Automotive News Canada - May 2018 - 12

* MAY 2018

A dealership number-cruncher for hire
By JIL MCINTOSH

OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT

MICHAEL LEWICKI

STEERING DEALERS THROUGH
FINANCIAL PLANNING
As president of Lewicki
Automotive
Consulting Limited
in Toronto,
Michael Lewicki is
perhaps even more
focused on dealership numbers than
the dealerships he
serves.
"I provide financial-related services to new-vehicle dealerships
and stand-alone
vehicle-leasing companies,"
he said. "A large one is mergers and acquisition assistance,
helping dealership A buy dealership B, or helping B sell to A.

Michael Lewicki focused on
dealership financial consulting partly because of his love
of cars. P H O TO : M I C H A E L L E W I C K I

A lot of that is due to my technical background as a chartered accountant.
"I also provide consulting
on dealer succession, corporate matters like shareholder
agreements, and internal controls that protect the assets. I
run a boutique consulting firm that's
just me, and given
what I do, that's all
it needs to be."
Lewicki was a
partner in two large
accounting firms
from 1995 to 2014.
"Having been a
partner for almost
20 years, I decided
to do something on
my own that was
more than simply accounting-related," he said. Cars
were always a passion, and
focusing on them was far more
fun and rewarding.
His services also include
planning and analyzing.
"By far and away, the largest challenge of a new dealership today is the amount of
capital money invested in the
facility," he said. "The [automakers] are requiring their
retail operations to be all
buffed up and gorgeous inside,
and unfortunately there's no
way around it. It's driving
more groups to acquire more
stores because they have greater access to capital. That's not
to say the one-man dealer principal can't operate today, but
it's more of a challenge."
Still, Lewicki thinks there

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Please send nominations
for the Unobvious Ones to:
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will always be a place for dealers.
"It's easy for a consumer
to click to buy books or shoes,
but to buy a $40,000 car, the
probability is greatly reduced.
Most people want to relate to
the purchase."

ASHLEE ROYAL

AUTO PRESENTATION
IS ALL IN THE DETAILS
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK
involved when automobiles
go to displays or events, and
that's Ashlee Royal's territory. As managing director of
Royal Automotive Agency in
Toronto, she ensures that cars
and people get top treatment.
"I do everything from booking hotels, restaurants, flights
and vehicle logistics, right
down to the development of the
drive program," she said. "I
book media into press cars in
Toronto and Vancouver, and
make sure when they pick it
up, everything is good to go and
in top condition."
Royal studied business
administration for automotive
marketing at Georgian College
in Barrie, Ont. For her first
co-op student term in 2002, she
worked at LA Detail, which

"My job is to help develop people to their potential
in life, not just at the dealership. Surrounding
myself with engaged staff has provided the
foundation for tremendous growth in volume,
customer satisfaction and profitability. Offering
The Ford Dealers Pension Plan increases our
success in finding and keeping the best people."
- James Braden
Dealer Principal
James Braden Ford Lincoln

Ashlee Royal regularly travels to auto shows to be sure
that clients' vehicles are clean and well-presented.
P H O T O : A S H L E E R O YA L

her brother Corey bought and
renamed 10 years later.
"In the beginning I did automotive detailing," she said.
"The guys taught me how to
do it; I was getting press cars
ready and working on events.
I liked it so much I went back
for my third co-op term. I started working part time when I
was in school, and then when
I graduated I went there fulltime. Since college, it's the
only job I've had."
Fifteen people work at the
company, including representatives in Vancouver and
Montreal.
Part of planning a vehicle
launch, where media travel
to a destination for their first
experience with a new model,
requires Royal to set up the
drive routes. She starts with
a map, "and then you have
to physically go out and do it
beforehand," she said. "You
could go on a road and it's covered in potholes, and you have
to change the route."
Travelling can be a grind
for some, but Royal enjoys it.
"You see places you've never
seen."

MIKE TEDESCO

REPAIRING, NOT REPLACING,
IS KEY TO HIS BUSINESS

2017 CADA LAUREATE WINNER:

RETAIL OPERATIONS
For Outstanding Achievement
Within an Individual Dealership

THE FORD DEALERS PENSION PLAN...

SINCE 1994

* Proven to attract and retain top employees
* Flexible enrollment to fit any budget
* Tax advantages for dealers and employees
* Enhance your bottom line
* Over 4,000 members and growing!

Visit us at www.forddealer.ca
or contact Joe Fleming
at (519) 860-3459 or
joe.fleming@forddealer.ca

WATER OR WIND LEAKS
are annoying, and fixing them
properly is Mike Tedesco's specialty. He owns three LeakPro
franchises covering much
of southern Ontario and the
Greater Toronto Area.
"Anybody can put a hose
on a car [to check for leaks],
but isolating the area and identifying the improper component is difficult," Tedesco said.
"It could be a bad body seam,
grommets or the windshield
seal. The sunroof could have
a bad drain-pan seal. If the
mechanic doesn't know how
to fix it and just puts in a new
part, that's thousands of dollars when it could have been
fixed."
Tedesco followed in his
father's footsteps and stud-

ied mechanics, but instead he
began in a dealership's parts
department before becoming a
service advisor. The shop used
LeakPro and when Tedesco's
car developed a leak, franchise
President John Allen showed
him how to fix it.
"I asked if he was hiring,
and I did the training program
and became a subcontractor,"
Tedesco said. "I worked for
him for about a year and then
in 2014 I bought my first franchise, and then one in 2015 and
in 2016."
It's a mobile service, and
Tedesco supplies his subcontractors with training, vans,
and tools, and dispatches them
to jobs. "They might visit
four to seven dealerships a
day," he said. "I'm picking up
about one dealership a month
and I'm not looking for them,
they're looking for us."
He's on the road repairing
leaks and credits his and his
subcontractors' experience
for the company's success.
Last year, his franchise took
first and second place in the
Hamilton Spectator newspaper's Reader's Choice Awards
for best windshield installer
and automotive service.
"We have good relationships with dealers," he says.
"Everybody makes money that
way." - ANC

Mike Tedesco's ability to
repair leaks and wind noise
can help improve a dealer's
CSI rating. PHOTO: MIKE TEDESCO

http://www.forddealer.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - May 2018