3 minute read
It’s always about the engineering
Goran’s current role as Pre-Owned Manager for Porsche Centre Brighton was not on the horizon for a young man growing up in what was then Yugoslavia. However, a series of ethnic conflicts, insurgencies, and finally war shifted his focus overseas.
After landing in Australia over two decades ago, Goran started again. As with many migrants, he faced the task of learning a new language, understanding different ways of doing business, and most importantly, finding his first job.
Lukic Goran
‘I came to Australia in 1988 and pretty much started from the ground up; all the way from car detailing to motor shows, presentations, VIP events, and then into sales. The background for the past 20 years has been the automotive industry, recalls Goran. Goran’s detailing was hardly your typical car washing and vacuuming – he was employed by Rolls Royce and Bentley. ‘I was in sales in Europe,’ he recalls. ‘When I came to Australia, I had to learn the language, so I started as a car detailer. Someone recognised my skills and asked if I wanted to work on the car shows on the stand with Bentley, then I started in sales. It was a natural progression to get back to sales,’ Goran says.
When the Rolls Royce and Bentley brands separated in 2000, Goran was asked to work with Lance Dixon, holder of the Ferrari and Maserati franchises. This was followed by a stint with Lamborghini. After more than 15 years working in various roles involving high-end luxury cars, he turned his attention to the other end of the market to broaden his understanding of the car sales spectrum. Goran spent roughly seven years with Ford in Brighton as the company’s Car Sales Manager, building up not only a peerless reputation and a detailed knowledge base but also a thorough understanding of the local scene. ‘I went to the Ford dealership to get more experience in volume sales,’ Goran explains.
Pre-Owned Manager
Porsche Centre Brighton
Yet the pull of working with refined engineering was strong. When Porsche Centre Brighton opened, Goran was drawn to the marque. Having commenced there 11 years ago, he has no intention of making any move away from the brand he loves.
‘We didn’t have used cars when I started, we started to grow into them later,’ he says. ‘When I started, we had just 10 new cars on the showroom floor and no used cars at all. It was a small franchise. Porsche approached me to come and work here; there was only two of us in sales then.’ Today Porsche Centre Brighton employs four Senior Managers (of which Goran is one), five Sales Executives, and more than 13 other front office staff covering the whole gamut from finance to marketing - and that doesn’t even include the workshop and detailing team. As the company grew, Goran’s understanding of, passion for and commitment to the brand quickly became recognised as an extremely valuable asset for Porsche Centre Brighton. ‘Robert (Gattereder), the current CEO, said to me: ‘You have experience, knowledge, passion for Porsche, so now it’s not enough sitting in the back seat – you’re going to be running the used car department.’ That’s when we started a dedicated used car department just for the Porsche Approved Program,’ Goran remembers. ‘I’ve been the Pre-Owned Manager for the past three years and have been growing that part of the business ever since.’ As a sign of Goran’s talent and leadership in this area, last year he was honoured by Porsche and invited to become a Porsche Brand Ambassador.
‘They flew me to Germany where they took me to the factories; it was fascinating,’ Goran recalls. ‘As kids, we all grew up with Porsche posters on the walls dreaming about those cars.’ When Goran was asked what his favourite Porsche was, he answered in typical Goran fashion. ‘The best Porsche is always the next one – it’s the engineering that fascinates me. I’m always excited about a new model.’ •
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