SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS
By Chad Simon

Retail Spotlight

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees.

It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Birth of Morris 4x4 Center

With the emergence of the Internet in the early- to mid-’90s, Glenn Morris, the company’s president/CEO, sold a used Jeep part in an online classified ad for the first time. “I decided to give everything I had to the Internet, and if it worked out, great; if not, I’d find something else to do,” Morris said.

It was this revelation that led him to discover the future of marketing and logic of Internet sales. In 1996, Morris purchased his first URL for the company and listed his best-selling items on the website.

“I was never someone who turned wrenches,” Morris admitted. “How I ended up in Jeep parts was a pure act of God. It came from the success I had when I sold my first Jeep part online, and I wanted to duplicate that. Each time I did, the business got bigger and bigger.”

Overcoming Adversity

One of the greatest challenges Morris faced at first was attracting the right talent to work for him. But perhaps his most formidable opponent was himself.

“Sometimes I’m my worst enemy,” he admitted. “I’ve grown uncomfortable borrowing money; I’m cautiously aggressive by nature. If I had some of the recklessness of my youth, I’d be 10 times bigger if I had believed in leveraging myself heavily.”

For an online business, attracting and maintaining customers is all about price and the reputation you build for yourself, and if you fail to consistently deliver on either, you’re just a mouse click away from losing the deal. Along with a comprehensive array of products and information, Morris’ company website, www.morris4x4center.com, offers an inspirational quote from the Bible. Morris admits that professing his faith online and in print might not be the most popular thing to do; however, he credits his relationship with the Lord and running his business based on biblical principles as a main contributor to his constant growth.

When it comes to forging vendor relationships, Morris has been in the industry long enough that his largest suppliers have also become his good friends. He said that his company has benefitted from relationships with key people at companies such as Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge, Crown Automotive and Bestop.

According to Morris, attending the SEMA Show each year has been immensely beneficial in helping him to network with vendors and be a little more aggressive in the marketplace.

“It’s become more and more important for us to be there as we have been every year,” he said. “In the past, we would have to pursue manufacturers who weren’t open to Internet retailers. Many had the impression that we were selling things out of a garage with no inventory. Things have changed drastically since the early years, as everyone now embraces the Internet.”

Surviving the Great Recession

Executive Summary Morris 4x4 Center 1020 S.W. 10th Ave., #5 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-553-5337 www.morris4x4center.com Owner: Glenn Morris 70 employees Specializes in online sales of Jeep parts and accessories. Focused on maintaining 30% average annual sales growth, providing excellent customer service, hiring a talented staff and maintaining vendor relationships. Plans to expand the company’s offerings into the truck market. Operates in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility. Later this year, Morris will move into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility. Future plans for outside fulfillment to better service the West Coast of the United States.

Since 2005, Morris has averaged 30% sales growth year over year. The Great Recession in 2008 devastated the economy and took many businesses with it. However, Morris 4x4 Center survived that year with a 5% rate—his slowest growth year to date, but he fared better than most at the time. As the recession dragged on for several years, Morris 4x4 Center rebounded with 42% growth in 2009.

“We had unbelievable growth through those years because we sold parts and accessories,” Morris said. “In a downturn like that, people stop selling their cars and start fixing them. It was a better mix of product for us; it was actually a blessing. In 2008, I was scared. Everything you read in the media said the sky was falling, from housing to banking. We got cautious and pulled back; we got leaner and meaner, but we grew through it.”

He is now in the process of broadening the company’s offerings outside the Jeep niche because there was a lot of fallout on the truck side during the downturn of 2008. Companies were diversifying into Jeeps, and some were closing. Most of them heard how big Jeeps were, so the market became oversaturated.

Future Plans

Morris is not considering building brick-and-mortar locations around the country.

“When you have activity with back doors and loading docks, you need to be able to watch those doors,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about Internet distribution—you can keep an eye on the facility. You can do $100 million out of the same facility you do $3 million. There are advantages to being spread out. It would behoove me to have stores all throughout the United States, but I just don’t want the headache. It’s a recipe for employee theft and mismanagement. We are, however, doing due diligence to use an outside fulfillment company to offer better service to the West Coast.”

Morris hopes to maintain the 30% growth he has averaged over the years but understands that it becomes harder to achieve that same sales level as the company expands.

“Every vendor we buy from distributes Jeep and truck,” he said. “It’s a natural tendency for us to diversify into truck now. I know that people don’t modify their trucks like they do with Jeeps, but you see tremendous amounts of them going down the highway, so we know we’re going to get some of that business.”

Morris advised young retailers breaking into the industry to never let people tell them that something can’t be done.

“Naysayers’ opinions can be toxic,” he said. “In this day and age with technology, anything is possible, and a company like Amazon proves it. Anything you put your mind to, you can do. Treat your customers how you’d want to be treated. Put them first and don’t try to win the race overnight.”

SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS
By Chad Simon

Retail Spotlight

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees.

It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Birth of Morris 4x4 Center

With the emergence of the Internet in the early- to mid-’90s, Glenn Morris, the company’s president/CEO, sold a used Jeep part in an online classified ad for the first time. “I decided to give everything I had to the Internet, and if it worked out, great; if not, I’d find something else to do,” Morris said.

It was this revelation that led him to discover the future of marketing and logic of Internet sales. In 1996, Morris purchased his first URL for the company and listed his best-selling items on the website.

“I was never someone who turned wrenches,” Morris admitted. “How I ended up in Jeep parts was a pure act of God. It came from the success I had when I sold my first Jeep part online, and I wanted to duplicate that. Each time I did, the business got bigger and bigger.”

Overcoming Adversity

One of the greatest challenges Morris faced at first was attracting the right talent to work for him. But perhaps his most formidable opponent was himself.

“Sometimes I’m my worst enemy,” he admitted. “I’ve grown uncomfortable borrowing money; I’m cautiously aggressive by nature. If I had some of the recklessness of my youth, I’d be 10 times bigger if I had believed in leveraging myself heavily.”

For an online business, attracting and maintaining customers is all about price and the reputation you build for yourself, and if you fail to consistently deliver on either, you’re just a mouse click away from losing the deal. Along with a comprehensive array of products and information, Morris’ company website, www.morris4x4center.com, offers an inspirational quote from the Bible. Morris admits that professing his faith online and in print might not be the most popular thing to do; however, he credits his relationship with the Lord and running his business based on biblical principles as a main contributor to his constant growth.

When it comes to forging vendor relationships, Morris has been in the industry long enough that his largest suppliers have also become his good friends. He said that his company has benefitted from relationships with key people at companies such as Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge, Crown Automotive and Bestop.

According to Morris, attending the SEMA Show each year has been immensely beneficial in helping him to network with vendors and be a little more aggressive in the marketplace.

“It’s become more and more important for us to be there as we have been every year,” he said. “In the past, we would have to pursue manufacturers who weren’t open to Internet retailers. Many had the impression that we were selling things out of a garage with no inventory. Things have changed drastically since the early years, as everyone now embraces the Internet.”

Surviving the Great Recession

Executive Summary Morris 4x4 Center 1020 S.W. 10th Ave., #5 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-553-5337 www.morris4x4center.com Owner: Glenn Morris 70 employees Specializes in online sales of Jeep parts and accessories. Focused on maintaining 30% average annual sales growth, providing excellent customer service, hiring a talented staff and maintaining vendor relationships. Plans to expand the company’s offerings into the truck market. Operates in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility. Later this year, Morris will move into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility. Future plans for outside fulfillment to better service the West Coast of the United States.

Since 2005, Morris has averaged 30% sales growth year over year. The Great Recession in 2008 devastated the economy and took many businesses with it. However, Morris 4x4 Center survived that year with a 5% rate—his slowest growth year to date, but he fared better than most at the time. As the recession dragged on for several years, Morris 4x4 Center rebounded with 42% growth in 2009.

“We had unbelievable growth through those years because we sold parts and accessories,” Morris said. “In a downturn like that, people stop selling their cars and start fixing them. It was a better mix of product for us; it was actually a blessing. In 2008, I was scared. Everything you read in the media said the sky was falling, from housing to banking. We got cautious and pulled back; we got leaner and meaner, but we grew through it.”

He is now in the process of broadening the company’s offerings outside the Jeep niche because there was a lot of fallout on the truck side during the downturn of 2008. Companies were diversifying into Jeeps, and some were closing. Most of them heard how big Jeeps were, so the market became oversaturated.

Future Plans

Morris is not considering building brick-and-mortar locations around the country.

“When you have activity with back doors and loading docks, you need to be able to watch those doors,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about Internet distribution—you can keep an eye on the facility. You can do $100 million out of the same facility you do $3 million. There are advantages to being spread out. It would behoove me to have stores all throughout the United States, but I just don’t want the headache. It’s a recipe for employee theft and mismanagement. We are, however, doing due diligence to use an outside fulfillment company to offer better service to the West Coast.”

Morris hopes to maintain the 30% growth he has averaged over the years but understands that it becomes harder to achieve that same sales level as the company expands.

“Every vendor we buy from distributes Jeep and truck,” he said. “It’s a natural tendency for us to diversify into truck now. I know that people don’t modify their trucks like they do with Jeeps, but you see tremendous amounts of them going down the highway, so we know we’re going to get some of that business.”

Morris advised young retailers breaking into the industry to never let people tell them that something can’t be done.

“Naysayers’ opinions can be toxic,” he said. “In this day and age with technology, anything is possible, and a company like Amazon proves it. Anything you put your mind to, you can do. Treat your customers how you’d want to be treated. Put them first and don’t try to win the race overnight.”

SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS
By Chad Simon

Retail Spotlight

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees.

It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Birth of Morris 4x4 Center

With the emergence of the Internet in the early- to mid-’90s, Glenn Morris, the company’s president/CEO, sold a used Jeep part in an online classified ad for the first time. “I decided to give everything I had to the Internet, and if it worked out, great; if not, I’d find something else to do,” Morris said.

It was this revelation that led him to discover the future of marketing and logic of Internet sales. In 1996, Morris purchased his first URL for the company and listed his best-selling items on the website.

“I was never someone who turned wrenches,” Morris admitted. “How I ended up in Jeep parts was a pure act of God. It came from the success I had when I sold my first Jeep part online, and I wanted to duplicate that. Each time I did, the business got bigger and bigger.”

Overcoming Adversity

One of the greatest challenges Morris faced at first was attracting the right talent to work for him. But perhaps his most formidable opponent was himself.

“Sometimes I’m my worst enemy,” he admitted. “I’ve grown uncomfortable borrowing money; I’m cautiously aggressive by nature. If I had some of the recklessness of my youth, I’d be 10 times bigger if I had believed in leveraging myself heavily.”

For an online business, attracting and maintaining customers is all about price and the reputation you build for yourself, and if you fail to consistently deliver on either, you’re just a mouse click away from losing the deal. Along with a comprehensive array of products and information, Morris’ company website, www.morris4x4center.com, offers an inspirational quote from the Bible. Morris admits that professing his faith online and in print might not be the most popular thing to do; however, he credits his relationship with the Lord and running his business based on biblical principles as a main contributor to his constant growth.

When it comes to forging vendor relationships, Morris has been in the industry long enough that his largest suppliers have also become his good friends. He said that his company has benefitted from relationships with key people at companies such as Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge, Crown Automotive and Bestop.

According to Morris, attending the SEMA Show each year has been immensely beneficial in helping him to network with vendors and be a little more aggressive in the marketplace.

“It’s become more and more important for us to be there as we have been every year,” he said. “In the past, we would have to pursue manufacturers who weren’t open to Internet retailers. Many had the impression that we were selling things out of a garage with no inventory. Things have changed drastically since the early years, as everyone now embraces the Internet.”

Surviving the Great Recession

Executive Summary Morris 4x4 Center 1020 S.W. 10th Ave., #5 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-553-5337 www.morris4x4center.com Owner: Glenn Morris 70 employees Specializes in online sales of Jeep parts and accessories. Focused on maintaining 30% average annual sales growth, providing excellent customer service, hiring a talented staff and maintaining vendor relationships. Plans to expand the company’s offerings into the truck market. Operates in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility. Later this year, Morris will move into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility. Future plans for outside fulfillment to better service the West Coast of the United States.

Since 2005, Morris has averaged 30% sales growth year over year. The Great Recession in 2008 devastated the economy and took many businesses with it. However, Morris 4x4 Center survived that year with a 5% rate—his slowest growth year to date, but he fared better than most at the time. As the recession dragged on for several years, Morris 4x4 Center rebounded with 42% growth in 2009.

“We had unbelievable growth through those years because we sold parts and accessories,” Morris said. “In a downturn like that, people stop selling their cars and start fixing them. It was a better mix of product for us; it was actually a blessing. In 2008, I was scared. Everything you read in the media said the sky was falling, from housing to banking. We got cautious and pulled back; we got leaner and meaner, but we grew through it.”

He is now in the process of broadening the company’s offerings outside the Jeep niche because there was a lot of fallout on the truck side during the downturn of 2008. Companies were diversifying into Jeeps, and some were closing. Most of them heard how big Jeeps were, so the market became oversaturated.

Future Plans

Morris is not considering building brick-and-mortar locations around the country.

“When you have activity with back doors and loading docks, you need to be able to watch those doors,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about Internet distribution—you can keep an eye on the facility. You can do $100 million out of the same facility you do $3 million. There are advantages to being spread out. It would behoove me to have stores all throughout the United States, but I just don’t want the headache. It’s a recipe for employee theft and mismanagement. We are, however, doing due diligence to use an outside fulfillment company to offer better service to the West Coast.”

Morris hopes to maintain the 30% growth he has averaged over the years but understands that it becomes harder to achieve that same sales level as the company expands.

“Every vendor we buy from distributes Jeep and truck,” he said. “It’s a natural tendency for us to diversify into truck now. I know that people don’t modify their trucks like they do with Jeeps, but you see tremendous amounts of them going down the highway, so we know we’re going to get some of that business.”

Morris advised young retailers breaking into the industry to never let people tell them that something can’t be done.

“Naysayers’ opinions can be toxic,” he said. “In this day and age with technology, anything is possible, and a company like Amazon proves it. Anything you put your mind to, you can do. Treat your customers how you’d want to be treated. Put them first and don’t try to win the race overnight.”

SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS
By Chad Simon

Retail Spotlight

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees.

It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Birth of Morris 4x4 Center

With the emergence of the Internet in the early- to mid-’90s, Glenn Morris, the company’s president/CEO, sold a used Jeep part in an online classified ad for the first time. “I decided to give everything I had to the Internet, and if it worked out, great; if not, I’d find something else to do,” Morris said.

It was this revelation that led him to discover the future of marketing and logic of Internet sales. In 1996, Morris purchased his first URL for the company and listed his best-selling items on the website.

“I was never someone who turned wrenches,” Morris admitted. “How I ended up in Jeep parts was a pure act of God. It came from the success I had when I sold my first Jeep part online, and I wanted to duplicate that. Each time I did, the business got bigger and bigger.”

Overcoming Adversity

One of the greatest challenges Morris faced at first was attracting the right talent to work for him. But perhaps his most formidable opponent was himself.

“Sometimes I’m my worst enemy,” he admitted. “I’ve grown uncomfortable borrowing money; I’m cautiously aggressive by nature. If I had some of the recklessness of my youth, I’d be 10 times bigger if I had believed in leveraging myself heavily.”

For an online business, attracting and maintaining customers is all about price and the reputation you build for yourself, and if you fail to consistently deliver on either, you’re just a mouse click away from losing the deal. Along with a comprehensive array of products and information, Morris’ company website, www.morris4x4center.com, offers an inspirational quote from the Bible. Morris admits that professing his faith online and in print might not be the most popular thing to do; however, he credits his relationship with the Lord and running his business based on biblical principles as a main contributor to his constant growth.

When it comes to forging vendor relationships, Morris has been in the industry long enough that his largest suppliers have also become his good friends. He said that his company has benefitted from relationships with key people at companies such as Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge, Crown Automotive and Bestop.

According to Morris, attending the SEMA Show each year has been immensely beneficial in helping him to network with vendors and be a little more aggressive in the marketplace.

“It’s become more and more important for us to be there as we have been every year,” he said. “In the past, we would have to pursue manufacturers who weren’t open to Internet retailers. Many had the impression that we were selling things out of a garage with no inventory. Things have changed drastically since the early years, as everyone now embraces the Internet.”

Surviving the Great Recession

Executive Summary Morris 4x4 Center 1020 S.W. 10th Ave., #5 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-553-5337 www.morris4x4center.com Owner: Glenn Morris 70 employees Specializes in online sales of Jeep parts and accessories. Focused on maintaining 30% average annual sales growth, providing excellent customer service, hiring a talented staff and maintaining vendor relationships. Plans to expand the company’s offerings into the truck market. Operates in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility. Later this year, Morris will move into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility. Future plans for outside fulfillment to better service the West Coast of the United States.

Since 2005, Morris has averaged 30% sales growth year over year. The Great Recession in 2008 devastated the economy and took many businesses with it. However, Morris 4x4 Center survived that year with a 5% rate—his slowest growth year to date, but he fared better than most at the time. As the recession dragged on for several years, Morris 4x4 Center rebounded with 42% growth in 2009.

“We had unbelievable growth through those years because we sold parts and accessories,” Morris said. “In a downturn like that, people stop selling their cars and start fixing them. It was a better mix of product for us; it was actually a blessing. In 2008, I was scared. Everything you read in the media said the sky was falling, from housing to banking. We got cautious and pulled back; we got leaner and meaner, but we grew through it.”

He is now in the process of broadening the company’s offerings outside the Jeep niche because there was a lot of fallout on the truck side during the downturn of 2008. Companies were diversifying into Jeeps, and some were closing. Most of them heard how big Jeeps were, so the market became oversaturated.

Future Plans

Morris is not considering building brick-and-mortar locations around the country.

“When you have activity with back doors and loading docks, you need to be able to watch those doors,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about Internet distribution—you can keep an eye on the facility. You can do $100 million out of the same facility you do $3 million. There are advantages to being spread out. It would behoove me to have stores all throughout the United States, but I just don’t want the headache. It’s a recipe for employee theft and mismanagement. We are, however, doing due diligence to use an outside fulfillment company to offer better service to the West Coast.”

Morris hopes to maintain the 30% growth he has averaged over the years but understands that it becomes harder to achieve that same sales level as the company expands.

“Every vendor we buy from distributes Jeep and truck,” he said. “It’s a natural tendency for us to diversify into truck now. I know that people don’t modify their trucks like they do with Jeeps, but you see tremendous amounts of them going down the highway, so we know we’re going to get some of that business.”

Morris advised young retailers breaking into the industry to never let people tell them that something can’t be done.

“Naysayers’ opinions can be toxic,” he said. “In this day and age with technology, anything is possible, and a company like Amazon proves it. Anything you put your mind to, you can do. Treat your customers how you’d want to be treated. Put them first and don’t try to win the race overnight.”

SEMA News—July 2014

BUSINESS
By Chad Simon

Retail Spotlight

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees.

It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Birth of Morris 4x4 Center

With the emergence of the Internet in the early- to mid-’90s, Glenn Morris, the company’s president/CEO, sold a used Jeep part in an online classified ad for the first time. “I decided to give everything I had to the Internet, and if it worked out, great; if not, I’d find something else to do,” Morris said.

It was this revelation that led him to discover the future of marketing and logic of Internet sales. In 1996, Morris purchased his first URL for the company and listed his best-selling items on the website.

“I was never someone who turned wrenches,” Morris admitted. “How I ended up in Jeep parts was a pure act of God. It came from the success I had when I sold my first Jeep part online, and I wanted to duplicate that. Each time I did, the business got bigger and bigger.”

Overcoming Adversity

One of the greatest challenges Morris faced at first was attracting the right talent to work for him. But perhaps his most formidable opponent was himself.

“Sometimes I’m my worst enemy,” he admitted. “I’ve grown uncomfortable borrowing money; I’m cautiously aggressive by nature. If I had some of the recklessness of my youth, I’d be 10 times bigger if I had believed in leveraging myself heavily.”

For an online business, attracting and maintaining customers is all about price and the reputation you build for yourself, and if you fail to consistently deliver on either, you’re just a mouse click away from losing the deal. Along with a comprehensive array of products and information, Morris’ company website, www.morris4x4center.com, offers an inspirational quote from the Bible. Morris admits that professing his faith online and in print might not be the most popular thing to do; however, he credits his relationship with the Lord and running his business based on biblical principles as a main contributor to his constant growth.

When it comes to forging vendor relationships, Morris has been in the industry long enough that his largest suppliers have also become his good friends. He said that his company has benefitted from relationships with key people at companies such as Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge, Crown Automotive and Bestop.

According to Morris, attending the SEMA Show each year has been immensely beneficial in helping him to network with vendors and be a little more aggressive in the marketplace.

“It’s become more and more important for us to be there as we have been every year,” he said. “In the past, we would have to pursue manufacturers who weren’t open to Internet retailers. Many had the impression that we were selling things out of a garage with no inventory. Things have changed drastically since the early years, as everyone now embraces the Internet.”

Surviving the Great Recession

Executive Summary Morris 4x4 Center 1020 S.W. 10th Ave., #5 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-553-5337 www.morris4x4center.com Owner: Glenn Morris 70 employees Specializes in online sales of Jeep parts and accessories. Focused on maintaining 30% average annual sales growth, providing excellent customer service, hiring a talented staff and maintaining vendor relationships. Plans to expand the company’s offerings into the truck market. Operates in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility. Later this year, Morris will move into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility. Future plans for outside fulfillment to better service the West Coast of the United States.

Since 2005, Morris has averaged 30% sales growth year over year. The Great Recession in 2008 devastated the economy and took many businesses with it. However, Morris 4x4 Center survived that year with a 5% rate—his slowest growth year to date, but he fared better than most at the time. As the recession dragged on for several years, Morris 4x4 Center rebounded with 42% growth in 2009.

“We had unbelievable growth through those years because we sold parts and accessories,” Morris said. “In a downturn like that, people stop selling their cars and start fixing them. It was a better mix of product for us; it was actually a blessing. In 2008, I was scared. Everything you read in the media said the sky was falling, from housing to banking. We got cautious and pulled back; we got leaner and meaner, but we grew through it.”

He is now in the process of broadening the company’s offerings outside the Jeep niche because there was a lot of fallout on the truck side during the downturn of 2008. Companies were diversifying into Jeeps, and some were closing. Most of them heard how big Jeeps were, so the market became oversaturated.

Future Plans

Morris is not considering building brick-and-mortar locations around the country.

“When you have activity with back doors and loading docks, you need to be able to watch those doors,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about Internet distribution—you can keep an eye on the facility. You can do $100 million out of the same facility you do $3 million. There are advantages to being spread out. It would behoove me to have stores all throughout the United States, but I just don’t want the headache. It’s a recipe for employee theft and mismanagement. We are, however, doing due diligence to use an outside fulfillment company to offer better service to the West Coast.”

Morris hopes to maintain the 30% growth he has averaged over the years but understands that it becomes harder to achieve that same sales level as the company expands.

“Every vendor we buy from distributes Jeep and truck,” he said. “It’s a natural tendency for us to diversify into truck now. I know that people don’t modify their trucks like they do with Jeeps, but you see tremendous amounts of them going down the highway, so we know we’re going to get some of that business.”

Morris advised young retailers breaking into the industry to never let people tell them that something can’t be done.

“Naysayers’ opinions can be toxic,” he said. “In this day and age with technology, anything is possible, and a company like Amazon proves it. Anything you put your mind to, you can do. Treat your customers how you’d want to be treated. Put them first and don’t try to win the race overnight.”

SEMA News—July 2014

HERITAGE

By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archives

The Great California Street Rod Civil War

At the 1973 Street Rod Nationals (or so the story goes), rod builders Andy Brizio and Lil’ John Buttera got into a, shall we say, friendly discussion about which end of the Golden State produced the best street rods. Southern Californian Buttera ribbed Brizio, who was from South San Francisco, about how the Bay Area cars were “average” mechanically but were topped by outstanding paint jobs to make them seem more special. Brizio, in turn, said L.A. turned out trick show cars that couldn’t be driven very far. One thing led to another and (so the story goes) the discussion devolved into a “my new car will be better than your new car” challenge.

Whether this exchange really happened, we don’t know. What we do know is that Hot Rod Editor Terry Cook used it—fictitious or not—to set the stage for a four-part tech series called the Great California Street Rod Civil War. The idea was to pit Brizio against Buttera to see who could build the better car, and showcase the build steps and finished products for the magazine’s readers.

Their approaches couldn’t have been more different. Buttera chose to build a ’27 Model T Tudor, using a real steel T body he bought in Arizona for $600. He fabricated a tubular space frame, built an independent front suspension from scratch and adapted Jaguar independent rearend components for the rear suspension. “John wants his new T to ride like his Cadillac when it goes down the road,” wrote Cook.

Brizio, on the other hand, built a fiberglass ’32 Ford roadster, using as his inspiration a concept illustration called the “Street Roadster of the Future” that had appeared in Hot Rod a couple years before. Not just any fiberglass ’32 would do; Brizio commissioned Steve Archer to splash a brand-new replica using “a cherry Deuce roadster body” that Andy’s son Roy had been working on, said Cook.

Early on, it looked like Buttera would easily finish first. The initial two articles in the series showed photos of the Tudor only; no Brizio roadster in sight. Writing in the second installment, Jim McCraw said, “Andy Brizio is gathering the pieces together for his highboy Deuce, assigning tasks to his staff of craftsmen, and getting ready to explode into action to produce yet another complete car in about five weeks’ time start to finish, the traditional way things are done at Andy’s Instant T. Meanwhile, back in Cerritos, Buttera and his troops have a considerable head start over Brizio.”

And then, things changed. Two issues went by without an update on the Civil War. When it did appear, part 3 was all Brizio, with a note that “Lil’ John started off well but pooped out in the backstretch.” This installment showed off Archer’s fiberglass body pieces, the car’s tubular frame and its power source: chromed twin Mazda RX-2 rotary engines.

The Civil War’s conclusion appeared in the June 1974 issue of the magazine. On its cover was a see-through view of Brizio’s Twin Mazda Instant Deuce, and inside was a photo of some of Brizio’s crew, sitting in the yellow roadster, ribbing Buttera for his still unfinished T.

This photo of Brizio’s roadster is an outtake that was not published in the magazine. It was shot by Hot Rod Photo Editor Mike Brenner at Buttera’s shop in Cerritos. As Roy Brizio remembers it, “These were your typical last-minute deadline photos for the article. They were not staged. My dad had to bring the car to L.A. for the shoot. They then took the car back to San Francisco and finished it, and brought it back to L.A. for the final photos.”

Gripping the firewall to lift off the body are Andy Brizio, with his back to the camera on the driver side, and Buttera, facing the camera on the passenger side. Terry Cook is in the dark shirt at the back of the car.

Andy Brizio recently talked to Dave Wallace at Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about the Civil War and the yellow roadster.

“We finished first, and my yellow car made the cover, but I had to truck it to L.A. for the photoshoot,” he said. “We never did get that roadster running right with the dual Mazda rotaries—a real nightmare. I replaced them right away with a small-block Chevy. That car turned up at our Sutter Creek picnic two years ago, looking pretty much the same.”

SEMA News—July 2014

HERITAGE

By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archives

The Great California Street Rod Civil War

At the 1973 Street Rod Nationals (or so the story goes), rod builders Andy Brizio and Lil’ John Buttera got into a, shall we say, friendly discussion about which end of the Golden State produced the best street rods. Southern Californian Buttera ribbed Brizio, who was from South San Francisco, about how the Bay Area cars were “average” mechanically but were topped by outstanding paint jobs to make them seem more special. Brizio, in turn, said L.A. turned out trick show cars that couldn’t be driven very far. One thing led to another and (so the story goes) the discussion devolved into a “my new car will be better than your new car” challenge.

Whether this exchange really happened, we don’t know. What we do know is that Hot Rod Editor Terry Cook used it—fictitious or not—to set the stage for a four-part tech series called the Great California Street Rod Civil War. The idea was to pit Brizio against Buttera to see who could build the better car, and showcase the build steps and finished products for the magazine’s readers.

Their approaches couldn’t have been more different. Buttera chose to build a ’27 Model T Tudor, using a real steel T body he bought in Arizona for $600. He fabricated a tubular space frame, built an independent front suspension from scratch and adapted Jaguar independent rearend components for the rear suspension. “John wants his new T to ride like his Cadillac when it goes down the road,” wrote Cook.

Brizio, on the other hand, built a fiberglass ’32 Ford roadster, using as his inspiration a concept illustration called the “Street Roadster of the Future” that had appeared in Hot Rod a couple years before. Not just any fiberglass ’32 would do; Brizio commissioned Steve Archer to splash a brand-new replica using “a cherry Deuce roadster body” that Andy’s son Roy had been working on, said Cook.

Early on, it looked like Buttera would easily finish first. The initial two articles in the series showed photos of the Tudor only; no Brizio roadster in sight. Writing in the second installment, Jim McCraw said, “Andy Brizio is gathering the pieces together for his highboy Deuce, assigning tasks to his staff of craftsmen, and getting ready to explode into action to produce yet another complete car in about five weeks’ time start to finish, the traditional way things are done at Andy’s Instant T. Meanwhile, back in Cerritos, Buttera and his troops have a considerable head start over Brizio.”

And then, things changed. Two issues went by without an update on the Civil War. When it did appear, part 3 was all Brizio, with a note that “Lil’ John started off well but pooped out in the backstretch.” This installment showed off Archer’s fiberglass body pieces, the car’s tubular frame and its power source: chromed twin Mazda RX-2 rotary engines.

The Civil War’s conclusion appeared in the June 1974 issue of the magazine. On its cover was a see-through view of Brizio’s Twin Mazda Instant Deuce, and inside was a photo of some of Brizio’s crew, sitting in the yellow roadster, ribbing Buttera for his still unfinished T.

This photo of Brizio’s roadster is an outtake that was not published in the magazine. It was shot by Hot Rod Photo Editor Mike Brenner at Buttera’s shop in Cerritos. As Roy Brizio remembers it, “These were your typical last-minute deadline photos for the article. They were not staged. My dad had to bring the car to L.A. for the shoot. They then took the car back to San Francisco and finished it, and brought it back to L.A. for the final photos.”

Gripping the firewall to lift off the body are Andy Brizio, with his back to the camera on the driver side, and Buttera, facing the camera on the passenger side. Terry Cook is in the dark shirt at the back of the car.

Andy Brizio recently talked to Dave Wallace at Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about the Civil War and the yellow roadster.

“We finished first, and my yellow car made the cover, but I had to truck it to L.A. for the photoshoot,” he said. “We never did get that roadster running right with the dual Mazda rotaries—a real nightmare. I replaced them right away with a small-block Chevy. That car turned up at our Sutter Creek picnic two years ago, looking pretty much the same.”

SEMA News—July 2014

HERITAGE

By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archives

The Great California Street Rod Civil War

At the 1973 Street Rod Nationals (or so the story goes), rod builders Andy Brizio and Lil’ John Buttera got into a, shall we say, friendly discussion about which end of the Golden State produced the best street rods. Southern Californian Buttera ribbed Brizio, who was from South San Francisco, about how the Bay Area cars were “average” mechanically but were topped by outstanding paint jobs to make them seem more special. Brizio, in turn, said L.A. turned out trick show cars that couldn’t be driven very far. One thing led to another and (so the story goes) the discussion devolved into a “my new car will be better than your new car” challenge.

Whether this exchange really happened, we don’t know. What we do know is that Hot Rod Editor Terry Cook used it—fictitious or not—to set the stage for a four-part tech series called the Great California Street Rod Civil War. The idea was to pit Brizio against Buttera to see who could build the better car, and showcase the build steps and finished products for the magazine’s readers.

Their approaches couldn’t have been more different. Buttera chose to build a ’27 Model T Tudor, using a real steel T body he bought in Arizona for $600. He fabricated a tubular space frame, built an independent front suspension from scratch and adapted Jaguar independent rearend components for the rear suspension. “John wants his new T to ride like his Cadillac when it goes down the road,” wrote Cook.

Brizio, on the other hand, built a fiberglass ’32 Ford roadster, using as his inspiration a concept illustration called the “Street Roadster of the Future” that had appeared in Hot Rod a couple years before. Not just any fiberglass ’32 would do; Brizio commissioned Steve Archer to splash a brand-new replica using “a cherry Deuce roadster body” that Andy’s son Roy had been working on, said Cook.

Early on, it looked like Buttera would easily finish first. The initial two articles in the series showed photos of the Tudor only; no Brizio roadster in sight. Writing in the second installment, Jim McCraw said, “Andy Brizio is gathering the pieces together for his highboy Deuce, assigning tasks to his staff of craftsmen, and getting ready to explode into action to produce yet another complete car in about five weeks’ time start to finish, the traditional way things are done at Andy’s Instant T. Meanwhile, back in Cerritos, Buttera and his troops have a considerable head start over Brizio.”

And then, things changed. Two issues went by without an update on the Civil War. When it did appear, part 3 was all Brizio, with a note that “Lil’ John started off well but pooped out in the backstretch.” This installment showed off Archer’s fiberglass body pieces, the car’s tubular frame and its power source: chromed twin Mazda RX-2 rotary engines.

The Civil War’s conclusion appeared in the June 1974 issue of the magazine. On its cover was a see-through view of Brizio’s Twin Mazda Instant Deuce, and inside was a photo of some of Brizio’s crew, sitting in the yellow roadster, ribbing Buttera for his still unfinished T.

This photo of Brizio’s roadster is an outtake that was not published in the magazine. It was shot by Hot Rod Photo Editor Mike Brenner at Buttera’s shop in Cerritos. As Roy Brizio remembers it, “These were your typical last-minute deadline photos for the article. They were not staged. My dad had to bring the car to L.A. for the shoot. They then took the car back to San Francisco and finished it, and brought it back to L.A. for the final photos.”

Gripping the firewall to lift off the body are Andy Brizio, with his back to the camera on the driver side, and Buttera, facing the camera on the passenger side. Terry Cook is in the dark shirt at the back of the car.

Andy Brizio recently talked to Dave Wallace at Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about the Civil War and the yellow roadster.

“We finished first, and my yellow car made the cover, but I had to truck it to L.A. for the photoshoot,” he said. “We never did get that roadster running right with the dual Mazda rotaries—a real nightmare. I replaced them right away with a small-block Chevy. That car turned up at our Sutter Creek picnic two years ago, looking pretty much the same.”

SEMA News—July 2014

HERITAGE

By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archives

The Great California Street Rod Civil War

At the 1973 Street Rod Nationals (or so the story goes), rod builders Andy Brizio and Lil’ John Buttera got into a, shall we say, friendly discussion about which end of the Golden State produced the best street rods. Southern Californian Buttera ribbed Brizio, who was from South San Francisco, about how the Bay Area cars were “average” mechanically but were topped by outstanding paint jobs to make them seem more special. Brizio, in turn, said L.A. turned out trick show cars that couldn’t be driven very far. One thing led to another and (so the story goes) the discussion devolved into a “my new car will be better than your new car” challenge.

Whether this exchange really happened, we don’t know. What we do know is that Hot Rod Editor Terry Cook used it—fictitious or not—to set the stage for a four-part tech series called the Great California Street Rod Civil War. The idea was to pit Brizio against Buttera to see who could build the better car, and showcase the build steps and finished products for the magazine’s readers.

Their approaches couldn’t have been more different. Buttera chose to build a ’27 Model T Tudor, using a real steel T body he bought in Arizona for $600. He fabricated a tubular space frame, built an independent front suspension from scratch and adapted Jaguar independent rearend components for the rear suspension. “John wants his new T to ride like his Cadillac when it goes down the road,” wrote Cook.

Brizio, on the other hand, built a fiberglass ’32 Ford roadster, using as his inspiration a concept illustration called the “Street Roadster of the Future” that had appeared in Hot Rod a couple years before. Not just any fiberglass ’32 would do; Brizio commissioned Steve Archer to splash a brand-new replica using “a cherry Deuce roadster body” that Andy’s son Roy had been working on, said Cook.

Early on, it looked like Buttera would easily finish first. The initial two articles in the series showed photos of the Tudor only; no Brizio roadster in sight. Writing in the second installment, Jim McCraw said, “Andy Brizio is gathering the pieces together for his highboy Deuce, assigning tasks to his staff of craftsmen, and getting ready to explode into action to produce yet another complete car in about five weeks’ time start to finish, the traditional way things are done at Andy’s Instant T. Meanwhile, back in Cerritos, Buttera and his troops have a considerable head start over Brizio.”

And then, things changed. Two issues went by without an update on the Civil War. When it did appear, part 3 was all Brizio, with a note that “Lil’ John started off well but pooped out in the backstretch.” This installment showed off Archer’s fiberglass body pieces, the car’s tubular frame and its power source: chromed twin Mazda RX-2 rotary engines.

The Civil War’s conclusion appeared in the June 1974 issue of the magazine. On its cover was a see-through view of Brizio’s Twin Mazda Instant Deuce, and inside was a photo of some of Brizio’s crew, sitting in the yellow roadster, ribbing Buttera for his still unfinished T.

This photo of Brizio’s roadster is an outtake that was not published in the magazine. It was shot by Hot Rod Photo Editor Mike Brenner at Buttera’s shop in Cerritos. As Roy Brizio remembers it, “These were your typical last-minute deadline photos for the article. They were not staged. My dad had to bring the car to L.A. for the shoot. They then took the car back to San Francisco and finished it, and brought it back to L.A. for the final photos.”

Gripping the firewall to lift off the body are Andy Brizio, with his back to the camera on the driver side, and Buttera, facing the camera on the passenger side. Terry Cook is in the dark shirt at the back of the car.

Andy Brizio recently talked to Dave Wallace at Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about the Civil War and the yellow roadster.

“We finished first, and my yellow car made the cover, but I had to truck it to L.A. for the photoshoot,” he said. “We never did get that roadster running right with the dual Mazda rotaries—a real nightmare. I replaced them right away with a small-block Chevy. That car turned up at our Sutter Creek picnic two years ago, looking pretty much the same.”

SEMA News—July 2014

HERITAGE

By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy Petersen Archives

The Great California Street Rod Civil War

At the 1973 Street Rod Nationals (or so the story goes), rod builders Andy Brizio and Lil’ John Buttera got into a, shall we say, friendly discussion about which end of the Golden State produced the best street rods. Southern Californian Buttera ribbed Brizio, who was from South San Francisco, about how the Bay Area cars were “average” mechanically but were topped by outstanding paint jobs to make them seem more special. Brizio, in turn, said L.A. turned out trick show cars that couldn’t be driven very far. One thing led to another and (so the story goes) the discussion devolved into a “my new car will be better than your new car” challenge.

Whether this exchange really happened, we don’t know. What we do know is that Hot Rod Editor Terry Cook used it—fictitious or not—to set the stage for a four-part tech series called the Great California Street Rod Civil War. The idea was to pit Brizio against Buttera to see who could build the better car, and showcase the build steps and finished products for the magazine’s readers.

Their approaches couldn’t have been more different. Buttera chose to build a ’27 Model T Tudor, using a real steel T body he bought in Arizona for $600. He fabricated a tubular space frame, built an independent front suspension from scratch and adapted Jaguar independent rearend components for the rear suspension. “John wants his new T to ride like his Cadillac when it goes down the road,” wrote Cook.

Brizio, on the other hand, built a fiberglass ’32 Ford roadster, using as his inspiration a concept illustration called the “Street Roadster of the Future” that had appeared in Hot Rod a couple years before. Not just any fiberglass ’32 would do; Brizio commissioned Steve Archer to splash a brand-new replica using “a cherry Deuce roadster body” that Andy’s son Roy had been working on, said Cook.

Early on, it looked like Buttera would easily finish first. The initial two articles in the series showed photos of the Tudor only; no Brizio roadster in sight. Writing in the second installment, Jim McCraw said, “Andy Brizio is gathering the pieces together for his highboy Deuce, assigning tasks to his staff of craftsmen, and getting ready to explode into action to produce yet another complete car in about five weeks’ time start to finish, the traditional way things are done at Andy’s Instant T. Meanwhile, back in Cerritos, Buttera and his troops have a considerable head start over Brizio.”

And then, things changed. Two issues went by without an update on the Civil War. When it did appear, part 3 was all Brizio, with a note that “Lil’ John started off well but pooped out in the backstretch.” This installment showed off Archer’s fiberglass body pieces, the car’s tubular frame and its power source: chromed twin Mazda RX-2 rotary engines.

The Civil War’s conclusion appeared in the June 1974 issue of the magazine. On its cover was a see-through view of Brizio’s Twin Mazda Instant Deuce, and inside was a photo of some of Brizio’s crew, sitting in the yellow roadster, ribbing Buttera for his still unfinished T.

This photo of Brizio’s roadster is an outtake that was not published in the magazine. It was shot by Hot Rod Photo Editor Mike Brenner at Buttera’s shop in Cerritos. As Roy Brizio remembers it, “These were your typical last-minute deadline photos for the article. They were not staged. My dad had to bring the car to L.A. for the shoot. They then took the car back to San Francisco and finished it, and brought it back to L.A. for the final photos.”

Gripping the firewall to lift off the body are Andy Brizio, with his back to the camera on the driver side, and Buttera, facing the camera on the passenger side. Terry Cook is in the dark shirt at the back of the car.

Andy Brizio recently talked to Dave Wallace at Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about the Civil War and the yellow roadster.

“We finished first, and my yellow car made the cover, but I had to truck it to L.A. for the photoshoot,” he said. “We never did get that roadster running right with the dual Mazda rotaries—a real nightmare. I replaced them right away with a small-block Chevy. That car turned up at our Sutter Creek picnic two years ago, looking pretty much the same.”