The way David Wilson, Jr. looks at it, his family company’s collection of car dealerships are doing relatively well during the coronavirus crisis. And the reason for that is because of the business strategies that were put into place long before COVID hit our shores. With an early investment on the internet, a long-standing guarantee to deliver cars for free to anywhere in the country, and, more importantly, a culture of respect for both customers and their employees, Preston Automotive Group is surviving reasonably well in one of the most precarious financial crises the United States has ever experienced.
Wilson, president of Preston, is the first to say that it is solely through the collective will of its over 600 associates, that his family business has been able to pivot quickly to this new normal in the car industry. While it may take some time to return to their record-breaking sales over the last few years (Preston Ford is in the top thirty dealerships in America), the Preston team remains the same “can do” people that the Wilson family had spent decades trying to build.
One element of the Preston culture has always been community philanthropy. Beginning with his parents insistence that the company is known for giving back, and supported by one of the most successful marketing campaigns to support it, David and his team have built a remarkable donation machine.
But what does a company do when confronted by COVID? How does it pivot to quickly meet the needs of families in the community who have lost jobs or won’t send their kids to work?
In his most recent Spy interview, Wilson talks about the Preston culture of giving and how they quickly adjusted their giving programs using their icon frog in light of this new reality. He also talks about how this spirit of giving impacts the broader Preston community, as the company seeks ways to support two employees whose children are fighting cancer.
This video is approximately five minutes in length
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