Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen thinks Cadillac has a problem.
He says the brand has "too many" U.S. dealers, The Detroit News reports. Cadillac has far more dealerships around the country that its foreign competitors in the U.S., which sold more cars than Cadillac.
He's hoping to convince smaller Cadillac dealers to create downsized, standalone "boutique" stores to improve the luxury make's image, the News writes.
Melissa Burden of The News writes:
While he has no plans to reduce their ranks, De Nysschen, who joined Cadillac in the fall, said the brand's dealer organization is the "single biggest deficiency that Cadillac has" when compared to luxury competitors.
GM's luxury brand has 928 dealer franchises in the United States, which is down from 1,422 at the end of 2008 before GM's 2009 bankruptcy. But Cadillac's main luxury rivals in the U.S. — BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus — all have hundreds fewer U.S. dealers and all sold more vehicles than Cadillac last year.
His idea behind the boutique stores — which has not been pitched to dealers yet — is to encourage some to invest in smaller, standalone showrooms featuring maybe two to five cars instead of Cadillac's entire lineup, de Nysschen said last week during an interview with The Detroit News. That would help bolster the brand and dealer profitability, he said.
