All in the family: the Corleys turn small-town savvy into big business

Black Enterprise, June, 2008 by Nicole Marie Richardson

GRANTS, NEW MEXICO, IS THE KIND of place that reminds you of a town in an old western movie, a place where there is more tumbleweed crossing the street than cars. It was in this town that Eddie B. Corley Sr. and his wife, Gladys Mae, raised their eight children in a modest home on a dusty, dead-end road.

In those early days, the uranium mines fed Corley's grocery store, clothing store, gas stations, and restaurant with plenty of customers. But when the mines shut down in the early 1980s, Corley kept food on the table by pumping gas, washing windows, checking under hoods at his service station, and working at the local post office. "It was hard. And my wife always stood by me even though we struggled sometimes," recalls a teary-eyed Corley, now 74.

Then fate stepped in the day John Herbert, a minority dealer-manager for Ford, periled into Corley's station for gas and inquired about the abandoned Ford dealership lot across the street. Not knowing who he was talking to, Corley told him that it went out of business because it was mismanaged. "Why don't you take it and open it," Herbert suggested. Corley answered that he would, but he didn't have the money.

"So when he left, he gave me his card. It said, 'Dealer Placement Manager, Ford Motor Company,'" Corley recalls in mock shock. "We put together a deal, and I opened up the Ford dealership in 1982. I believe it was the good Lord that opened the door for me,"

Over the next 26 years, Corley would turn one Ford dealership into eight dealerships across six manufacturing brands, including Hyundai, Nissan, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Lincoln, and Dodge--and they are all managed by his children or other family members. Named the Corley Automotive Group, the dealerships together earned $107 million in sales for 2007--a 16% increase over the previous year. Because of that impressive growth, combined with a steadfast commitment to customer service and a strong work ethic, BLACK ENTERPRISE has named Corley Automotive Group its 2008 Auto Dealer of the Year.

FAMILY RECIPE FOR GROWTH

To get started, Ford invested 80% of about $400,000 needed for Corley to purchase his first dealership. Corley put in the other 20%. Within five years, Corley had repaid his debt to Ford, and his dealership was generating between $12 million and $17 million annually. Corley admits that he had no sales experience, but he did have business experience. "I followed the dealership guidelines to the letter, keeping expenses tight and overhead low. We started out with about five cars on the lot, but soon we were able to sell up to 35 used and 30 new cars. It went a long way to helping us pay off the dealership."

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In 1994, Corley was approached by Dodge to open a dealership about 60 miles away in Gallup, New Mexico, which he purchased. His son Kaul, 45, became the general manager for the new site. They proceeded to open a Chrysler store in 1995 in Grants, now managed by daughter Faye Geter, 49; a Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, and Volvo dealership in Albuquerque in 1995, managed by son Eddie Jr., 46; a Nissan franchise in Gallup in 1999, now managed by daughter Debora Money, 50; and they added a Chevrolet in Grants in 2006, managed by daughter Carolyn Mazone, 47. In 2007, the Corleys added a Hyundai store in Gallup, run by daughter Ruthie Stephens, 52, and another Ford dealership in Espanola, managed by a cousin, Hartford "Trey" Hudson.

Jim Myers, a retired branch manager with the Ford Motor Co. Dealer Development department, which conducted the program instrumental in working out the deal for Corley's first dealership, says he had faith in Corley's ability to be successful after their first meeting. "He learned the car business pretty quick," Myers says. "But another advantage for him was that he was very well-known in town and well thought of. You can't go to a restaurant in Grants with Corley without people coming up to the table to offer their greetings. Ed really knows his market."

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According to Charles Henson, president of the New Mexico Auto Dealer Association, these are very trying times in New Mexico for auto dealers. "Whether you're selling domestics or imports, it's difficult. The industry is under a lot of pressure with gas prices and pressure with lenders. Many of the rural areas are populated with low-income people who require loans to buy cars. So the lender crackdown is going to create challenges that will take all of the Corleys' creativity to overcome."

The Corleys are no strangers to challenge. They are skilled adapters, and once faced an enormous hurdle that could have easily thwarted their growth and their faith.

TRYING TIMES

Sometime between 1999 and 2000, things began to fall apart, especially at their Ford location. Corley admits that the company was probably growing too fast and that he didn't have the people in place at the time to watch cash flow, manage the service departments, and keep car turnover high on the lots. The company was also using its cash assets instead of loans to fund its growth. Profits dropped 50%, and the Corleys struggled to manage their dealerships--which numbered five back then. The company decided to hire an outside consultant to manage the finances, organize the company's records, and generally help with the accounting.