According to Auto News, when AutoNation put Eubanks in charge of a Ford dealership in Houston 4 years ago, only one salesperson spoke Spanish. This was in a city where Hispanics were the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group, accounting for 44 percent of its 2 million residents in the 2010 Census.
According to Eubanks, the store wasn’t catering to Hispanic customers…and actually weren’t prepared. So, she changed things and immediately, the move produced results. Auto News says today, about three quarters of the employees at the AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway are bilingual or speak only Spanish. More than half of the 130-member staff is Hispanic, and nearly all of the store’s managers speak Spanish.
Because of those changes, sales have more than doubled, while profits quadrupled. Business is so good, the dealership was ranked around 170th among Ford retailers (in terms of sales) when Eubanks became GM in 2012…last year, it was ranked 20th. It was the also the sixth most-profitable Ford dealership in the country.
