Bergstrom Automotive sells Chevrolet dealership to Griffin - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A single deal recast the Milwaukee car retailing market a bit this week, as Bergstrom Automotive pulled the plug on its 13-year run in the area and Jim Griffin expanded. Griffin, whose blue-collar flavored TV commercials marry Milwaukee heritage to "Detroit Iron," closed Thursday on the purchase of Bergstrom Chevrolet on the far northwest side. So I'm really excited about promoting Chevrolet products and growing the business. Griffin bought both the dealership and the real estate it occupies at 11100 W. Metro Auto Mall, near the I-41-Good Hope Road interchange. Neither he nor Bergstrom CEO John Bergstrom would disclose the price. The Neenah-based Bergstrom group, long the dominant car retailer in the Fox Valley, came to Milwaukee in 2002 when it opened Wisconsin's first Hummer dealership, housing the business in a prominent building with a Quonset-hut style roof. Now selling its Milwaukee Chevy operation, Bergstrom will concentrate its growth efforts on Madison, John Bergstrom said. The group has purchased two Chevrolet dealerships there since last year, and also has a Cadillac dealership in Madison. Bergstrom Automotive is the largest dealership group in Wisconsin and the 53rd-largest in the United States, according to an annual ranking by WardsAuto. Source: www.jsonline.com
