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Dealers in training
The Alizadeh clan work and work out together
By John Morris
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Auto dealers come to their profession from diverse backgrounds, but in Toronto there is a strong representation from arriving and second-generation immigrants who see the car industry as a field that rewards hard work and initiative. Stop in at a successful dealership and you often find a family scene with more than one generation involved.
The Alizadeh clan is an interesting example of this trend. A dad with a dream ends up with his three kids involved in the business after their graduation from a top Canadian university (the University of Western Ontario in the case of all three) and exploration of other career fields. In the end, the children have come "home" to the car business and have made it fun and successful in the process.
Keeping their bodies physically fit is an important bond for the Alizadeh kids and is seen as a step in keeping their business fit for a family that owns six new car franchises in Brampton. Though I was invited to visit their Mitsubishi store as a tribute to Mitsubishi's first anniversary in Canada, it's hard to miss the adjoining Suzuki, Ford, Honda, Kia and Mazda operations. Each of the franchises ranks well in its brand.
Under the continued watch of their father, Sam, and the support of a large team of enthusiastic staff, Glen Alizadeh, May Allison and Steven Alizadeh run this complex of half a dozen new car dealerships. Each sibling has arrived at this profession differently, but they share several important common attributes that make them close both as family and business partners. That newcomer enthusiasm, hard work and early mornings are all traits they share. They also seem disposed to finish each other's sentences, which is a bit of extra bonding.
The most acknowledged positive force in the lives of all three is the work of their father, who is still the main man in the business. Arriving from Iran in 1958, Sam Alizadeh dove headlong into Canadian life and business, first as a car salesman. To keep the whole enterprise functioning when he wasn't on the lot selling, he worked other jobs, like being a cameraman on CFTO's Uncle Bobby Show.
Hard work paid off and Sam obtained his first dealership, a Suzuki franchise. His leadership has given the three children what they say is an incredible work ethic and energy.
Steven describes his father as "a visionary" and all three credit him as a model. Now they are bringing the elder Alizadeh an aspect of their active lives - physical conditioning. The whole family is up well before the store's open, running and working out. While Steven and Glen have always bounced around the rinks and been athletically inclined, their sister May took it very seriously indeed, running as an Olympic marathoner for the Canadian team in the Atlanta summer games of '96. May, the middle child, was a business major at Western, where she was also 'Female Athlete of the Year,' and joined a brokerage when she graduated in 1987. At the time her father had just one franchise - the Suzuki store - and May came onboard there because she could work long hours at her choice of times to accommodate training.
May's encouragement has motivated her brothers as well. When she started working with him at the dealership, "Glen was in pathetic shape," she tells me, noting that today he is pretty buff.
Big brother Steven, who was a Bay Street corporate lawyer for 19 years, stuck to squash. When he assumed his new role in business management at the dealerships this year, he signed onto the fitness plan too. Now all three are up at 5:30 a.m., gobbling up running paths. They also have a workout facility in the Honda store.
The three siblings have many other connections on top of athletics and working together. Their closeness is apparent in their recounting of family tales, they all ski at the family country cottage in Hidden Valley and they also share a surprising coincidence - each has three small children (nine grandkids under 10 years old!). Everyone often vacations together with the parents and all live within blocks of each other.
They also share another notable attribute - "Canadian" names. Their parents were meticulous about naming their three, made-in-Canada kids in the spirit of their adopted country. They also share their dad's approach to the business. From the time he started, Sam performed every function at the store and led his staff by example. Today the six-pack of dealerships is a mighty large operation, but the family members are often the first in and are the ones emptying the trash or re-positioning cars on the lot.
If physical fitness helps make a successful car business, we can all look forward to seeing dealers and sales teams jogging around our auto malls. One thing is for sure, the Alizadeh family business is growing by leaps and bounds.
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