Larry H. Miller Dealerships

Larry H. Miller Dealerships
Private
Founded 1979 (1979) in Murray, Utah, United States
Founder Larry H. Miller
Headquarters Sandy, Utah, United States
Number of locations
 61 (2017)
Area served
 United States
Key people
 Dean Fitzpatrick President
Gail Miller Owner
Products Automobiles and parts
Services Auto maintenance, leasing
Owner Larry H. Miller Group of Companies
Number of employees
 10,000
Parent Miller Automotive Operations
Website www.lhmauto.com

Larry H. Miller Group Dealerships is a privately owned new and pre-owned automotive retailer in the western United States. It is division of Miller Automotive Operations, which is a subsidiary of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. It was founded in 1979 by entrepreneur Larry H. Miller and is headquartered in Sandy, Utah. They were listed in the top ten dealership groups in the country in 2014 and 2016.

The company owns and operates 54 dealerships in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Washington, and California. The current president of Miller Automotive Operations is Dean Fitzpatrick, former general manager of one of the dealerships in Provo, Utah.

History

The Larry H. Miller Group of Dealerships began in 1979 when entrepreneur Larry H. Miller purchased his first Toyota dealership in Murray, Utah.[1] It expanded into the state of Washington by purchasing Sundance Toyota in Spokane, Washington in September 1980. The Larry H. Miller Group now owns four dealerships in Washington. Westside Toyota in Glendale, Arizona was purchased the same year, and there are now thirteen dealerships owned in Arizona.

In April 1981, Toyota of Moscow was purchased in Idaho, and two more dealerships were purchased in subsequent years. The Larry H. Miller Used Car Supermarket was opened in 1995 in Sandy, with Greg Miller—Larry H. Miller's son—as the General Manager. Larry H. Miller Dealerships sold its one millionth car in 2007.[2] From 2009 to 2010, seven additional new and used car dealerships were purchased or opened in Washington, New Mexico, and Utah. Miller died in 2009, and was replaced as CEO by his son, Greg Miller.[1] Larry Miller was remembered by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch as making a positive impact in the overall economic growth and impact in the state of Utah.[1]

Their flagship store—Larry H. Miller Toyota Murray—was moved on April 25, 2011, to a new facility.[3] A grand opening ceremony was held on June 24, 2011, where many leaders within the organization were in attendance and participated in the ribbon ceremony. Five more dealerships in Arizona, Washington, and Utah were acquired in 2012, and eleven were opened and acquired in 2013. The first California dealership was opened in Corona in 2014, and three other delearships were opened or purchased in other states that same year. On September 27, 2014, the company sold its 1.5 millionth car at its Murray Toyota dealership.[4] Automotive News listed them at number 10 on the top 125 U.S. dealership groups in 2014.[5]

The acquisition of Lakewood Fordland in the Denver, Colorado market in November 2014[6] brought the company back to its founder's roots. Miller started his career in the automotive industry as a parts salesmen in the Denver region.[7] In December 2014 and June 2015, Larry H. Miller's Fiat dealerships in Tucson, Arizona and Avondale, Arizona became two of only three dealerships in Arizona to carry the Alfa Romeo 2015 Launch Edition for sale.[8]

Larry H. Miller Dealerships began selling parts online directly to consumers in July 2015.[9] After stepping down as CEO in March 2015, Greg Miller opened his own Toyota dealership in Lemon Grove, California on April 20, 2016.[10][11] In April, 2016, WardsAuto listed the company as the tenth largest U.S. automotive dealer on the Wards Auto Megadealer 100.[12]

On June 9, 2016, Larry H. Miller acquired Cherry Creek Dodge, Colorado Chrysler Jeep, and Fiat of Denver from Dealin' Doug Moreland. The Dodge Ram and Fiat stores are in Denver, while the Chrysler Jeep store is in Aurora. The dealerships were renamed Larry H. Miller Dodge Ram Cherry Creek, Larry H. Miller Colorado Chrysler Jeep, and Larry H. Miller Fiat Denver. In July 2016, Larry H. Miller acquired AutoNation Nissan Southwest in Littleton, and the dealership was renamed Larry H. Miller Nissan Southwest.

The company operates 58 dealerships for nineteen different manufacturers across seven states including Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Washington, and California.[1] The president of Miller Automotive Operations is Dean Fitzpatrick, former general manager of one of the dealerships in Provo, Utah.[13] Larry H. Miller Dealerships stated in March 2015 that they would like to purchase some dealerships in Texas.

List of dealerships

Most of the dealerships have "Larry H. Miller" as part of the title. Those that do not are marked with an asterisk.

Arizona

California

Colorado

Idaho

New Mexico

Utah

Washington

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Westwood, Ryan (May 28, 2015). "Leaving So Soon? The Staying Power Of Business". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ Beebe, Paul (April 1, 2013). "Larry H. Miller buying Arizona dealerships". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ "First-Ever Larry Miller Dealership Gains New Location". Auto Remarketing. July 1, 2011. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Larry H. Miller Dealerships Sells 1.5 Millionth Vehicle". Auto Remarketing. October 3, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Larry Miller Group CEO dons fake beard, joins Utah Jazz Dunk Team for 'Undercover Boss'". Automotive News. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Larry H. Miller Dealerships Announces Acquisition of Lakewood Fordland in Denver". Yahoo! Finance. November 17, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  7. ↑ Briggs, Austin (November 18, 2014). "Lakewood Fordland car dealer bought by Larry H. Miller Dealerships". Denver Post. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  8. ↑ Trowbridge, Cassidy (June 19, 2015). "Italian sports car line Alfa Romeo now available in Avondale". Phoenix Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Larry H. Miller Dealerships Begins Online Parts Sales". Auto Dealer Today. July 7, 2015. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ Sorenson, Mike (March 16, 2015). "Miller's departure as CEO shouldn't affect Jazz future much". Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ LaReau, Jamie (April 20, 2016). "Former CEO of Larry H. Miller Group buys his own store". Automotive News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  12. ↑ Finlay, Steve (April 29, 2016). "Family Matters in Car Dealership World". WardsAuto.com. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dean Fitzpatrick - President, Larry H. Miller Dealerships". Larry H. Miller Group. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
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