership for
Genesis, Hyundai's luxury
brand. That means Buy Direct
Truck Centre will need a new
home.
Work on the new
30,000-square-foot
(2,800-square-metre) twin
dealership is slated to begin
in mid-2020 with completion
expected by the fall of 2021.
"We need to expand as the
business grows," Kot told the
Kelowna Daily Courier newspaper recently. His Hyundai
dealership sold 420 new cars
and 250 used in 2011. That
climbed to 800 new and 760
used in 2016, while local mar-

ket share soared to 20 per cent
from nine per cent five years
ago.
"Signing our first commercial tenant at Satikw Crossing
proves that when you build
it, they will come," said
Penticton Indian Band Chief
Jonathan Kruger.
"The Nissan brand is a welcome addition and demonstrates the potential of Satikw
Crossing to bring high-profile businesses and opportunities to Penticton. Having more
options to purchase a vehicle locally will benefit consumers and help keep money
and people in our region,"
said Penticton Mayor Andre
Jakubeit.
More than 30 full-time jobs
are expected to be created.
- ANC

Putting some 'pop' into sales
By BILL McLAUCHLAN

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

IN TODAY'S CROWDED CAR MARKET, IT'S
hard to come up with a way to cement a brand
image in people's minds.
Most approaches involve taking a serious,
no-nonsense route, or something little wacky
and off-the-wall.
For dealer principal John Kot, it made sense
to combine the two as the star of 30-second ad
spots for his Kelowna Hyundai dealership,
airing as pre-show content for moviegoers in
Okanagan (Valley) Landmark theatres.
The commercial spots open with a typical
dealership "sell" but adds an unusual, humor-

ous twist for local movie lovers when Kot laughingly "pops" a big bag of popcorn into his yawning mouth as he drives off. Look for "Kelowna
Hyundai Theatre Commercial" on YouTube.
His signature sign-off has gained him local
recognition as "the popcorn guy," by fans who
stop him to mention his commercials. It proves
his premise that if you can make people laugh,
they'll remember you. He even serves popcorn
in the showroom to help tie in the awareness
created by the ad spots.
Kot sees his zany style as an opportunity for
marketing in a different, memorable way. The
commercials haven't produced any noticeable
spike in sales, according to Kot, but they've certainly given the brand a higher profile. - ANC

Kelowna Hyundai dealer John Kot brings humour and
information to local theatre goers in 30-second, big-screen
commercials. ( P H O T O : J O H N K O T )

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - June 2017 - v2