Long Island, Sears and body shops combine for a win-win for all involved

Jan. 1, 2020
Walk into a Long Island Sears Auto Center and you'll witness a business like no other. Of course, Bill Rich, president and CEO, wouldn't mind other shops taking notice of the increasingly successful business plan he helped to introduce on the East Co
Walk into a Long Island Sears Auto Center and you'll witness a business like no other. Of course, Bill Rich, president and CEO, wouldn't mind other shops taking notice of the increasingly successful business plan he helped to introduce on the East Coast.

His collision repair business, which dates back to 1995, works like this: Rich operates two offices out of Sears Auto Centers where he does estimates. He pays a concession fee to Sears instead of paying rent for the office space. Actual repairs are performed at one of his two shops (not located in Sears Auto Centers), which are run by his partner, Nick Cosmo. Rich previously worked for Cosmo as an estimator.

The contract with Sears is to do their collision repair work. And the business has taken off to the degree that Rich does not need to rely on DRP work. "Many other local shops have to rely on DRPs. You're working for GEICO and Allstate, and they're telling you how to repair a customer's car. I'm in my own business. People are attracted to the Sears name alone."

That said, he hopes the Sears name will draw interest in other states, such as New Jersey or Connecticut, in order to recruit other body repair shops to adopt his formula and pay a fee to him and to Sears.

It was much easier to convince the Long Island Sears Auto Center to consider his idea some 13 years ago. Within eight months of his first talks with regional managers, a proposal was composed and Rich was ready for business.

"I'm not a national player, but I'm in a national player organization. We hope to get some name recognition now," he says.

Given the success of this formula, it's ironic that Rich wasn't always interested in cars. He spent the better part of 19 years in commercial printing. When the company he worked for moved from New York to New Jersey, he realized he didn't want to move. He also realized he wasn't happy, even though the financial benefits were enticing.

It ultimately took a simple ad in a newspaper to change his life. The ad mentioned cars, the auto body business specifically and the ability to deal with customers. Training would be provided. Rich didn't need to read more — he found his calling. Larry Lawrence, who helped him get in the business, says of Rich, "He took to the business like a duck took to water."

"I'll never forget those words," Rich adds.

Rich always dreamed of having his own business and viewed the Sears opportunity as a "perfect fit." It helps that the center maintains steady cash flow. The Long Island center brings in an annual $6 million with a large volume of traffic, since it also operates a number of concessions under the broader Sears name (Avis, Jiffy Lube, for examples).

In Long Island, Rich's business operates with far less space than shops elsewhere. Shop space comes with a premium price tag in Long Island. Upon visiting the NACE convention, Rich hobnobbed with men running shops at 50,000 to 60,000 square feet in places such as Ohio and Nebraska. Such a space on Long Island would command upward of $150,000 a month. Most shops there are in the 3,000 to 4,000 square-foot range.

Sears likes the arrangement because Rich feeds the company's bottom line. He estimates that he captures $4,000 to $6,000 a month for Sears — all that for working out of an office 10 feet by 10 feet in size without any overhead. Not to mention, he's seen a 21 percent increase in business in the last year alone.

For body shops considering joining Rich's business model, there's at least one criterion they need to meet. The shop needs to be in a high-traffic area. Not every Sears Auto Center is capable of running a body shop off-site. Rich said he would target just an estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of Sears centers.

"If there's a shop in Cleveland, for example, that knows of a Sears Auto Center that is a busy location, it may be a great fit," he says.

It also helps to have loyal employees. Some body shop employees have worked with Cosmo upwards of 20 years. Many of these employees also have received I-CAR training.

Such a business doesn't require a great deal of initial cost. "You're looking at basic office expenses and signage — probably $15,000 initially," says Rich.

So far his shops can be somewhat selective in the cars they service. The oldest cars to make it through the doors are no more than 12 years old. "Old cars is not the market we're in. Nobody has old cars on Long Island. This is a place where the median income is $125,000 a year," he says.

Rich shares one secret to his success: "Listen to the customer. They're the ones paying the bill."

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