F&I and Showroom, October 2015

12 F I and Showroom October 2015 Industry Spotlight Vroom is one of a handful of firms attempting to prove that cars and F I products can be sold online with one major difference The company was founded by former AutoNation executives By Gregory Arroyo July was a big month for New York startup Vroom After raising 54 million in additional equity funding Fortune magazine described it as a firm looking to cut out the old school auto dealers while CNET wondered if the online used vehicle retailer could make the used car lot obsolete But Scott Chesrown the companys vice president of strategy and business development says Vroom is simply trying to find its niche in what he describes as a fragmented market Chesrown is the son of Marshall Chesrown an industry veteran once called the best used car retailer in the country by AutoNations former President and CEO Michael Maroone Marshall founded Vroom in 2013 along with another former AutoNation exec Kevin Westfall who headed up the dealer groups F I operations until his departure in November 2011 He now sits on Vrooms board of directors Vroom is developing an online car buying experience that caters to todays Internet shopper It offers a seven day money back guarantee a no questions asked return policy a 90 day bumper to bumper warranty free nationwide shipping and pricing that is 7 below the market rate Last year the firm generated 100 million in revenue and its on pace to increase that to 300 million this year In May alone the company reported 20 million in sales And with its new round of funding which brings its total equity funding since its founding to 73 million the company picked up investors that have backed sites like Snapchat and Kayak Next month Vroom expects to launch a complete online financing process one that will allow site visitors to secure financing and even select from the firms four F I protections F I and Showroom spoke with Scott Chesrown about the companys business model and why he believes consumers will buy F I products online F I So are you looking to cut out the traditional dealership as some reports have claimed Chesrown When the Top 100 dealer groups only have 6 market share it just shows that everyone can win in some shape or form Were just trying to figure out where our niche in the process is and how we fit in with changing consumer buying habits So I dont think we ever positioned ourselves as anti dealer I think car dealers probably do that enough for us For us I think its just the change in process For instance the test drive in our opinion is obsolete What we do is deliver the car and allow you to drive it for several days If you dont like it well pay to ship it back F I Your founders including your father were involved with Wayne Huizenga during the initial rollout of AutoNation So you have some industry know how behind you Chesrown We also had early backings from other automotive industry professionals and people such as John Elway who as you know owned dealerships in Colorado But last November we brought on Allon Bloch as CEO and Elie Wurtman as our executive chairman They bring the tech background Allon was the prior co CEO of Wix com and just Vroom Service Scott Chesrown is the son of Marshall Chesrown a key player in AutoNations initial rollout