Dave Cantin Group has hired longtime dealership executive Sid Barron as Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. Barron joins the M&A advisory firm after four decades in retail automotive, including a stretch leading corporate development at Asbury. Dealers weighing growth, succession or a sale can expect advisers who have bought, sold and operated stores themselves.
Barron and Dave Cantin, Founder and CEO of Dave Cantin Group, discussed the move on today’s Inside M&A episode, covering Barron’s path from the showroom to the boardroom and what the new role means for dealers.
Sid Barron brings 40 years of dealer experience to DCG
Barron started selling cars in February 1986 and held nearly every role in a dealership, including operator and equity owner, before moving to the corporate side. At Asbury, he led corporate development and real estate with a mandate to double the business. Asbury grew from roughly 91 rooftops and about $8 billion in annual revenue after COVID to 171 rooftops and $18 billion in revenue in about five years, Barron said.
“When you look at car dealers, give me a more resilient, more adaptive, more flexible, more intelligent entrepreneur. There are none.”
Barron left Asbury in May, within four days of the company’s former CEO stepping away. Cantin told him he did not want him as a managing director, and within 24 hours Cantin and DCG President Brian Gordon proposed a new position built around his experience as a buyer, seller and operator, Barron said. DCG wanted that experience to help the firm shape strategies that let dealer clients evolve, and the goal is to build a firm that outlives everyone in it, Cantin said.
Dealers face affordability pressure on vehicles, fuel and monthly payments, along with profit pressure inside the store, Barron said. New car prices have risen 33% in the six years since COVID, and dealers absorb costs through incentives that compress margin from the top down. Fewer new car sales mean fewer trade-ins and less service work, and higher customer pay prices risk losing customers, Barron said.
How Barron grew Hank Aaron’s dealerships to seven stores
Barron helped baseball legend Hank Aaron build a seven-store dealership group and later sell it. Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record in 1974 and retired in 1976 with 755. BMW awarded Aaron an open point in Atlanta in 1999, the first for the brand anywhere in the country in 10 years. The store opened that December and turned a profit within 90 days, well ahead of the year to a year and a half of losses BMW had predicted, Barron said.
The group grew to seven stores in about three and a half years, adding MINI, Toyota and Honda, Hyundai and Jaguar Land Rover franchises, Barron said.
Both executives said athlete partners add real value. Customers drove past other BMW stores to reach Hank Aaron BMW, Barron said. Searches for a famous owner’s name also surface the dealership, Cantin said. Cantin partnered with former New York Giants left tackle Brad Benson and sees almost no downside, apart from visitors who come to meet the athlete instead of buying or servicing a vehicle, Cantin said.
Aaron’s celebrity created visibility, but operational performance and integrity built the value of the stores, Barron said. Aaron also wanted the stores to open doors for team members, and technicians, service advisors and salespeople moved into management roles, Barron said.
Why sellers need an adviser who stays involved after the deal closes
Aaron was the majority owner and decided in the summer of 2007 to sell. The group sold its last store that November. Barron said he was crushed by the decision, and he now sees the same feeling in dealers weighing succession. Owners who spent decades building a business also weigh their families, communities and team members, Barron said. He said DCG wants to guide dealers well beyond the closing table. “We don’t want to just be part of their last transaction,” Barron said.
He recalled wiring nine figures to a dealer who looked up and asked what to do tomorrow. Most sellers have never completed a transaction like this, and DCG plans to walk with them the whole way, Barron said.
Dealers considering a sale should plan for what comes after closing before they sign. They should also look for advisers who stay involved once the wire arrives.
