dilawri group

Dilawri Automotive Group * Calgary BMW • Calgary Honda • 20th Anniversary | 1

Below the blue and white logo, it reads: Dilawri Auto-

motive Group, Uncompromised Excellence. It’s the

last two words: “Uncompromised Excellence” that

best describes this company. It’s not just a philosophy; it is,

quite simply, how the Dilawri Automotive Group conducts

business. Period. From the lot attendants to management,

every person who works for Dilawri has a passion for excel-

lence. As soon as you walk through the front doors, it’s very

apparent – in everything they do.

At the heart of the company and to really understand why

they are rapidly gaining market share, not just locally but across

the country, you need look no further than Ram Dilawri and

his unwavering commitment to succeed. In 1964, Ram started

the Dilawri Automotive Group and over the decades, his three

sons Tony, Kap and Ajay have helped to grow the business on a

national level. Indeed, with 36 dealerships from Ontario to B.C.,

it would seem the Dilawri Automotive Group has grown at an

unabated pace. So, it comes as no surprise the three sons share

their father’s passion not only for all-things-automotive, but a

deep-rooted desire for success.

“In 1982, Ram decided to pursue opportunities out West

and as the story goes, he was headed to Vancouver as the

Carter Honda dealership was for sale, but it had been sold

before Ram’s plane landed. He received word that a small

dealership in Regina came on the market, so he headed to

Regina and purchased it – making it his fi rst acquisition in

the Prairies. He moved the family to Saskatchewan and has

never looked back,” says Tony.

A Passion for

ExcellenceL to R: Gus Masi, Regional Director of Operations; Tony Dilawri, Partner, Dilawri Automotive Group; Grant Keil, General Manager, Calgary BMW; Kevin Fanning, General Manager, Calgary Honda

By Mary Savage


Late in 1991, the family purchased T&T BMW (now Cal-

gary BMW) and Calgary Honda bringing the fi rst two Calgary

dealerships into the fold. At the time, the BMW dealership

had sold a total of 91 cars that year and today, it averages

91 cars per month. The Calgary group now has nine dealer-

ships, each of which promotes from within and overall has

very low staff turnover. What’s the secret to their success? In

a word: core values and passion. “We’ve always been really

consistent and that’s where our core values come into play.

When you look at a business and how they have grown,

you can always fi nd people with talent and skill, but if they

don’t have the same values as the business, then you’re not

on the same page. When we hire someone, we make sure

they’ve got the same passion and desire in life. Our goal is

to be number one in customer satisfaction, nationally, by

2015. Our staff understands these goals and what we need

to do to get there – it means everyone has to be aligned,”

explains Tony.

Dilawri’s seven core values have evolved from the voices

of the staff, managers and the partners. Collectively, they

considered the qualities that they most admired in people

and created a list of the seven top values: values to live,

work and play by. The front-runner, naturally, is having a

passion for excellence. “We want people to have a passion

for excellence and to be the best that they can be,” says

Tony. The remaining values are integrity, customer focus,

teamwork, walk the talk, willingness to grow, and carry a

winning attitude – and with a daily mantra such as these,

it’s easy to understand why the Dilawri Group has achieved

such success.

Grant Keil, General Manager at Calgary BMW, brings 30

years of experience to the business as he too shares a pas-

sion for cars. “Owning a BMW is like a love affair with the

ultimate driving machine. As a group, we really enjoy the

quality and sportiness of BMW – it’s not just selling and ser-

vicing the car – it’s really about appreciating a great driving

machine and that’s the difference. We have a strong passion

for the product as well as our clients’ level of satisfaction,”

says Grant. “We have some clients who have been driv-

ing BMWs for 20 and 30 years because they are passionate

about the product! We have also received a lot of customer

feedback and it’s the people at Calgary BMW that keep our

clients coming back,” says Grant with a smile.

Located east of Deerfoot Meadows shopping mall, the

What’s the secret to their success? In a word: core values and passion.

External view of the dealership along Heritage Meadows Road, S.E.

15-Vehicle showroom State-of-the-art service facility Expansive boutique for the BMW lifestyle




Calgary BMW dealership is easily accessible from Deerfoot

Trail. You can’t help but notice the second-storey, eye-

catching vehicle showcase and from a glance, it’s obvious no

expense was spared when building the dealership. It offers

25 service bays, a 15-car showroom, seven detail bays, and

a six-car delivery area. In addition to the new models, they

feature BMW Certifi ed Series™ pre-owned vehicles that come

with a certifi ed protection plan.

At Calgary Honda, also part of the Dilawri Automotive

Group, Kevin Fanning is the General Manager and another

industry veteran with over 20 years of experience. “I’ve

worked for other auto manufacturers and we do things dif-

ferently at Dilawri. It’s what we do behind the scenes and

it’s our future plans that really separate us from the compe-

tition. We are planning years into the future while building

a solid team. In so many industries, we tend to live and die

by our monthly sales reports, but here we look at the bigger

picture: How was our performance over the past year or two

years? We challenge ourselves, we are accountable and we

are always looking to the future,” asserts Kevin.

“Kevin is the perfect example of success when it comes to

our core values. When he started with us, he was hired as a

service manager, but he was willing to grow, so we moved

him to the parts department and then he became our fi xed

operations manager. Now he is the Calgary Honda GM and

he truly exemplifi es all the core values,” remarks Tony. “The

same is true of Grant. He started by stocking shelves and he

worked his way up. We promoted him to Calgary BMW GM

and he’s done an excellent job.”

The Dilawri Group of Companies includes 36 automo-

bile dealerships in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and

Saskatchewan, representing an impressive lineup of man-

ufacturers with everything from Hyundai to Bentley. The

company has earned its place as one of the nation’s most-

respected dealership groups. They recently purchased a

dealership in Vancouver that carries Porsche, Land Rover,

Jaguar, Bentley and Aston Martin. In Calgary, you will fi nd

“The Distinctive Collection” which is comprised of Bentley,

Spyker, Fisker, Aston Martin and the like. The group supports

over 1,500 employees and has earned a reputation for excel-

lence in selling and servicing fi ne automobiles. Regardless

of what you’re looking for, there is one thing that all cus-

tomers receive when you are a Dilawri customer: a passion

for excellence in customer satisfaction.


In-house movie theatre room Service Department & customer lounge Kidz Play Zone

External view of the dealership facing Macleod Trail, just across from Southcentre Mall


Beyond the automotive world, the Dilawri family believes

in giving back to the community. For more than two

decades, brothers Ajay, Tony and Kap have shown a deep

commitment to supporting communities across Canada,

with donations totalling in the millions of dollars. In 2002,

the family established the Dilawri Foundation to oversee the

family’s philanthropic activities. In Calgary, Tony has worked

to help youth fi nd and embrace their individual passion for

excellence. He has partnered with two Canadian Olympic

medallists: Helen Upperton and Mellisa Hollingsworth. Both

women are accomplished athletes and will spend much of

their time in 2011 visiting schools in Calgary and the sur-

rounding area, speaking to students in Grades 5 to 9. In

sharing their stories of success, failure and determination,

they are hoping to help kids understand the importance of

not only winning and losing, but what it means to fi nd their

own passion for excellence. To learn more about Dilawri’s

community program, visit www.passionforexcellence.ca.

When asked what Tony enjoys the most, his response

seems natural, “There’s something very gratifying about

watching people succeed especially when you have seen

Tony Dilawri, Partner, Dilawri Automotive Group Grant Keil, General Manager, Calgary BMW Kevin Fanning, General Manager, Calgary Honda

“There’s something

very gratifying about

watching people succeed.”

~ Tony Dilawri

‘CONGRATULATIONS’ TO CALGARY BMW ON YOUR

20TH ANNIVERSARY!from

The Entire Team at Calgary:

Budget Car & Truck Rental | 13 Convenient Calgary & Area Locations | 403.226.1550

www.budgetcalgary.ca

Proud Partner of Calgary BMW in Delivering Excellence in Client Satisfaction.

Tragically Vital - The Fresh Coffee CompanySuite 200, 3132 118th Ave. S.E., Calgary, AB T2Z 3X1

Phone: 403-686-6296 | Fax: 403-212-0161www.tragicallyvital.com

Congratulations Dilawri Group! We wish you many more years of success


AltaFacts Search & Registry Inc.100 - 2417, 51 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB T2C 0A2

[email protected] www.altafacts.com

Motor Vehicles - specializing

in commercial registrations

Corporate Registry - your

complete incorporation source

Personal Property

Land Titles

Vital Statistics

Out of Province Searches for

most jurisdictions (Canada/US)

Congratulations to Calgary BMW on their 20th Anniversary!

We look forward to many more years of continuing our relationship together.

®

South Alta Tire Distributors would like to

congratulate Calgary Honda and Calgary BMWon 20 great years of business

South Alta Tire Distributors Ltd.

3660 Blackfoot Trail SE, Calgary AB T2G 4E6

403.287.1000 | www.southaltatire.com

dilawri group

Documents

calgary group

calgary bmw calgary

ram dilawri

calgary dealerships

dilawri automotive group

bmw dealership

core values

calgary bmw kevin fanning