good fit with them being on the coast , their service history , and the fact that they sell a lot of marine parts as well as trailer parts . The acquisition puts us on both coasts , and I think it ’ s good for customers . We have not rebranded them yet , but by October 1st , they will be fully operational under the AT brand .”
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With another location in Cocoa in the works , they will be expanding to Brevard County within the year . Next , the company has set its sights on locations in North and Central Florida .
The second part of the strategy is to partner with other dealerships to expand its reach . “ We ’ re going in and collaborating with other companies and allowing them to have parts of our inventory to sell . We ’ ll have a central location , the St . Cloud dealership , where inventory will be heavy , and then , we can lighten up the load by giving the other dealerships access to a pool of trailers ,” Mertz explains . “ It will be a small bump to our profit center , but it will increase our buying power .”
Locke continues to find opportunities to write new chapters in the dealership ’ s history , and the dealership is excited to continue its journey , bringing unparalleled customer service to Florida .
“ The magazine is really good . The advertising and features help us identify new products and I love to read about other dealerships to see how they are approaching their markets . The magazine is definitely important to us .” - Scott Locke
From left , Retail Operations Manager Duane Mertz , Founder / CEO Scott Locke , and Vice President Bob Harris
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