The onset of the Coronavirus brought fast-moving information and rapidly evolving situations that challenged businesses in every industry. While our family of companies was not removed from the trials of this pandemic, our Guiding Principles continued to guide us forward, revealing our strengths and demonstrating that in every challenge, there is always opportunity.
ACA Grows Their Market Share
ACA has made sizable strides to fulfill their vision of empowering the emerging credit consumer to purchase reliable and affordable transportation. But as the nation battles the Coronavirus pandemic, the past several months have been challenging for the industry and have led to many of ACA’s competitors restricting credit in the subprime space.
While ACA is not immune to the uncertainty of the economy, their forethought, diligence and commitment to working Better Together has put them in a position to grow during a time when others are pulling back.
In June, ACA announced it would begin prospecting new dealers with a goal to enroll 350 additional stores in 2020 and 1,000 total new stores by the end of 2021. “We believe the current competitive environment is favorable so we want to use that as an opportunity to grow more aggressively and take advantage of increased margin,” says Jason Bynum, Chief Operating Officer.
In less than a month, 150 new stores have already been enrolled through a new partnership with Sonic Automotive, a fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina and Napleton Automotive Group, one of the nation’s top franchise dealer groups.
“We have found that by partnering with large dealer groups we gain the ability to create a positive experience for the customer and contribute to ACA’s ROA [return on asset] goals”, said Jason Perry, Manager, Strategic Accounts, “In order to create these partnerships, we have to continue to be innovative. For example, departments across the company partnered together to quickly prioritize and develop an eContracting platform in order to attract Sonic and other dealer partners.”
By enhanced diligence, a strong onboarding process, and a focus on dealer experience, ACA teammates are coming together to build on the company’s solid foundation and focus on creating long-term value and sustainable growth.
JDA Adapts Quickly to Prioritize Resident Safety
While 2020 has been a year of change, the JDA team has been diligent, nimble, and proactive, maintaining a steady determination to keep business moving forward.
JDA’s existing portfolio of operating assets include 38 self-storage facilities, 4 industrial properties, and 9 multifamily communities. While all of JDA’s divisions have worked to ensure their existing portfolios continue to perform as strongly as possible, the Multifamily Division has faced a unique set of challenges as they’ve needed to quickly adapt to ensure the safety of residents in their apartment communities.
With information changing rapidly surrounding the transmission of the Coronavirus, the Asset Management team knew they needed to implement new safety protocols that were consistent with state and local guidelines. By working closely with the management teams at each property, JDA implemented new processes and procedures, ensuring resident safety was the top priority. The team also recognized that residents were facing personal financial challenges in the face of the economic downturn and partnered closely with each resident to formulate individual payment plans, which allowed residents to maintain their housing while also protecting the financial integrity of our business.
“We believe that through our swift response, we were able to not only maximize health and safety measures for those in our apartment communities, but also build trust with residents,” says Elisabeth Mygatt, who oversees asset management for JDA’s multifamily team. “We believe that if we take care of them, they’ll take care of us.” Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, JDA’s multifamily communities have seen nearly 98% of all rent payments made on-time.
OTO Identifies a New Customer Segment
Among the many aspects of life disrupted during the pandemic, travel is one area that was the most significantly impacted. As people across the country sheltered in place, team members at OTO took on the challenge of increasing hotel occupancy in many of the country’s hardest hit states.
In the Bay Area, Ronnie Lau, Director of Sales at the AC Hotel San Francisco Airport/Oyster Point Waterfront, saw the impact that restrictions on business travel had on occupancy. Ronnie and his team’s ability to pivot and redefine their target customer was critical. “With corporate travel at a stand-still, we were no longer seeing our typical guest. We decided to utilize this opportunity to build new relationships with companies who hadn’t been in our target segment, but who were in need of accommodations.”
With a simple shift in mindset and a drive for creative solutions, the AC Hotel in South San Francisco was able to maintain occupancy levels to mitigate losses during these challenging economic times.
By taking the initiative to embrace change, teams across The Johnson Group mobilized during uncertain times, stabilized in the new environment and strategized for what’s to come. By welcoming the opportunities that lie ahead, our family of companies will continue to improve our way of doing business and position ourselves for long-term success.