Pine Belt Chevy thrives through war, fire, internet

March 17--LAKEWOOD -- Pine Belt Chevrolet has seen many changes since Leon Sickel opened his Fourth Street dealership in Lakewood in 1937 and sold Chevy sedans.

Now in the hands of his son David C. Sickel and grandson Rob Sickel, the dealership, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month, has survived a major fire, and has expanded its showrooms and service centers. The Sickels have added other automotive brands -- Chrysler Jeep and Subaru as well as two Nissan stores and a Cadillac store. Pine Belt Chevrolet has embraced the internet to attract business, sell cars and keep in touch with customers.

What hasn't changed? Its focus on customers, their needs, and the community, said Rob Sickel, vice president of Pine Belt Enterprises.

"We have always had customers' values at the heart of what we do," Sickel said. "Even though we certainly have grown from the one Chevy store on Fourth Street in Lakewood to a nice sizable local business, we still like to think we are a part of the community and that our customers are the most important things we have to support our business."

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War and fire

After purchasing a small Chevrolet dealership in 1937, Leon Sickel sold cars until he enlisted in the Army in World War II. "This is an opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for your patronage in the past and to hope for its renewal after the war," Sickel wrote in a newspaper advertisement. After it ended, he returned and reopened Pine Belt Chevrolet on Main Street in Lakewood in 1946.

Twenty years later, in 1966, Sickel moved the dealership to a larger home at 1088 Route 88, at the corner of New Hampshire Avenue. It later became a family business. Having grown up at Pine Belt, David Sickel began working at his father's dealership in 1970, and in 1972, he took over operations when Leon Sickel retired to Florida. At age 24, Sickel was Chevrolet's youngest dealer. Leon Sickel died in 1983.

In 1985, Pine Belt Chevrolet suffered a major disaster. The dealership burned down in a fiery blaze that started in a service bay when gasoline leaked onto a utility light. The showroom and service areas were destroyed. All that remained was a single brick wall.

But Sickel and Pine Belt Chevrolet were back in business 48 hours later, working out of tents, a temporary modular showroom, and four large trailers. Within two years, Pine Belt completed a $2.5 million reconstruction with the opening of a parts and service building containing 80 service bays on the north side of Route 88 and a new showroom and administrative building on the south side.

At the time, Pine Belt displayed 2,500 new and used cars on 20 acres. The dealership had expanded to fill 100,000 square feet of space.

"I owe it all to the people who work here," David Sickel said in 2001, according to Asbury Park Press archives. "It was a complete team effort."

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New brands added

Sickel would add Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Jeep, Chrysler and Subaru to his dealership in Lakewood. And in 1986, he and dealer Louis A. Trebino, president of Pine Belt Automotive, opened Pine Belt dealerships in Toms River selling Oldsmobile, Nissan and Cadillac. They later expanded to Keyport, selling Nissan vehicles.

These days, David Sickel, who remains president of Pine Belt Enterprises, the dealership's corporate parent created in the 1980s, has stepped down from running the day-to-day operations of his company

Now it's Rob Sickel's turn at the helm. Pine Belt Chevrolet continues to confront change as it comes.

For instance, the internet has transformed the way dealers do business, Rob Sickel said. Gone are the days of the "hard sell," he said. Now customers search for cars and do research on the web before they come to the dealership.

"Customers generally know what they want to buy and how much they are going to pay for this car, and what the car costs, before they even come in," Sickel said. "It's less of a haggling situation."

Now an emphasis is placed on service to make sure the customer receives the car they want to drive. Sickel said the focus is on establishing a long-term relationship with the customer to include car sales, service, maintenance, and referrals. "We are looking for a total relationship as opposed to you bought a car, goodbye, nice to see you," Sickel said.

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New methods

Sickel started the dealership's business development center, which receives and handles all business leads, including those from the internet. Specialists, familiar with inventory and even pricing, take calls and incoming internet chats and email. Customers are referred to a sales manager who guides them through the process, including the introduction to a sales person.

"It is central to our organization today, and generates about 45 percent of the business," said Sickel who is on the sales floor every day. "When my grandfather started the business, it was about personal service."

He has made other changes, including giving customers the ability to buy a vehicle without coming to the dealership. A sales representative works with a customer over the telephone and through email, bringing the car and the paperwork to the house. "We are utilizing technology to provide better service for our customers," Sickel said. "We don't necessarily need customers to come to our store anymore."

Now an $8 million, 35,000-square-foot showroom for Chrysler-Jeep is nearing completion. Pine Belt Chevrolet is about to have a new floor installed. "There have been continuous improvements," Sickel said.

Earlier this month, Sickel opened an Allstate Insurance agency in the dealership. "People who buy cars need insurance and it just seemed like a very complementary product to offer to our customers while they are in the store," he said.

Sales have seen some gains too. While Chevrolet sales in the district that includes New Jersey were up 4 percent in 2016, Pine Belt Chevrolet was up more than 10 percent, Sickel said. "The car business is doing well right now."

Meanwhile, Pine Belt remains involved in the local community in northern Ocean County and southern Monmouth County, including support for school districts, hospitals and community events. "It is a way for us to give back to the community that has supported us for so long," Sickel said.

As part of its 80th anniversary celebration, Pine Belt is having an appreciation event at the dealership on March 24 and 25. The event will feature food and March 25 appearances from soccer superstar Christie Rampone from 10 a.m. to noon and New York Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, said Pine Belt is one of the oldest dealerships in the state. "There are two things that are essential to success in the car business," Appleton said. "The Sickels got both of them."

The first is a "rock-solid focus" on community and customers, he said. The second is "business acumen."

"The car business is a customer care business and if you only care about the next quarter and you only care about volume of sales, then 80 years isn't in your future," Appleton said. "If you put the customer first and you run a tight ship then from a business perspective, the car business is a business that favors longevity."

David P. Willis: 732-643-4039; [email protected]; facebook.com/dpwillis732.

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