Mintz Levin Reaffirms Commitment to New York Presence

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Reaffirming its commitment to maintaining a strong presence in New York, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. has renewed its lease for 85,000 square feet of office space at the Chrysler Center at 666 Third Avenue in Manhattan. Since establishing its New York presence in 2000 with six attorneys and 34,000 square feet of space, the firm has grown the office to include 130 employees, including 76 attorneys in a broad range of practice areas. Included in th

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Mintz Levin Reaffirms Commitment to New York Presence

Midas Reaches Out to Automotive Industry

Midas is launching a comprehensive effort aimed at service customers, dealers and employees of automotive dealerships that are closing.  The outreach to those affected by auto dealership closings begins with a full-page advertisement in USA Today on Monday, June 15, using Midas’ current marketing theme of “We’re on this road together.” The ad encourages displaced auto dealership customers to consider Midas as a viable alternative to closing dealerships for vehicle maintenance and repair and for auto dealers and their employees to consider becoming a Midas franchisee or service employee.

“Nearly 2,000 Chrysler and General Motors dealerships are scheduled to close in the next 18 months, creating uncertainty for their owners, employees and customers,” said Alan D. Feldman, Midas’ chairman and chief executive officer. “With our expertise and breadth of services, Midas can provide a reliable option for auto dealer service customers who are uncertain about where to turn for their ongoing maintenance and repair needs.”

Feldman said that Midas is developing various consumer programs, such as direct mail offers to customers of closing dealerships, focusing on Midas’ more than 50 years’ experience in providing the maintenance and repair services their vehicles require to continue operating safely and reliably.

“As the automotive landscape continues to change, we want service customers of closing auto dealerships to be aware of Midas’ full range of maintenance and repair services and that, generally, having their ongoing maintenance needs performed at Midas will keep their new car warranties intact,” Feldman said. “Midas shops are conveniently located and provide value-priced services and nationwide guarantees.”

Midas also will run ads in the trade publication Automotive News beginning Monday, June 22, featuring franchise and employment opportunities for displaced Chrysler dealers and their employees.

“The network of franchised and company-owned Midas shops in the United States and Canada can provide a bridge to a more certain and secure future for auto dealers and their employees whose dealerships are closing,” Feldman said. “There are great opportunities for auto dealers or their managers to become Midas franchisees by acquiring an existing Midas shop or converting service bays in their auto dealerships to Midas.”

Feldman said that Midas has an objective of transitioning at least 100 franchised and company-owned shops located in all regions of the U.S. to new owners during 2009. Last year, 80 new owners entered the Midas system by purchasing existing Midas shops. Qualified auto dealers and managers could acquire a Midas franchised shop in as little as 90 days.

Additionally, Feldman said there are several hundred job openings at Midas franchised and company-owned shops throughout the U.S. for experienced service technicians and service managers. Available opportunities are listed at www.midas.com and www.careerbuilder.com

“Midas shops provide a full range of services on domestic and foreign vehicles, so there are employment opportunities for auto dealership service staff regardless of their specific vehicle brand or system repair experience,” Feldman said.

Midas also is sending letters outlining franchise opportunities to Chrysler dealers facing closure.

Learn Lessons from GM and Chrysler

A new Chrysler may be emerging just a GM slips into bankruptcy. Chrysler’s experience has been extraordinary: it is going through a smoother, faster bankruptcy with the federal government playing the unprecedented role of both task-master and mediator.

GM is not Chrysler: GM is far larger and more complex. Still, the Chrysler experience should be cause for some optimism that GM’s experience will be similarly efficient.

What other lessons can GM take from Chrysler’s experience?

1/ Consumers will do business with a bankrupt brand. Prevailing wisdom was that with a major purchase (like a vehicle) consumers would avoid the risk of buying from a company in bankruptcy.

Edmunds.com data shows that not to be the case. Consumer sales share dipped in April before bankruptcy was filed, but has rebounded since. Clearly, media coverage of a potential bankruptcy or liquidation does impact sales, but the stigma of being in bankruptcy seems to have been vastly overstated, with Chrysler consumer sales share back up to January levels for the month of May.

Changes in share of Industry Purchase Intent vs. baseline (the four weeks before the bankruptcy announcement—the all-time low for Chrysler):

2/ Consumers aren’t as familiar with brands as one might think. The pattern where sales share drops pre-bankruptcy and climbs during is most pronounced for Chrysler Division vehicles, less so for Dodge division and almost not notable for Jeep division. Clearly consumers aren’t keeping tabs on which vehicle brands are owned by which automaker.

This could be good news for GM, whose divisions will most likely parallel the experience of Dodge and Jeep; not Chrysler division. (The exceptions being Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac where sales or shutdown have been covered extensively.)

Changes in share of industry purchase intent vs. April average:

3/ Consumers will have questions and want answers. Chrysler invested heavily in a brand marketing campaign immediately after filing. Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl feels that may have been premature. “Like a salmon swimming upstream, Chrysler’s lofty paid messages ran counter to a heavy flow of news reports covering bankruptcy. The messages appeared tone deaf, or just were ignored.”

Consumers do have real questions about their dealer, their vehicle and the deals available in bankruptcy. Consumers flocked in record numbers to research these issues on the Internet; GM has the opportunity to proactively reach out and address these concerns head on.

4/ Consumers think that “bankruptcy” equals “deal.” One reason that sales have been strong for Chrysler is that bankruptcy has brought “deal-seekers” into their dealer’s showrooms.

During the bankruptcy process, Chrysler is terminating 789 dealers with little advanced notice. This created a situation where some dealers have been selling Chrysler vehicles at significant discounts. The below chart sets out month-by-month analysis of the dealer profit margin trend, comparing closing dealerships to the average:

5/ A deal is what a consumer thinks it is. Despite the terminated dealers selling vehicles at a unusually high discounted rate, overall profit margins for Chryslers dealers actually increased in May. How could this be? There is an intuitive logic around the idea that vehicles purchased from a bankrupt automaker must be a great deal. Consumers accepting this logic actually negotiate less aggressively and pricing trends up.

Instead of a brand campaign, GM would be well served to consider a bankruptcy sales event. This type of campaign would reinforce and build upon consumer beliefs – a highly efficient marketing strategy.