State and local officials, business owners, Nissan Americas’ executives and Russ Darrow and Mike Darrow gathered together Wednesday to celebrate the opening of Russ Darrow Nissan in the Metro Auto Mall on the Milwaukee’s northwest side.
Among the officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who praised Russ Darrow, president and chief executive officer of Menomonee Falls-based Russ Darrow Group, for his contributions to the state’s economic development.
“Investing in a new dealership means you’ve got confident people in this region who feel good about buying a car,” Walker said. “That’s good for the economy. It tells other small businesses that consumer confidence is coming back.”
Russ Darrow Nissan relocated to 11212 Metro Auto Mall in Milwaukee in early August. The 19,000-square-foot space features a 5,000-square-foot showroom, 11 service and two quick-lube bays and a parking area. It also includes four electric charging stations for the Nissan Leaf, an all-electric vehicle.
According to Russ, the new location, which neighbors Bergstrom Chevrolet, Bergstrom Fiat, and Heiser Toyota dealerships in addition to a Carmax Auto Superstore, offers consumers a more accessible, convenient location for car shopping.
“In this case, the Metro Auto Mall is a dream for prospects to be able to come to one location and first of all look at and then select from so many good, reputable dealers like Bergstrom, Heiser, Carmax, and Russ Darrow,” Russ said.
“You can’t get any more reputable dealer organizations than Bergstrom, Heiser, Carmex, and Russ Darrow,” Russ said. “We all are committed to 100 percent customer satisfaction, and it doesn’t get any better than that from the customer’s standpoint.”
Russ projects his company’s sales will increase by approximately 50 percent in the coming year between the new dealership and the company’s Honda dealership located at 9201 W. Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee. According to Russ, Nissan sales during the current calendar year have been up 30 percent from last year.
The new dealership also added 30 technicians, sales personnel, lot attendants and administrative staff members to the company at both the Honda and Nissan dealerships. Russ estimates another 40 employees will be hired in the next year-and-a-half.
“As our sales increase even more, we’ll have to add more people,” Russ said.
Russ has a lot of confidence and optimism in the state’s economic development and state leadership moving forward.
“I’m willing to gamble by investing heavily in new dealerships and remodeling some other dealerships,” Russ said.
He credits the automobile industry as one of the leaders in progressing the economy.
“There’s still a love affair with cars and trucks in America, new and pre-owned, and we’re lucky to be part of this industry,” Russ said.
