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Business
Apr. 02, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Centennial Hyundai closes six months after opening

Dealership in area hit hard by foreclosures

By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
KEY NUMBERS

Although Centennial Hyundai will close, parent company Superstore Auto Group remains and will handle unresolved Centennial business through Planet Hyundai, 7150 W. Sahara Avenue.

Customers can call Centennial through Friday at 589-7300. After Friday they can reach Planet Hyundai at 938-1400.


Superstore Auto Group is closing this Hyundai dealership at 6200 Centennial Center Blvd. and will move most employees to another site.
Photo by Gary Thompson.

The owner of six Las Vegas-area car dealerships is consolidating operations due to slow sales.

The owner, Superstore Auto Group, said Wednesday it will close Centennial Hyundai and move about 90 percent of its employees to another dealership.

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    • The move comes as auto sales nationally are down nearly 40 percent for the first two months of the year.

    Centennial, which opened just six months ago in an area that's been hard hit by foreclosures, is feeling the brunt of the economic downturn.

    Still, Superstore President John Staluppi says he will retain a franchise agreement with Hyundai Motor America so he can reopen the dealership when the market improves.

    "This store could very well open in the next 18 to 24 months or sooner, as the business climate dictates" said Superstore spokesman Tom Letizia.

    In the meantime the bulk of the 60-person Centennial work force will move to Planet Hyundai on West Sahara Avenue.

    Employees are already in the process of moving and inventory will soon follow.

    Letizia said customers who have unresolved business at the Centennial location can go to Planet Hyundai.

    He contrasted the situation at Centennial against the abrupt shutdown Sept. 24 of nationwide Chevrolet dealer Bill Heard, which included two locations in Las Vegas.

    "They just left and didn't tell a soul," he said. "This is a nice smooth transition here today."

    Chris Hosford, spokesman for Hyundai Motor America, said "several" of the estimated 800 Hyundai dealerships in the country have closed since the recession worsened in recent months, although Centennial is the only one that retained a franchise agreement with a plan to reopen.

    Nationally, Hyundai sells about 450,000 vehicles annually and despite the downturn for the broader industry, has seen its sales in the United States increase about 4 percent in January and February, Hosford said.

    Car sales typically rise and fall with the housing market, Hosford said, which could account for the troubles at Centennial.

    Hosford said it is a "terrible market" but that Centennial plans to reopen is a sign of confidence that Las Vegas will recover eventually.

    "Often the dealer involved in a dealer termination doesn't want to continue," Hosford said. "In this case, the dealer has indicated the economy in Las Vegas is going to improve."

    Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.

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    Barney wrote on April 02, 2009 08:29 PM: Let Chopper run the place. I just love his commercials. Chop it.. I just love saying it. And that funny blue Genie... Chop it.... I hear he has a young son that wants to be a car dealer. He could run the store.. Chawp it.. What a great idea.. It would class up the place.


    tom wrote on April 02, 2009 06:42 PM: the problem is, that 98% of las vegens are loosers and can't obtain financing for anything right now. everybody knows, if a person can scramble up even two bucks in this town it is destined for a video poker machine.


    Confident wrote on April 02, 2009 02:33 PM: MGM, Stations, Boyd and a host of others were confident in the economy. Look where they are now, between a rock and a hard place. Being confident is worth nothing without something to backup it.


    Alan wrote on April 02, 2009 02:28 PM: Banks received bail-out money, If your bank received bail-out money, your bank is under government control. If you should get a loan from a bail-out entity your loan becomes a government contract. This means the government has the right to tell you how to manage your bail-out loan money.


    ja wrote on April 02, 2009 01:24 PM: the banks get most of the stimulus money,but they won't lend it out.now ask,why?????????


    GladK wrote on April 02, 2009 10:16 AM: I love how everyone says "when the market improves" as if it's inevitable that the American economy will "bounce back". America's political leadership both Dem & Repub have printed trillions in magic dollars for a "stimulus", but will someone please point out where that money is going that will result in long-term new hi-tech industry that is a must for future prosperity for this country. As far as I can see, absolutely nowhere.


    Ken wrote on April 02, 2009 07:34 AM: They goofed big time and to say that they could open again in the next 18 to 24 months is a joke.

    So let's pull a number out of the air and say they sell 100 cars a month. In 18 months they may sell 105 cars a month. Is that worth reopening for? No.

    They will find a way to write this off and the facility will turn into a swap meet market.