After 78 years, this ‘Fresno proud’ car dealership has sold. But its story isn’t over
The Haron Jaguar Land Rover dealership that has stood in downtown Fresno for 78 years has new owners.
The family owned business that once proclaimed it was “Fresno Proud” in a Super Bowl commercial has been bought by the Unstoppable Automotive Group based in Temecula in Southern California.
The sale also included the Volvo dealership that Haron added in 2019.
Some things will change at the Ventura Street dealerships, including the Haron name on the business and the Volvo building, which will be torn down and rebuilt. But other things will stay the same, including the employees.
Randy Haron — who owned Haron Motor Sales along with his uncle Jim Haron and cousin Hilary Haron — spoke exclusively to The Bee.
They didn’t sell the business because it was failing, he said. Sales of luxury vehicles are growing nationwide.
“It definitely wasn’t a sale because we had to sell it,” he said. “It’s a sale because we decided to find the right person who can keep it going.”
So why sell then?
“I thought there was an opportunity to see further growth, especially in downtown, and I thought Unstoppable was that company,” Haron said.
Both Haron and Unstoppable CEO Garth Blumenthal hint at future growth in Fresno. When asked what that growth looks like, both declined to share details.
The sale closed Sept. 30. Both men declined say how much it sold for.
Dealership sales
Many smaller dealerships are selling to larger companies lately, said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association based in Sacramento.
Although he didn’t have direct knowledge of the Haron sale, he said such consolidation often happens in industries that are expensive to operate — especially with recent inflation.
Car dealerships take a lot of money to run, he said, including spending on large buildings and inventory (the average luxury car sells to consumers for $75,000).
“You combine all that and it changes the economic picture for smaller operators to do their very best in this kind of market,” he said. “We’re seeing a decent amount of consolidation for sure, especially in a market like California where it is more expensive to operate.”
The downtown dealership
The Fresno dealerships’ names will be changing. They will become Jaguar Land Rover Fresno and Volvo Cars of Fresno.
Haron said Unstoppable wanted to keep the Haron name, but manufacturers’ standards required something different.
Haron Jaguar has been on the same spot on Ventura Street since Haron’s grandfather started it in the 1940s.
The new dealership with big glass walls the business built in 2018 will stay. But the Volvo building next door will be torn down and built anew on the same spot.
The art, including Haron’s photography on the walls of the Jaguar dealership, and the outdoor mural, will remain.
Unstoppable intends to keep the 65 employees.
The company owns 10 luxury dealerships statewide, including Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Audi and Volvo.
Luxury car sales are growing in the U.S., though somewhat slowly, at a predicted rate of 0.05% a year through 2027, according to luxury car report by Statista.
In California, the luxury SUV market share grew by 3% in 2023 to make up 20% of all vehicles, according to the California New Car Dealers Association.
The Unstoppable group is also getting bigger. It recently purchased Mercedes-Benz of Monterey.
It prefers to buy in markets such as Fresno, where there’s only one dealership of its kind around for miles, Blumenthal, the CEO, said.
Fresno is a big market, he added.
“There’s a lot of money being invested into downtown. We looked at that, and we also see the growth that’s happening,” he said. “We’re very bullish on Fresno going forward and looking forward to growing beyond this purchase.”
Downtown Fresno is the recent recipient of a $250 million state appropriation over three years to rebuild downtown infrastructure, such as new pipes and other updated works that make modern renovations possible.
There’s also a $44 million grant earmarked for housing, and a separate California High Speed Rail plan with its own budget also promises to spark interest from private developers.
As for Haron, he’ll stay in Fresno. He’ll continue his photography, sharing images from around the world on his Instagram account with nearly 89,000 followers.
What about another job in the car sales world?
“Everybody thinks that I won’t stay retired for more than two weeks because automotive is in my blood,” he said. “I’m just excited for the next steps and to see the growth (with Unstoppable). I think they have bigger plans for Fresno.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
