Ruth Mielke sorts parts inventory. Gilleland employs about 114 people throughout the company.
BUSINESS PROFILE
Gilleland Chevrolet Cadillac, Inc. .....................
3019 W Division Street, St. Cloud, MN 56301 320-251-4943 320-255-7007 support@gillelandchevrolet.com www.gillelandchevrolet.com Leadership team: Duane Gilleland, president and CEO: Christy Gilleland, executive manager; Grant Gilleland, Gilleland & St. Cloud Quick Lube general manager
expressive, full of motion and energy. And where Christy is dark, Grant is light. He’s still and quiet, the observer in the room. Duane didn’t pressure them to go into the family business, they say, but both worked for their father from their early teens. Duane made sure that they got a good grounding. They worked in all areas of the business, and they started at the bottom. “That was one thing our dad stressed when we both started here in high school,” Christy said. “He said you’re going to make minimum wage, you’re going to do the dirty jobs, and you’re going to work in every department.” “We hated it at the time,” Grant said, “but looking back, it was probably the best thing that could have happened.” This is the initial year of the buyout agreement. Now 64, Duane is still a relatively young man. He maintains a home in Sartell, but his main residence is now in Arizona where he has a passive interest in a couple of dealerships. The siblings expect the buyout process to take 5 to 7 years. Succession in family-owned businesses isn’t always successful. According to the Gillelands, only about 50 percent survive
the second generation, and only 10 percent survive third generation ownership. Second generation owners who take over the business without the right training and attitude often fail to fight for the economies and efficiencies that can make the difference between success and failure. “We were brought up to be, for want of a better word, stingy,” Christy said. To ensure that his children saw more of the automotive business than what was in their own back yard, Duane told his children they had to either go work someplace else or quit. Christy attended St. Cloud State University and earned a degree in Business Management. After graduation, she took a position at a different Rydell dealership where only the owner knew of her family connections to the group. Grant completed the first year of the Sales & Marketing program at the St. Cloud Technical College and soon after began his own auto wholesale business.
A CHANGING INDUSTRY
Ownership: Duane and Karen Gilleland own100 percent of the business; they are currently in a succession plan to sell the business to their children, Christy and Grant. Business Description: Automotive sales, service, parts, and collision Number of employees: 89 at the dealership, 25 at St. Cloud Quick Lube Previous Year sales: $64.7 million Current year projected sales: $75 million
FUN FACT
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When Christy Gilleland was 9 years old her Aunt had her write on a piece of paper what she wanted to do when she grew up. It said: “Own a store.” She still has the paper.
One of the biggest changes in the business took place in 1992, when Gilleland introduced non-negotiable pricing.
M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 5 //
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