United approach at DVG

Owned and managed by the Di Virgilio brothers, Maddington-based DVG Automotive sells new and used vehicles and related services to the general public and fleet customers.

The group’s main areas of operation are new and used vehicle sales, vehicle servicing, parts sales, finance and insurance sales and after-sales care products.

DVG started in 1994 with just a single car yard in Maddington that employed 10 people.

The group has grown to be one of Perth’s largest dealer groups.

DVG operates dealerships in five major locations in the Perth metropolitan area – Wangara, Midland, Morley, Maddington and Melville.

Marques sold by DVG are Mitsubishi, Hyundi, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Nissan and Peugeot.

Each dealership is managed, as dealer principal, by one of the DiVirgilio brothers with the eldest brother, Lou DiVirgilio, in the role of group managing director.

The group operates a centralised administration and corporate structure providing administrative, payroll, accounting, cash flow, capital funding, IT, online sales and marketing support to the dealerships.

DVG’s turnover has grown from $179.3 million in 2003-2004 to $251. 4 million in 2005-2006 and is expected to grow to $285 million in the next financial year.

The company currently has approximately 300 staff.

DVG has mainly grown through the acquisition of businesses that are non-performing or under performing in their prime target areas relative to the franchises they hold. Potential targets are those that represent a good fit with existing DVG franchises in that prime market area.

Once acquired, these businesses are immediately transformed to doing business the ‘DVG way’, from a sales, cultural and operational perspective.

By using the above strategies, DVG believes it is able to ride changing market conditions since having a good blend of franchises provides protection against the whims of consumer demand.

The Di Virgilio brothers attribute their success to the strength of their ancestry and family values.

Their family culture has always been ‘one for all and all for one’ and the brothers have applied this to business.

The success of the business has enabled the Di Virgilio family to contribute to charities such as Telethon, The Salvation Army, and John Coutis Motivational Tour.