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Saturn sets new retail ring
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December 14, 1998: 1:47 p.m. ET
GM unit forms dealer franchise company, names new chief
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Saturn Corp., the General Motors Corp. unit, said Monday it is forming an independent company to own and operate a chunk of the car maker's retail facilities.
Troy. Mich.-based Saturn said the goals of the new Saturn Retail Enterprises will be to consolidate dealerships in several markets and to offer to buy dealerships from existing owners. It also will offer some form of public stock ownership in its dealerships and may move to have dealerships offer multiple brands of vehicles, some of which could be created for the unit.
Saturn Corp. will own a minority stake in the new unit, which will be based in Charlotte, N.C. It said its chairman and president, Donald W. Hudler, will retire Jan. 1 to assume the job of chief executive of the retailing unit.
"Our retailers developed this initiative with us to keep the strong single-brand focus, and believe the SRE (Saturn Retail Enterprises) will take the Saturn brand to the next level," Hudler said. "The SRE will serve to identify new business opportunities and provide options for growth to all Saturn franchises."
Hudler's successor at Saturn Corp. will be Cynthia M. Trudell, who currently heads IBC Vehicles, a wholly-owned GM operation in Luton, England, that produces the Frontera four-wheel-drive vehicle. Trudell becomes one of the highest-ranking women in the automotive industry.
Automotive News reported that the new retailing unit will have 75 to 150 stores and annual sales of $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion. The move is seen as a response to the rise in automotive "superstores" epitomized by the growth of Republic Industries Inc., the nation's largest automotive dealer group.
Saturn Corp. said the formation of the unit will play a key role in plans to expand the number of dealers to 500 from the current 388.
General Motors shares were down 1-5/8 to 67-1/4 in early afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading Monday. 
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