Bob Southard has spent the majority of his life entrenched in the automotive industry, working primarily as a distributor. A self-professed “Jeep guy” and lover of just about anything with a seven-slot grille, Southard was determined to open a shop capable of providing Arizona customers with excellent service, whether their vehicles were Jeeps or otherwise. Southard specializes in marketing and online work, and he eventually found the missing puzzle pieces he needed to open his business: a master tuner and an installer, both crucial pieces to the shop he always envisioned.
Forbidden Diesel—an online-only retail shop located in Dothan, Alabama, has been serving the diesel and performance markets since 2015.
Pur Performance’s unique story of growth and prosperity was accompanied with the many highs and lows associated with owning and operating a retail facility.
Butch Dean has been an off-road racer since the early ‘60s, spending a large majority of his life out in the dirt under the Las Vegas sun.
Cap World is a SEMA-member company specializing in truck caps, truck trailers and other truck accessories—or, as the company’s website proclaims, “everything but the truck.” Alongside a recent 30-year anniversary milestone came recognition from the Light Truck Accessory Alliance (LTAA), as Cap World was named Retailer of the Year for 2015. Each of those accomplishments explains how Cap World has stood out as a retail success story.
Derek Dobson, owner and managing partner of Dale’s Super Store, discusses his early days selling parts at swap meets, and the business philosophy that led to his current 2,200-sq.-ft. operation in Bradenton, Florida.
Before opening a brick-and-mortar retail location in 2014, Derek Dobson, owner and managing partner of Dale’s Super Store, traveled to swap meets up and down the East Coast and into the Midwest to sell aftermarket performance truck parts and accessories. Now operating out of a 2,200-sq.-ft. facility in Bradenton, Florida, Dobson has four fulltime employees, including himself, and one part-time employee, and he is in the process of expanding into a new 7,000-sq.-ft. building in Bradenton.
Ken Steele’s Solar Shade Truck & Car Paradise remains steadfastly brick-and-mortar in a day when online retailers are increasingly pressuring such business models.
SEMA News recently spoke with Nicky Fowler, vice president of fixed operations for Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center, about the parts store and the the company’s business philosophy.
Located in Covina, California, Bert’s Mega Mall has a celebrated reputation as the nation’s largest powersports super store. Originally a bicycle retailer, it was bought in 1958 by Ed Seidner, who kept the Bert’s name because he couldn’t afford to change the signage and business cards at the time. Soon Seidner was adding motorcycles to his inventory, becoming one of California’s first Yamaha franchises.