Barnes Crossing Hyundai renovation nearly complete as auto group grows
Dec. 27—TUPELO — When Joe Marshall bought the Hyundai and Mazda dealership in 2010 from longtime automotive dealer Frankie Blackmon, little did he and business partner Terry Kilpatrick know where the business was headed.
Not that the automotive business was new to Marshall. Before moving to Tupelo 12 years ago, he was vice president of finance and real estate for the Oxmoor Automotive Group in Louisville, Kentucky, which sold Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln, Mazda, Scion and Toyota at several dealerships in the Louisville area, plus two other locations in Florida.
But the Hyundai-Mazda dealership — which was renamed Barnes Crossing Hyundai Mazda — was the first dealership Marshall could call his own, setting the stage for what would become one of the largest automotive dealership groups in the Southeast.
Today, the Barnes Crossing Auto Group comprises 15 new vehicle stores and one used car store in six states. Not all of the stores carry the Barnes Crossing brand, but seven of the stores do — all of which are in Northeast Mississippi. Four — Hyundai, Volkswagen, Kia and Mitsubishi — are located in Tupelo. The Ford dealership and the Chevy Buick and GMC dealership in New Albany carry the name, as does the Starkville used car dealership.
HYUNDAI POWERHOUSE
The flagship Hyundai store is the largest volume Hyundai dealer in the state, and Marshall hasn't been surprised by the growth.
"I had anticipated a higher trajectory as far as sales," he said. "What we've really tried to focus on is new car sales, but we're also a used car machine."
Barnes Crossing Hyundai has been selling some 300 vehicles a month since a minor renovation a few years ago when it shared space with Mazda, but Marshall opted to drop the brand last fall. That made it easier to incorporate Hyundai's "brand ambassador" program that called for a more modern look to its dealerships.
"They put out all the information on the program and they tied incentives to that going forward, so it's really hard as a dealer to not jump on board," he said. "They've had some 839 dealers come on board. Because we're the 25th biggest Hyundai store in the U.S., they made a journey here to make sure we were going to take part in the program."
The project, with a price tag of more than $5 million, includes five phases.
The first phase was the biggest, with several moving parts. The sales floor was expanded to the east, filling in a space once occupied by the main entrance and a covered sidewalk. A new detail building was constructed behind the current paint booth and body shop. Finally, a multi-bay service building was built just southwest of the main dealership building.
Phase two was an expansion of the service drive, and the last three phases involve office and sales floor renovations and a renovation of the current service bay area.
Outside, the old asphalt parking lot has been completely replaced by concrete. That work also has been expanded to to the Hertz car rental, which Marshall also owns.
McCarty Architects designed the Hyundai renovation and McCarty King is the general contractor for the overall project.
With the success of Barnes Crossing Hyundai, combined with the sales of 14 other stores, that makes the Barnes Crossing Auto Group among the largest in the country. But Marshall said he's not chasing any particular ranking.
"It's all about the customers," he said. "The rankings will come with that."
