When Hanania Automotive Group CEO Jack Hanania Sr. utilized for a job promoting vehicles in 1983, he had no thought it could result in being Northeast Florida’s No. 1 quantity car vendor 41 years later.
“I used to be stunned they employed me on the spot. The supervisor mentioned go placed on a shirt and tie and be right here tomorrow morning.”
Hanania mentioned his plan, on the time, was to not discover a profession. He was in search of an organization automotive.
“The motivational issue for me was that my automotive broke down and I wanted a automotive. I wished to get in there and do what I needed to do to get a demonstrator.”
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Hanania attended Samuel Wolfson Excessive College after which Florida Junior School, now Florida State School at Jacksonville, the place he studied accounting.
“I really like numbers,” Hanania mentioned.
After six months promoting on the showroom ground, at age 22, Hanania was promoted to gross sales supervisor.
“They wished me to invigorate individuals who had been there for 20 or 25 years. They’d been within the enterprise longer than I had been alive,” Hanania mentioned.
Early in his profession, Hanania, 64, mentioned he started studying classes that will assist him develop his community of dealerships.
“Once you get in a bind, you’ll create your individual future,” and “Solely in America, in the event you work laborious and follow the values of free enterprise enterprise, you are able to do very effectively.”
The Hanania household on the 2024 First Coast Enterprise Corridor of Fame induction ceremony: Jack Hanania Sr., spouse, Debbie, and sons Jack Jr. and Mark.
Hanania Automotive Group contains 16 dealership areas promoting new and used stock throughout model franchises together with Audi, Acura, Buick, Chevrolet, Genesis, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Subaru and Volkswagen, together with two collision restore facilities.
Along with 13 areas in Jacksonville, Orange Park and St. Augustine, Hanania has dealerships in Estero and Miami in Florida; and a dealership in Pittsburgh.
The transition from salesman to proprietor
After taking up the gross sales supervisor position after which setting gross sales information, Hanania began on the trail to constructing his personal enterprise when a competing automotive vendor reached out with a proposal.
“Luther Coggin known as me. His firm was rising and the corporate the place I used to be was not rising. I met him and he gave me a chance. Luther noticed one thing in me,” Hanania mentioned.
The brand new job meant getting off the gross sales ground and into the executive workplaces.
In November 2017, Hanania Automotive Group was the presenting sponsor for the NAS Jacksonville Air Present that includes the Blue Angels flight demonstration staff. From left, Navy Lt. Samuel Rose, upkeep officer; No. 6 Navy Lt. Tyler Davies, opposing solo; No. 4 Navy Lt. Lance Benson, slot; No. 2 Navy Lt. Damon Kroes, proper wing; Mark Hanania; U.S. Rep. John Rutherford; Chris Miller, Rutherford’s district director and now additionally a Jacksonville Metropolis Council member; Howard Wanamaker, Clay County county supervisor; Jack Hanania Sr.; No. 1 Navy Cmdr. Ryan Bernacchi, flight chief; No. 3 Navy Lt. Nate Scott, left wing; No. 5 Navy Cmdr. Frank Weisser, lead solo; and No. 7 Navy Lt. Brandon Hempler, present narrator.
“I used to be operating his finance division. Sooner or later Luther known as me into his workplace and instructed me he wished me to run his Acura dealership. It was having a troublesome time getting model consciousness. I took over as basic supervisor and bought it on its toes,” Hanania mentioned.
That success led to a different alternative.
“Luther wished to maintain me, so he provided to promote me 20% of the enterprise. He gave me a value and we shook fingers on the deal.”
Two years later, the dealership exceeded all forecasts and recorded a file yr in gross sales. Hanania wished to purchase one other 20% share and Coggin agreed.
“Our deal was for me to purchase it out over a time period,” Hanania mentioned.
Coggin finally started contemplating cashing out and promoting his community of dealerships to an organization in South Florida that owned AutoNation.
“That deal blew up, so I went again and provided to purchase one other 10% with first proper of refusal for the remainder,” Hanania mentioned.
In 1998, Coggin discovered a purchaser for all of his dealerships and Hanania made a proposal to purchase the remaining curiosity within the Acura dealership.
“He gave me a giant quantity, so I requested him to finance it for me. He did and it labored out for each events. Fifteen years after I bought within the enterprise, I turned a vendor on Aug. 15, 1998,” Hanania mentioned.
He then started increasing, shopping for dealerships and actual property to construct on as Hanania Automotive Group steadily grew.
Hanania Automotive Grop CEO Jack Hanania Sr. at his headquarters workplace on the seventh ground at 1200 Riverplace Blvd. in Hanania Place on the Downtown Southbank.
Property alongside Blanding Boulevard in West Jacksonville would turn out to be residence to Hanania Acura, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Audi.
Hanania mentioned through the years, the enterprise weathered the ups and downs of the nationwide economic system as he grew it by paying for enlargement with income as a substitute of credit score.
Hanania broke floor on a brand new dealership in July 2008 and two months later, “I awakened with a foul feeling in regards to the economic system. I used to be paying as I went alongside, however I felt like I wanted to exit and borrow some cash. I known as my banker and gave him a quantity and he gave it to me. Three weeks later, the Nice Recession started.”
The dealership opened in November 2009 within the midst of the downturn.
“Then the economic system began enhancing. It bought higher in 2010 and by 2011, it was superior,” Hanania mentioned.
That have strengthened his enterprise philosophy to “Preserve the religion, maintain the main focus. Keep the course and by no means second-guess your self. Preserve transferring,” Hanania mentioned.
Since then the corporate has grown and expanded exterior Northeast Florida to incorporate dealerships in South and Southwest Florida and Pittsburgh within the Northeast.
Hanania and his spouse, Debbie, have two sons who’re within the household enterprise. Jack Hanania Jr. is vice chairman of the corporate and Mark Hanania is basic supervisor of Infiniti of Orange Park.
Hanania mentioned the subsequent technology is continuous the household enterprise with the philosophies and techniques which have succeeded since his first day promoting vehicles.
“We wish to construct recurring enterprise when our clients’ youngsters will purchase vehicles from us. A few of our staff members, their youngsters are working for us. That’s development. We wish to construct on caring for our clients,” Hanania mentioned.
Dedication to the neighborhood
Hanania and his firm assist many organizations. He’s a previous board member of the YMCA and helps native and nationwide charities together with Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Wolfson Kids’s Hospital, American Most cancers Society, Desires Come True, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, United Service Group, Catholic Charities, Juvenile Diabetes Analysis Basis, Nemours Kids’s Well being and River Backyard Senior Companies, amongst others.
On Dec. 13, 2015, Hanania Automotive Group offered a $37,884 donation to K9s for Warriors. Holding the test is Jack Hanania Sr., left and proper, then K9s for Warriors CEO Rory Diamond, now a Jacksonville Metropolis Council member.
In 2013, Hanania offered a $37,884 donation to K9s for Warriors at a Jacksonville Jaguars recreation.
“The donation from the Jack Hanania Automotive Group permitted us to avoid wasting a number of lives of warriors affected by the invisible wounds of warfare. Moreover, these donations allowed us to rescue a number of canines we subsequently skilled to turn out to be service canines. We’re grateful to our donors and sponsors just like the Jack Hanania Automotive Group who assist us work towards reaching our mission of ending veteran suicide,” K9s for Warriors CEO Daniel Bean mentioned.
In December 2024, Hanania was inducted into the Florida Council on Financial Training’s First Coast Enterprise Corridor of Fame.
Annually, inductees are acknowledged for his or her servant management and provoking others to make a optimistic distinction in the neighborhood.
“Jack Hanania is a hometown hero and embodiment of the American dream. As a Jacksonville native, he constructed a thriving enterprise, fostering employment and personal capital funding, considerably enhancing the native tax base by means of his tireless work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. Jack’s accomplishments and contributions to our neighborhood are second to nobody,” mentioned Jeanne Augspurger, 2024 occasion and choice committee chair.
Investing in Downtown
Along with increasing the corporate’s actual property holdings for automotive dealerships, Hanania and a associate are invested in Downtown Jacksonville.
Their first acquisition was the six-story historic Dyal-Upchurch Constructing at 6 E. Bay St., bought in 2017. In 2020, they purchased the three-story Title & Belief Firm of Florida Constructing at 200 E. Forsyth St.
The biggest buy Downtown Hanania did and not using a associate. That acquisition is the automotive group’s headquarters constructing at 1200 Riverplace Blvd., the previous Stein Mart Constructing on the Southbank that bears Hanania’s title.
The corporate’s company workplaces occupy the seventh ground of the 10-story Class A constructing that has greater than 200,000 rentable sq. toes and an adjoining six-level parking storage.
“Folks ask me why I purchase buildings Downtown. Nicely, why not? They are saying Downtown gained’t succeed. With that perspective, it gained’t,” Hanania mentioned.
Trying to the longer term, Hanania will proceed to construct the hometown household enterprise along with his sons and the corporate’s 1,000 staff members.
“There may be a number of consolidation within the automotive enterprise. I’ve had lots of people knock on my door who want to purchase us, however we aren’t on the market. I really like what we do and I’ve an exit technique with my sons. Once you promote a enterprise, it’s not the brick-and-mortar, it’s the expertise. That’s our future. Our individuals aren’t up for adoption.”
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