American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 237 April 2019 | Page 16

Bob Althoff Sells A.D. Farrow Co.
to Local Automotive
'Mega Mall' Owner
Bob Althoff has sold a majority
ownership in his three Columbus, Ohio
A.D. Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson
stores to Ricart Automotive - owner of
67 acres of new and used car inventory
with Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia,
Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan
franchises.
Established in 1912, A.D. Farrow is
America's oldest Harley dealership
and has been owned by Althoff for 18
years - it is reported that he will keep
minority ownership "until he's ready
to give the remaining shares to Ricart"
and will stay on as a partner.
The A.D. Farrow name will be retained,
but the stores re-branded as "A.D.
Farrow powered by #1 Ricart."
Ricart and Althoff confirmed that the
two sides had been discussing a deal
for more than a year. "My kids aren't
in the business," Althoff is quoted as
saying "and I can't live forever, but
family can. That's the A.D. Farrow
name, the Ricart name. I could have
brought this to the national market,
but I needed to hand this off to better,
strong hands. They're going to do just
fine."
The deal includes the operating
company consisting of the three stores
and real estate at NorthStar in
Sunbury. The Centennial Park
dealership in Pataskala will be
relocated to a nearly 3-acre site owned
by a Ricart affiliate.
"Harley-Davidson is a brand our family
is passionate about," President Rick
Ricart said in an interview. "This is an
opportunity for us to diversify." This
will be Ricart's first expansion away
from the Ricart Automotive 'Mega
Mall' in Columbus, OH, in 10 years.
"We're beyond thrilled to be growing
Bob Althoff had owned A.D. Farrow,
America's oldest Harley dealership,
for 18 years and will retain a
minority stake and remain as a
partner
the Ricart brand with A.D. Farrow Co.
Harley-Davidson. Harley is one of the
oldest and strongest brands in our
country, and the Ricart family have
been avid Harley-Davidson riders for
years. We're excited to get to know the
A.D. Farrow employees and their
families and to take on the next
chapter of this historic brand."
"I have known and admired the Ricart
organization all my life," said Althoff.
"The family have been Harley riders for
years, and I couldn't imagine better
stewards of this legacy business in the
decades to come. Their passion for
motorcycles and the people who ride
them convinced me that they will
dominate the Harley-Davidson dealer
ranks as they have the Ford ranks."